Assessing the Impact of Extrinsic Motivator Mechanisms on Labour Productivity in Construction.

Abstract

The construction industry is still dominated by a manual workforce. This is unlike other industries whose tasks are now largely automated. Much like machines, output of manual labour is directly proportional to input. The main objective of this study is to assess the impact of extrinsic motivator mechanisms on labour productivity in construction. While motivation is mainly categorised as intrinsic or extrinsic, intrinsic motivation is largely qualitative. For this study, therefore, all intrinsic motivator factors were considered constant. The main purpose of this study is to determine the percentage of productivity that can be directly manipulated by management through the implementation of extrinsic motivator mechanisms. The aim of this is to establish a measurable system for construction managers on the basis of input (motivator mechanisms) vs output (productivity in person hours). A sample of 30 construction sites was selected by stratified random sampling from sites with ongoing masonry work in Kampala, Uganda. 12 of these had masonry works in header bond while 18 of these had masonry work in Stretcher bond. Data analysis incorporated descriptive analysis of output in terms of built area per day (m2) as well as data ranking on a productivity scale developed from secondary data by Nalumansi (2011) and Kalidindi (2015). This was then succeeded by a comparative analysis of the ranked data with qualitative data gathered by questionnaire. This data comprised the extrinsic motivator mechanisms implemented at the construction sites from which the data was collected. Results indicated that the average skilled mason produced 5.01m2 of masonry work per day, which constituted 74% productivity. Workers that were paid Ugx20000 or more, given at least one meal (lunch) and an allowance (either transport or overtime) generally exhibited more productivity. In addition, motivator mechanisms in the line of livelihood of workers, that is, payment, meals and allowances seemed to have more influence on productivity than corresponding mechanisms in the line of safety, that is, provision of safety gear, safety training and strict enforcement of Occupational Health and Safety requirements. In conclusion, the implementation of the most effective extrinsic motivator mechanisms in the categories of amount of pay, meals, allowances, health and safety and job security directly influence 80% of productivity. Of these categories, amount of pay, meals and allowances proved to be the most crucial.