Motivação e controle no varejo presencial: uma análise crítico-motivacional de vendedores em Governador Valadares (MG)

Abstract

This study aims to analyze work motivation among traditional retail salespeople in Governador Valadares (MG) and how job design at the point of sale contributes to employee engagement and retention.​ The overall objective is to examine salespeople’s motivation through the articulation between the critique of wage labor, specifically alienation and work intensification, and human needs theory. The specific objectives are: (i) to measure the satisfaction of safety, belonging, esteem, and self-actualization needs; (ii) to identify control mechanisms present at the point of sale; and (iii) to relate these mechanisms to perceptions of leadership, replaceability, and motivation.​ Using a quantitative, descriptive-analytical research design, the authors administered a structured questionnaire to local retail salespeople. The findings indicate that short-term managerial arrangements, such as income volatility, punitive communication, and restricted autonomy, are associated with lower levels of motivation and a heightened sense of replaceability. At the same time, leadership practices centered on recognition, structured feedback, and participative management appear to mitigate the negative effects of these factors.​ ​The findings of this research allow us to conclude that the motivation of salespeople in brick-and-mortar retail is strongly conditioned by the design of work at the point of sale. When managerial arrangements are oriented toward the short term, marked by income instability on the receiving side, intensive control, and flawed, punitive communication, rather than satisfying basic and higher-order needs, they tend to reproduce feelings of replaceability and demotivation.