How Workers Can Be Motivated to Remain in Their Workplace and What Are Their Reasons for Doing So - Coursework Example

The case presented between Lisa and her workers at Norsk Petroleum is not a unique situation as there are thousands of companies struggling to cope with their lack of human resources and how the management team can incorporate appropriate strategies to make sure that they employees stay. It is the manager’s job to ensure that expectations are met, or at least compensated for, while maintaining optimum organizational performance within the company. With each passing day, the company has to cope with competition with other rival companies, while ensuring that organizational values and policies are maintained and followed. A company’s workforce is something that must not be underestimated, because human resources are a huge part of the reason for a company’s success, or a company’s failure. This paper is about how workers can be motivated to remain in their workplace and what are their reasons for doing so. The researcher would also like to investigate the reasons why workers may feel the need to try out other opportunities and their possible reasons of giving up their current job for something else. Employee Well-being and Satisfaction In a Gallup research performed in 2002, it was found out that successful businesses owned their success to employee satisfaction and employee engagement. In the report, which studied 7,939 units of 36 companies, it was discovered that these companies who involved their employees in their operations and took care of them, also resulted in a high rate of customer satisfaction, and higher profits (Raines, 2008). In this light, companies should realize that without a satisfied workforce, the work churned out will also not be satisfactory. When hiring an employee, the head of the human resource team whose job is to decide which applicants he/she should hire would look at one main characteristic. This characteristic would refer to what exactly the applicant can ‘bring’ to the work situation. Research has shown that differences in individuals can sometimes account for a good deal of the variance in effort and performance on a job. At least three major categories of individual difference characteristics have been shown to affect the motivational process of an individual to work satisfactorily. These three categories have to do with interests, attitudes and needs. In this context, interests would refer to the direction of one’s attention. It is very likely that the nature of an employee’s interest would affect the manner and the extent to which external stimuli (such as money) would affect behaviour. In fact, several studies have shown that an employee’s motivation to stay on the job is to a large extent, determined by the degree of collaboration between his or her vocational interests and the realities of the job. The second category refers to attitudes of beliefs that may also play an important role in their motivation to perform. Individuals who are very dissatisfied with their jobs or with their supervisor may have little desire to put forth much effort. Several theories of motivation have encompassed the notion of attitudes as they relate to performance behaviour at work. Therefore, if an employee sees himself/herself as failures on the job and in life, they are likely to not put in much effort and their resulting performance will also probably be poor. Such an action will then reinforce negative self-image. Two important points can be made here. First, various attitudes (in this case, about oneself) can play an important role in motivational force to perform. Second, in this example, there is a specific implied managerial strategy to improve employee effort. In other words, the manager may have to intervene and may have to make an attempt to modify the employees’ self-image. The last category refers to ‘needs,’ which can be defined as an internal state of disequilibrium which causes individuals to pursue certain courses of action in an effort to regain internal equilibrium. For instance, individuals who have a high need for achievement might be motivated to engage in competitive acts with others so that they can ‘win,’ therefore satisfying this ‘need.’ Variations in human needs can be significant factors in the determination of effort and performance (Petersilia, 2009) As an employer, it is mandatory that all three categories should be assessed and taken into consideration. Communication between the employer and the employee is key because each individual is different and may need and want different things. In this light, the researcher thinks that one of the problems with Lisa in the case study and her workers is that communication between the two parties did not happen constantly. Lisa learned about the needs and wants of Ola and Elizabeth too late. Organisational Opportunities From the case study, it appears that the workers were encouraged to shift jobs because of the opportunities available to them in another company. As was mentioned in the case, Elizabeth decided to move because of the opportunity to handle bigger responsibilities. The researcher thinks that it is important for the employer to give the worker the opportunity to challenge himself/herself. Thus, the researcher is convinced that employees should be given the chance to improve themselves. Therefore, Norsk Petroleum should see to it that training programs are implemented to give such an opportunity for their employees. Appropriate training is crucial for employees to be more productive, which in turn, naturally leads to more revenue turn out for the company. By providing employees necessary tools that are required to meet the changing trends and demands of the company and its environment, the company is also preparing itself on the road to success. In this light, it is important to constantly upgrade the employee’s skills, and it is the leader’s job to see to it that the employee is constantly learning and acquiring new information about his/her field of work. This is why programs and seminars are set up in the first place so that the employee would be able to develop his/her professional skills, and also increase work effectiveness (Daily Gleaner 2008). In addition to worker training, workers should also be given the opportunity to undergo leadership training courses on how they can lead a company better, or be potential future leaders.. This is because training leads to an increase in the confidence level of an individual. In addition, these individuals are then able to share information with each other willingly, which makes up for a stronger bond between the company’s worker teams. Since employees view learning and intellectual growth as one of the keys towards a successful and secure future, it is advised that professional development opportunities be provided for by the company, particularly for those