Motivation and the Employee

1. 69

   mike102771posted 12 years ago

   
   Does your employer motivate you to work hard or hardly work? Some would say the best employee to have is one self motivated to work hard; while others say the only real motivation an employer can count on is the paycheck. Does your current employment situation offer positive or negative reinforcement for motivation or does the work it’s self motivate you? Please provide what motivates you in life, in work, and (if possible) in both.

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   1. 59

      Waheed-Chuahdaryposted 12 years agoin reply to this

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      1. 69

         mike102771posted 12 years agoin reply to this

         I agree with you that being paid is the main reason for people going to work. I was looking for examples of either positive or negative reinforcement of motivations in the workplace. This would include the boss that screams and stomps his/her feet over every order or a manager that threatens to fire at the end of every meeting. The difference between a job and a career is a person’s motivations. A paycheck (or heath care coverage) as a sole motivator is a job and the thought of advancement or a desire to work hard beyond a paycheck is a career. While taking classes online I had the chance to meet and work with many nurses who (IMO) where working for more than a paycheck.
         I live deep in the rust belt of Ohio (although Akron could be called the abandon tire factory capital of America) and I have had both types of jobs experiences (job and career). Now I am not saying a paycheck is a bad motivation, IMO I just don’t think that a manager can be an effective leader with only the one motivation (termination). I worked for a company in Hudson OH that was transitioning from a family oriented operation to a more traditional method (work faster or you are fired). Within two to three years much of the talent was gone from the company leaving a few good workers and a lot of temps. Meanwhile the company expected the employees to work faster while earning the same (with many just at min wage).
         But there are also people who look at the paycheck as a motivation when in reality it is their family and what that paycheck provides that motivates them. looking back at it I should have asked Termination rather than paycheck.

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2. 84

   WriteAngledposted 12 years ago

   My primary motivation is the freedom to do my work in the way I want to do it, in a place and at a time of my choosing, wearing what I want to wear while I do it, and to know that I stand or fall by the quality of my work alone.
   
   That is why I am working as a freelance through my own one-person company since 2004.

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3. 60

   Frugal1posted 12 years ago

   What motivates me is positive recognition, when I am feeling appreciated it lets me know I am doing a great job and I want to keep moving forward. The positivity makes me feel good about myself and when you feel good about yourself you feel more positive about your position. I recently left an enviornment where no one felt appreciated, new ideas were always shot down, and you weren't invited to think for yourself to take iniative, pretty much the theme of the place was completely negative, employees didn't want to come to work and profits and sales dropped increasingly. I know that pay can make a difference, but it's amazing what a positive enviornment and appreciation can do. When people feel good they work harder, when people work harder the company makes more money, when the company makes more money the employee makes more money.

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   1. 69

      mike102771posted 12 years agoin reply to this

      I definitely agree with you. 80% of the people out there view positive recognition as a good motivational tool. The other 20% can’t be motivated to work any harder than they have too. Companies are ordering their managers to do more with less and with for some managers even a positive reinforcement (which can be as free as saying “Good Job”) is too much. Much of this can be stress as in it’s hard to recognize the person striating the deck chairs as the Titanic sinks.

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