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I keep seeing these conversations about “employees just don’t want to work anymore” or “employees don’t work hard enough”. I thought we had moved past such comments but obviously we haven’t. So, it might be helpful to use a relatively well-known theory to help explain what might be happening. 

Expectancy theory (also known as Vroom’s Theory) basically says there are three aspects to employee motivation: valence, expectancy, and instrumentality. 

The first component is expectancy, which is the belief that the performance / goal is attainable. Think of it as self-efficacy – “I can do this.” If an employee feels that the task or job isn’t attainable, then they might not be motivated to do it. Please note, I’m not saying that the task or job needs to be easy. Many people are willing to take on challenging goals and work hard to accomplish them. But they also must feel that they can do it. 

The second component is instrumentality. This is the belief that if a person does the work and accomplishes the goal that they will be rewarded. If the organization expects employees to work hard but doesn’t offer any type of recognition, acknowledgement, or reward … then some employees might say, “it’s not worth going the extra mile”. 

The third component and dare I say the most important one is valence. This is related to the value that an employee places on the reward. So, if the reward is something of value, then employees would be very motivated to accomplish the task or goal. If the reward isn’t of great value, then employees might not be motivated. 

Here are a few examples to illustrate expectancy theory and employee motivation:

A high performing employee meets with their manager. The manager says, “You’re doing a great job. Keep up the good work and you’ll make supervisor in no time.” Great, except the employee doesn’t want to be a supervisor. They like their current role and are perfectly happy staying right where they are. The manager might think they are motivating the employee when in reality, they are doing the exact opposite. 

A high performing employee is consistently going above and beyond in their assignments. During their performance review, their manager gives them a rating of “meets standard” because they don’t want to be accused of playing favorites and the employee gets the same increase as everyone else. Again, the manager thinks they’re doing the right thing by giving everyone the same thing, but they missed the mark by not recognizing the employee’s excellent work. 

A high performing employee who wants a promotion works at a company that hasn’t had a supervisor opening for the past five years. Sadly, the employee’s current supervisor isn’t offering any support or advice. Here’s an employee who does great work and values the potential reward, but there are no opportunities available, and the manager isn’t offering any other type of recognition or reward in its place.  

Last example, and this one shows up regularly in the office meme and joke category. Organization asks employees to work hard so the company can make their quarterly sales goal. And the employees really deliver! The CEO says, “Great job! We exceed goal by $$ millions. Here’s a slice of pizza.” I like to believe that I don’t have to explain this one. Employees might think twice the next time they’re asked to go the extra mile. While the employees like pizza, the expected reward isn’t valuable in the context of the work.  

I don’t know that it’s necessary to cite Vroom Theory by name at your next manager’s meeting. But it could be helpful to talk about the relationship between employee motivation and expectancy. Employees need to be trained so they feel they can do the work. When employees perform well, they should be recognized and rewarded. And the recognition and rewards need to be valuable to the employee.

Image captured by Sharlyn Lauby while exploring the streets of Gainesville, FL
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18/02/2025 – 12:03 /Sharlyn Lauby
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