Motivation is generally what energizes, maintains, and controls behavior; it acts as a stimulus for desirable actions.
The importance of motivation in the workplace is straightforward theoretically, but difficult to measure empirically.
Salary is often enough to keep employees working for an organization, but not necessarily enough to capitalize on their full potential.
Motivated employees will retain a high level of innovation while producing higher quality work at a higher level of efficiency.
The opportunity cost in motivating employees is essentially zero.