According to Andy Mulholland, three factors that motivate us
in the workplace are: interesting work, the ability to expand the employee’s
skillset, and being recognized for what the employee contributes to the organization.
Giving employees work that they find interesting will help reduce burnout.
Employees who do the same thing day in and day out tend to fight off boredom
and may not be as effective because their minds are prone to wandering. I know
that if I am faced with challenging and thought provoking work, my mind is
focused on working through the task and I am not as likely to think about doing
something else.
The second motivating factor Mulholland discussed was
expanding an employee’s skillset. This includes sending the employee to
conferences or training workshops so that he or she has the opportunity to
learn about new technologies or techniques being utilized in the field. Ongoing training, in my opinion, goes
hand-in-hand with the previous idea that employees like to do interesting work.
Attending conferences and trainings gives the employee a new perspective on an
issue and can provide him or her with an opportunity to improve upon a process
that is currently in place at the office. This can lead to more efficiency within
the department or better use of technology and resources. When I was a high
school teacher, I was only able to take advantage of a few training
opportunities due to lack of funding within the district. However, I looked
forward to those opportunities because I always came back to the classroom with
a new idea. Utilizing new techniques with my students helped keep me energized
and excited about teaching in the classroom. In my current position, there are
more opportunities to travel and attend conferences. I have also learned a lot
about technology from my colleagues, proving that you can teach an aging (not
old!) dog new tricks. Learning about these emerging technologies keeps me
excited about the possibilities for the university and its students and
instructors. Embry-Riddle likes to remain on the cutting edge and they do that
by expanding the skillsets of the employees that they have.
Finally, Mulholland asserts that recognizing employees’
contributions to the organization is an important part of the reason that
people work hard. Everyone likes to feel valued. I think that is part of being
human. Many times, intrinsic motivation is enough to go through the daily
routine. However, when we receive extrinsic motivation, we feel valuable to the
organization and it makes us feel as though our hard work is not going
unnoticed. I feel as though this is an important part of my day, as well. I
work hard to help the faculty members I train navigate the training process and
I feel good when they email me or call me and tell me how excited they are that
something I taught them worked well for them and that they are excited to use
it.
In addition to the factors mentioned by Mulholland, there
are other things that I feel motivate me in the workplace. For instance, working
in a pleasant work environment goes a long way to making my day run smoothly
and making me happy as an employee. My co-workers are all friendly and helpful which
makes it easier to ask for help or work through issues with them. I enjoy
coming to work with these people. If you work with people that are not happy or
friendly, it reflects in your attitude, as well, and you cannot be as effective
as you should be.
I also have to be honest; benefits play a role in my
happiness here. The university offers its employees many benefits that were not
offered in my previous position which includes scheduling several events
throughout the year and encouraging employees to participate in them. For
example, this Thursday they are offering a Health & Wellness Fair. They are
offerings screenings for cholesterol and glucose, demos on using the workout
equipment, a 5K, swimming even, volleyball, etc… They are also providing lunch
to employees. This event takes place during the workday (from 11-2) and
employees are encouraged to attend. Some of these events are not only for
employees, but also for their families like Bring Your Child to Work day. Participating
in these types of fun activities allow me to meet new people and get away from
the desk for a couple of hours.
Finally, having management that is open to suggestions and
discussion about issues affecting the team is important to me. Working in an
environment where it is “my way or the highway” doesn’t allow for much
creativity and growth. Our CTO has great ideas and visions of where we should
be going. She shares those with team members within the department and asks for
opinions. Overall, this is a great department and organization to work for.
No comments:
Post a Comment