Motivation in the workplace
...rough re-organizations, downsizing and a misunderstood use of empowerment, jobs are created with degrees of responsibility and significance that individuals cannot cope with. The universal question all managers ask at some time or other is: "How can I motivate my people?" Through hundreds of research reports, one message rings out loud and clear: To increase motivation, create an atmosphere in which people motivate themselves. When people feel personally involved in a plan, they work to make it happen. One of the most important factors is the work environment itself–how employees “feel” about the organization. An employee who likes who they work with and has supervisors who are supportive is going to be happier, content, and more productive. Once I was in this project in high school which demanded a lot time and dedication from me. The person in charge of the project was a very kind gentleman who knew how to encourage us to do our best. He let us know his plans so we could participate in them. He made it a point to share information vital to our interests and potential accomplishments -- quarterly updates, monthly operating results, comparative performance among the different projects -- with everyone on our team. He set the specific goals for each individual and the goals of group as a whole. In addition, he let us see the big picture, and stress the importance of our contributions to it. From this man I learned that when people are highly motivated, it's easy to accomplish the impossible; and when people are not, it's impossible to accomplish the easy. However, some of my project mates did not fully like the way in which the head of the group was leading the group. As the head of my group project, in the real world many managers and leaders have to deal with barriers such as: - "We don't get paid extra to work harder." - "We've always done it this way." - "Our bosses don't have a clue what we do." - "It doesn't say that in my job description." - "I'm going to do as little as possible without getting fired." In the future sometime I am going to be in charge of a group. I will try to have my partners being self-motivated they are mostly goal motivated. Once they conquer one goal, they establish another. Every goal is a learning process that requires cooperation and dedication. Companies that attract and keep this type of person stay on the leading edge of technology. The CEO is a visionary in customer service and employee leadership. The employees' goals are the same as the CEO’s. In the project I talked about before, most of my partners were not self-motivated. Some of them were hardworking individuals; nevertheless, when they reach a goal, they did not establish another. T...