Explain either your best, or your worst workplace experience in terms of motivation

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Motivation and Workplace Experiences
Motivation is one of the major factors that make employees perform in an organization. The term motivation can be well explained as the desire of an employee to attain a certain performance level. The desire to attain a certain performance level is fueled by goal-directed behavior. A motivated employee is the one who works hard to achieve a certain goal in an organization. Motivation at work is a key element that determines the efficiency and productivity of an employee. In the current economic world, organizations need to understand what makes employees commit all their energy and full commitment to their job because of unpredictable economic cycles (Salleh 139). What motivates employees? What makes some employees perform better than others? What makes some employees rarely show up at work? What makes some employees watched as the entire organization goes down? To answer these questions several theories explain the aspect of employee motivation in detail. This paper considers two theories and then anchors them to a personal experience in terms of motivation. The two theories considered are the hierarchy of needs theory by Abraham Maslow and two-factor theory developed by Herzberg.
Maslow's theory is the most prominent theory of needs in the twentieth century. The theory postulates that humans have needs that are ranked hierarchically. According to the theory, humans need can be classified into five categories: physiological needs, safety needs, social needs, self-esteem needs, and self-actualization respectively. According to Maslow, physiological needs are the most basic and generally comprise of: water, food, shelter, and other biological needs. When these needs are absent, nothing matters. It is next to impossible for a person to work when he is hungry. As the individual continues to satisfy the basic needs, they start looking for other needs that are above the basic needs. Once the basic needs are met, they no longer serve as a motivator and employees move to the next rank which is Safety needs. Safety needs include freedom from threat, pain, and future uncertainties. Social needs to the need for being loved by others and creating attachments with others. The absence of some social needs can lead to health complications. Self-esteem is the urge for an employee to be respected by either his peers or colleagues. Finally, the one on top of the hierarchy is the need for self-actualization. It is characterized by one behaving in a way that can lead to the attainment of life set goals (Güss, Burger and Domer 2).
The two-factor theory d...