An Empirical Study of Motivation in the Indian Air Force

Motivation in the IAF implies dedicated, reliable and sustained performance from the air warriors under most trying and dangerous situations fraught with risks to life. Consequently, the motivational drives and needs of an air warrior will be different from that of a worker, supervisor or manager in a civilian organisation. Motivational aspects in civilian organisations are adequately covered by research and studies. However, no dedicated study has been undertaken to assess motivational drives and needs in respect of air warriors of the IAF. The motivational factors considered are achievement, power, affiliation, autonomy, esteem, safety & security and equity. The needs considered are based on Maslow's Need Hierarchy Theory.