Significance of Financial and Non-financial Incentives in Shaping Employee Motivation in Tea Industry: A Sri Lankan Case Study

Abstract

The Sri Lankan tea sector is experiencing a considerable decline in the labor force, as many workers are moving away from tea plantations. Incentives are one of the prime factors in reducing labor turnover. However, the role of incentives in employee motivation in the tea sector is questionable. Therefore, the main aim of this study was to identify the role of financial and non-financial incentives in motivating employees in the tea sector in Sri Lanka. Data were collected using pretested structured questionnaires from all tea factory workers (N=60) in Morapitiya Tea Factory, Sri Lanka. In the data analysis, Wilcoxon Sign Rank Test results revealed that bonuses (Z=7.29), over-time payments (Z=7.21), EPF/ETF payments (Z=6.82), job security (Z=7.04), recognition (Z=6.65), positive working environment (Z=6.6) as well as promotion and career growth (Z=6.55) have significant impact (P<0.05 level) on employee motivation in Sri Lankan tea sector. Preference ranking revealed that tea sector employees prefer financial incentives (83%) more than non-financial incentives. Female employees preferred recognition as a motivation tool more than their male counterparts (Mean=3.28; P =0.003). Employees who worked more than 10 years within the factory prefer more non-financial incentives (Mean=1.54; P =0.022) than employees who worked less than 10 years and their preference for career growth (Mean=2.598; P =0.000) was higher than employees who have worked less than 10 years. The findings of the present study signify the orientation of workers towards incentives, which can be used as a basis for enhancing labour productivity in tea sector.