Employee Motivation - Part One

OK .... so we have all read numerous surveys on what motivates employees .... appreciation ... opportunity for advancement ..... compliments .... money ..... great working conditions .... etc. etc. I have never taken a survey of my employees or any employees because I am not sure that they really know what motivates them. I have heard employees say one thing but then respond in a totally different manner. I am not even sure they know what DOESN'T motivate them.

Why? Because what motivates employees constantly changes as their life changes. A single person who is 25 may not mind being told to work until 8:00 each night. After all, he or she still has plenty of time to "hit the hot spots" after 8:00. On the other hand, when that same person is 38 years old, married and has two active children, he or she wants to be home by 6:00 to attend his child's soccer game.

When her kids are in college and tuition costs are constantly increasing, she may not care about how late she works, how much vacation she gets or whether or not her boss ever says "Thank You." At that point, all she may care about is her next pay raise. And when he or she is 60 and the kids have moved out, travel assignments may be just the right thing. Some time away from home may be welcomed.

Family situations, lifestyle, hobbies, age, etc. make each person different and thus, they will respond differently. So the person who at age 40 says "Give me some time off - I want to see my kid's game," at age 55 says "Show me the money - I have to pay my kid's tuition."

Even recognizing these differences, we can still look for common motivating factors. Throughout my years of managing people, I have tried various techniques. Most got just fair, short term results. Then, two situations came to my attention. First, I noticed an employee who worked in another department. His actions puzzled me. He did the bare minimum to get by on his job. He was active in a non-profit, charity organization and in that organization, his performance was exactly the opposite of his job performance. He worked extremely hard and volunteered to lead every fundraiser. I was really confused !!! Why was there such a difference?

The second situation concerned a worker who refused to work in a nice, comfortable environment on a Sunday and get paid double-time so he could go sit in the freezing cold and spend about $100 to watch his favorite football team. Why would he rather spend money and sit in the cold to watch football than work and make the extra money?

Well, as they say in the news business ..... "Full story at 11:00." I'll write more about this in my next postings. Sorry for the tease, but it is too long to put in one posting.