Predictors to Job Motivation among Private Sector Employees in Malaysia

Employees motivation has long been of interest to individuals concerned with the quality of their working lives, as it has a direct relationship with productivity and work performance. Without it, organizations experience decreased productivity, lower levels of output, and are more likely to fall short of important organizations goals. This paper seeks to discuss the roles of skill variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy and feedback on the relationship with job motivation among private service sector employees in Malaysia. Further, this paper later expanded from concept and definitions of all the determinants variables. It demonstrates that all the variables contribute to job motivation since they are able to comprehend their task. This research will contribute to the body of information surrounding the topic that influence the work motivation of employees. In addition, the management of the firm would profit from the findings of this study, as it would assist them in motivating their valuable employees to complete the assigned tasks.


Introduction
On the modern employment market and complex working environments, retaining human capital as well as the health, happiness, and job satisfaction of managers and employees are viewed as critical factors in determining the long-term success of a company goals. Majority of companies recognize that providing their employees with jobs that are both demanding and attractive is the most effective way to inspire and motivate them (Aiken et al., 2016;Chen et al., 2020;Gillet et al., 2017). Because of this, companies have a responsibility to offer their employees a well-designed job, as this can significantly boost employee motivation, productivity and work performance (Oldham & Fried, 2016). The productivity and the organization's profit might both benefit from an individual who is highly motivated and delivering job accordingly. On the other hand, the design of the job does not appear to be appealing or exciting, this can result in employee unhappiness. In addition to that, it will also bring other employment issues such as false claims of illness, absenteeism, excessive employee turnover and conflicts amongst co-workers. One of the most important things for any organization to do in order to succeed in today's competitive and demanding labour market is to create and maintain an atmosphere at work that inspires, and motivate employees.

Literature Review Job Motivation
The term "motivation" refers to a process that stimulates, guides, and continues to sustain an individual's behaviour and performance (Luthans, 1998). Strauss, Parker, and O'Shea (2017) further explained that the factors that inspire individuals in their work include controlled or autonomous motivation. A controlled motivation involves being driven by both external pressures, such as gaining rewards or avoiding punishments, and internal pressures, such as gaining approval, recognition, or avoiding feelings of guilt and shame. On contras autonomous motivation is characterised by a sense of interest in, and enjoyment of, a particular activity, as well as the value that we discover in it. The employees are said to be extrinsically motivated if they are inspired to carry out specific behaviours or participate in an activity in order to receive a reward or to avoid being punished (Tranquillo & Stecker, 2016). Job motivation in workplace is critical to the success of any organization because it has affects employees' behaviour in the workplace and their level of performance. The innate propensity of humans to engage in activities because of their inner desires, pleasure, and delight as a form of selfrewarding is an example of what is meant by the term "intrinsic motivation". Employees who are motivated independently and from inside themselves, are more likely to engage in innovative job behaviour. It is essential to have an understanding of what motivates employees in their day-to-day job in order to increase their work participation, the consequences of their work performance, and positive behaviour of the employees.

Skill Variety
The degree to which a job involves a number of various actions in order to be carried out well, each of which calls for the employee to use multiple of their unique abilities and talents, is referred to as the skill variety of the job (Hackman & Oldham, 1975). Ghosh et al (2015) further explained that employees will develop a positive attitude and behaviour at work if they are given the opportunity to participate in a variety of activities and to use a wide range of skills and talents while carrying out their work responsibilities. In fact, the employees' capacity to perform their jobs effectively and proficiently can be improved through the development of a wider range of skills. Employees who are given larger tasks, such as additional activities in the workflow, will display a greater job performance level than their counterparts who have too specified job scopes (Uruthirapathy & Grant, 2015). Employees who provide a service to the entire unit will feel that their work is more significant as a result. In fact, several literatures has indicates there is a positive correlation between the variety of employees' skills and their levels of satisfaction, motivation, and involvement (Hackman & Oldham, 1975;Dodd & Gangster, 1996). This is likely due to the fact that employees with more skills have a greater chance of performing a job that is both challenging and interesting them. Thus, the following hypothesis is proposed:

Task Identity
The degree to which a job involves the completion of a "complete" and identifiable piece of work, executing a job from beginning to end with a visible conclusion is referred to as the task identity (Zhao et al., 2016). The identification of the task is determined by the extent to which individuals complete an entire piece of work and are able to recognise the outcomes of their work. This results in a psychological state, in turn, impacts the level of job satisfaction one experiences. When an employee feels as though they have made positive contributions to their workplace, their overall job satisfaction and likelihood of quitting increases. According to the findings of a study carried out by Ferreira (2017), job integration and job satisfaction can lessen the negative influence that the task characteristics have on an individual's intention to leave their current position. His research also showed that the identification of the work has a negative association with an individual's intention to leave, but that this is not because of the goal itself but rather an associated feeling of frustration. This low level of identification with the task comes as a result of the fact that many jobs performed in businesses do not entail the completion of a job from beginning to end, which means that the individual does not perceive the end product and a meaningful conclusion as a result of their work. This circumstance demonstrates that increasing the job-based resources available to employees is one plausible strategy for enhancing their work engagement. Thus, the following hypothesis is proposed:

