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Vega Factor conducted a survey of workers from different companies to largely determine the quality of work

Many leaders of large, medium and small law firms may be wondering whether an organisation's corporate culture can drive employee performance. A survey conducted by Vega Factor, a human capital software company, of more than 20,000 workers and more than 50 high-volume companies showed that why we work largely determines the quality of our work.

So how do you keep employees motivated?

That is another question that many business leaders have been trying to find the answer to. Although many of us think that what really motivates workers is their pay, many experts confirm that it is the worker's identification with his or her job that is one of the key factors. When this identification exists, the worker enjoys the job, and can take it as a game, which is an instinctive incentive in human beings that makes us more curious, open to learning and experimentation. It also helps us to face challenges.

The worker who identifies with his work is able to value the impact of his tasks. A clear example is the doctor who, through his work, manages to save his patient's life.

Are there reasons that push away the employee-job identity?

Of course there are. One of the reasons that prevent an employee from feeling identified with his or her job are external threats, such as economic pressure (you have to work because you need the money urgently). 

Emotional pressure, where you have to prove yourself as an efficient worker to your superiors or to your colleagues, can also play a role. Or because you don't want to disappoint yourself or those close to you.

These factors can lead to such a great distance between the employee and his or her job that it is difficult to answer why he or she is working. This situation would seriously affect the employee's performance.

Solution: TOMO

TOMO, or total employee motivation, is an approach that can be categorised by three direct reasons for its achievement: the sense of play that employees can feel in their work, the purpose they find in their work and the potential they see for profit and results in their professional life. These three motives strengthen employees' performance at work.

At the same time, there are three indirect motives that can limit or eliminate employee motivation (two of them are mentioned in the previous paragraphs), namely emotional pressure, economic pressure and inertia. 

Ultimately, it is up to each organisation to decide how it can motivate its employees, but many studies show that if employees are given certain moments to act creatively, or as a game, their identity with the firm can be increased, and thus their performance.

For example, Toyota allows its employees to design new ways of running the assembly line. At Southwest Airlines, employees are allowed to modulate conversations with customers as if it were a game, adding some comedy and light-heartedness to safety messages inside an aircraft.