A plunge in oil prices and slow economic growth has led to a reduction in the top line and bottom line of both local and international oil and gas companies worldwide.Whilst some companies have gone extinct due to the harsh operating regime,others have merged to share the risk,boast profit,and lower overall operating costs associated with the oil and gas business.Others have engaged in cost reduction initiatives like lowering of physical asset cost,cutting of staffing overhead,reduction of vehicle expenses,descoping of maintenance activities,deferment of non-critical inspections of assets,reduction in supply,advertisement,and insurance cost.However,most of the organisations have not effectively harnessed their immense human resources pool to improve productivity and gain competitive advantage by developing core competence.While other cost reduction schemes have been applied to increase the bottom line,there is a need for more emphasis to be placed on employee motivation schemes as employees are the most important asset of any organisation and integral to company business continuity and sustainability(ISO 22301,2012).How to engage and motivate employees is one of the most challenging tasks facing most organisations.In spite of the direct effect of motivation on the bottom line and overall organisation productivity based on a plethora of research,immense gap exists in knowledge on how best to apply motivation theories and strategies to enhance employee productivity in the Oil and Gas Industry.In addition,only limited research exists that has evaluated the factors influencing employee motivation in the oil and gas industry with consideration to the diverse nature of the oil and gas operations ranging from exploration to production,transportation,refining,and product marketing.The need to investigate the influence of employee motivation in the workplace constitutes the focus of this study,and the findings of this research work will be useful to all stakeholders in the oil and gas industry.Therefore,this research work would evaluate employee motivation in the workplace as a case study of the worldwide oil and gas Industry.If employees can be adequately motivated,the chances are higher they would be engaged to expend more energy towards the achievement of their organisations corporate objectives.In addition,motivation is geared towards developing employees as the human capital of the organisation(Steers & Porter,1991).This paper presents the findings on this research work with the objective of equipping organisations and managers with the tool they need to engage,motivate,and get the best out of their staff.This study will be underpinned by relevant literature and views of some practitioners in the Industry.
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