Task Significance
The degree to which a job has an impact on the lives or careers of people both inside and outside of the business is referred to as the task importance of the job (Hackman & Oldham, 1975). According to the findings of a study conducted by Grobelna (2019), task significance, which is one of the features of the job, has a significant and beneficial impact on employees' work engagement, which, in turn, can improve the level of job performance that employees achieve. His research showed that the most important factor in determining an employee's level of work engagement is the significance of the tasks they perform. It was also shown that there is a positive correlation between the significance of the task at hand and the level of work engagement exhibited by employees. In addition to skill diversity and task identity, task significance has a significant bearing on how well an employee does their job (Hackman & Oldhams, 1975). To put it another way, the significance of the task plays a significant part in increasing an employee's level of work engagement (Aristides, 2017). Employees who feel that their work contributes to something greater than themselves will have a beneficial effect on their coworkers in the same department. In a similar vein, employees that contribute a higher task relevance to their firm will bring a more beneficial impact overall. Thus, the following hypothesis is proposed:

H3: Task Identity significantly influence Job Motivation among Private Sector Employees in Malaysia
Autonomy Autonomy refers to the degree to which an employee is given substantial freedom, independence, and discretion in the scheduling of their work as well as in the determination of the procedures to be used in the carrying out of that work (Kim & Stoner, 2008). Othman and Nasurdin (2019) conducted a study found that all of the characteristics of the job play an important role as predictors of work commitment. In addition, there is a positive and significant relationship between job autonomy and commitment to one's work. According to Bouville et al (2018), job autonomy is particularly beneficial to senior employees. This is due to the fact that greater autonomy enables employees to organise and carry out their work in accordance with their capabilities, which in turn allows them to compensate for the lack of specific skills in order to achieve better performance. They also mentioned that senior employees are able to satisfy their requirements when they work in jobs that allow for a greater degree of autonomy and advancement in their careers. Greater job autonomy provides employees with the opportunity to organise and carry out their work in accordance with their capabilities, enabling them to compensate for the absence of specific skills in order to achieve higher levels of performance. This advantage of job autonomy is particularly beneficial to senior employees. Thus, the following hypothesis is proposed:

Feedback
The degree to which an employee is able to obtain direct and open information about the efficacy of his or her performance as a result of carrying out the work activities that are required by the job is referred to as the degree to which the employee receives feedback (De Stobbeleir et al., 2011;Hackman & Oldham, 1975). Sawalha, Kathawala, and Magableh (2019) discovered that feedback has a significant relationship with job satisfaction after conducting their own research on the topic. Their investigation also revealed that one of the most essential aspects of one's performance on the job is receiving feedback. According to Ghosh et al (2017), workers who received job feedback exhibited a more positive attitude and behaviour toward their well-being while on the job. The feedback provides the employees with the opportunity to evaluate their job performance in terms of meeting the requirements of the stakeholders. As a consequence of this, feedback has a constructive impact on the effectiveness of job performance. Employees who do not receive as much feedback about their work have a higher level of intention to leave their jobs, as found by research conducted by (Uruthirapathy and Grant, 2015). Therefore, it contributes to their lower job satisfaction and greater intention to leave their current position, as compared to those who receive sufficient feedback about their work from management. Thus, the following hypothesis is proposed: H5: Feedback significantly influence Job Motivation among Private Sector Employees in Malaysia

Conclusion
The objectives of this study is to identify the roles of skill variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy and feedback that influence job motivation among service sector employees, specifically within the context of Malaysian. Based on the discussion above regarding the determinants of skill variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy and feedback on job motivation, this study concludes that all the variables have a significant role to play on the part of job motivation. The more skills an employee has, the more likely it is that they will have a challenging and interesting job. This makes them happier, more motivated, and more involved in their work that can contribute to work productivity. Employees are more likely to perform well if they are involved in a large number of tasks in their workflow than if they are not. Thus, it will encourage employees to take a greater interest in their jobs and be more pleased with the results. Employees with a strong sense of task identity will be more likely to exhibit a higher level of work engagement and job motivations in their everyday work. Similarly, any employees who are confronted with difficult circumstances will feel compelled to display a higher level of commitment to their jobs. It was shown that giving workers more control over their jobs could led to greater job performance. These could assist them to control both their work functions and responsibilities. Receiving positive feedback from superior helped boosted employee job performance and motivation. Employees were consequently more attentive and responsive to their duties. They considered that feedback was crucial to their professional development and can help raise employees' understanding of aspects related to work motivation and enable them to perform their tasks more efficiently