Institutional Factors Affecting Work Motivation of Development Agents: The Case of Wolaita Zone, Southern Nation Nationalities and Peoples Regional State, Ethiopia

Abstract

Motivation is one of the most important theories in human resource management. It explains what organizations can do to encourage people to apply their efforts and abilities in ways that will further the achievement of the organization’s goals as well as satisfying their own needs. This study was designed to identify the level of motivation and the institutional factors that affect work motivation of Development Agents (DAs). For this study, two woredas with a total sample size of 150 DAs were included as the sample respondents. Respondents were selected in a simple random sampling technique following probability proportional sampling procedures. A structured survey questionnaire, focus group discussion and key informant interview were used to collect quantitative and qualitative data. In analyzing the Primary and secondary data type, both descriptive and inferential statistics were used. The ordinal logistic regression model was employed to determine the most significant variables affecting DAs motivation to work.  The study found that 55.3% of DAs had medium level of work motivation, followed by 33.3% and 11.3% low and high level of work motivation, respectively. The overall mean of motivational score was 2.58 on a 1 to 5 point likert type scale. This indicates that work motivation level of DAs was almost in medium level and need efforts to improve it. Model Result also showed that variables such as Marital Status, workplace Policy environment, and Performance Appraisal System were found to be significance in explaining work motivation level of DAs. The study concluded that the most contributors to the low level of work motivation were not due to personal factors like being older or younger, being female or male, from rural or urban…etc, instead, the low level of work motivation of DAs were institutional factors. Therefore, agricultural organization office should understood that the key to motivate DAs is to know what motivates them and designing a motivation program based on these needs.

Keywords: Institution, Development Agents, Level of Work motivation, Work motivation, ordinal logistic regression model and performance Appraisal.