who have been loyal toward the company for so long ( Johnston, L. 2008). Reward Systems Studies have shown that reward systems in a company has resulted in the company being able to achieve control. Through the reward system, employees who have contributed considerably to the company are acknowledged and rewarded for their efforts. Therefore, this way, other members of Norsk Petroleum are also able to be influenced and encouraged to work just as hard. Reward systems consist of two things- performance and rewards. Performance would consist of defining performance and evaluating it with the leader or supervisor of Norsk Petroluem providing feedback regarding the employee’s performance. In return, the rewards would include a bonus, an increase in salaries, promotions, and even stock awards. Leaders are responsible for conducting good interpersonal relationships with their employees, and for any company, it would be advisable if employee feedback could be given more frequently to ensure optimum efficiency of work that is done within the organization (Kerr & Slocum, 1987). Incentive programs are great motivators, and it is the employer’s job to know what the employees like and what they don’t. Therefore, programs must be developed according to what the employees value, otherwise companies may fall into a trap wherein they may just create expenses that fail to reap the rewards of a satisfied workforce. Basically, incentives are meant to change employee behaviour and to make employees more productive and loyal. The challenge lies in whether the employees would actually want to change. It is a common mistake to assume that employees are only motivated by money. This is not always the case. In fact, it has been proven that financial incentives have diminishing returns. Once people get into the habit of being comfortable at their new level of income, their efforts may tend to slide back towards formal levels (Wormald, 2009). The researcher feels that beyond money, companies should tap into the employees’ needs. For instance, providing educational incentives for their family, health and transportation benefits can be a driving force into encouraging workers to stay on the job. Recognition of Success It has been proven that the sincere recognition of a worker’s efforts and contributions to a company can not only accomplish similar results as a pay increase or a cash bonus but can also deliver better and more lasting results towards a company’s success as well. In fact, employees who have supervisory duties should understand that recognizing employees with small rewards or even a basic ‘thank you,’ satisfies the human need of a worker to realize his/her importance (Herzberg et al., 1993). People who claim that they are satisfied in their jobs are individuals who are highly confident. As a supervisor or manager, it is important to always look after their worker’s self-esteem and confidence since this is one of the driving forces that encourages any individual to work harder and to work better. By boosting their own self-confidence and self-esteem, workers will not only be satisfied with their jobs, but they will also feel more competent towards their work and also in life. Employers should always take the chance to encourage their workers towards practices that renew physical energy, and they should remove any distractions that undermine this physical energy and the encouragement of their worker’s self-confidence. Companies should look into their current employee programs and should make sure that strategic recognition programs play a huge part in their human resource development strategies. Through such programs it can be discovered that employees can be lifted from their ‘recessionary rut,’ which is an inevitable situation. With any job, there may come a time when the worker may not feel the motivation to work anymore, and it is the employer’s job to see to this. By appreciating employees for their job well done, employers can boost productivity within their entire company. They key to such results lies in programs designed to recognize employees ‘on the spot,’ and more frequently. By ‘on the spot,’ it is meant that the worker be recognized immediately after the job has been well delivered. In turn, such a positive working culture can have huge impacts on organisational performance. Frequent communication between the company’s management and their teams raises awareness, increases employee participation, boosts performance and ultimately, helps develop a valuable, lasting culture of appreciation that is priceless. Employees have to understand that their employers know their worth and recognise it. Since the human self-esteem is a fickle phenomenon, the employer must make sure that it is addressed in a positive way frequently (Teller Vision, 2009). Recommendations and Conclusion The heterogenous workforce today has brought in flexible benefits such as profit sharing and stock ownership, childcare assistance, dental and vision insurance, and life insurance policies for the employee and his/herb dependents. For Norsk Petroleum to be successful in achieving positive employee relations, it is important that flexible plans be targeted at achieving employee satisfaction. In addition to this, job satisfaction also includes job elements such as salaries, promotions and working conditions (Berger 1984 & Dreher 1981), that have been found to be directly related to positive behaviours such as less absenteeism and less job turnovers (Motowildo, 1983 & Weiner 1980). Furthermore, for the company to attract and retain their workers, a flexible benefit plan is essential to significantly expand and improve the company’s human resource pool (Barber et al, 1992). The researcher feels that it is important for Norsk Petroleum to see to their employees’ needs and wants from the company beforehand, at the start of the application process in fact. Sometimes, individuals enter a company with all sorts of expectations, and sometime into the working process, they are disappointed at the lack of benefits and/or opportunities provided to them. Although the strategies described in this paper may help to retain the employees, it may not fully succeed. This is because employees are human beings who dread monotony and crave for change. What the human resource team at Norsk Petroleum do then is to address these needs for change. For instance, promotions to a higher working position may help an employee change his/her mind about shifting to another company where the working conditions appear to be more favourable. Since it follows that a happy and healthy worker also produces good output of work, it is important that, for the company’s sake, that the employees are well looked after. After all, effective human resource management is undoubtedly one of the biggest factors that make up a successful organization. Without a company’s employees, the company will not be able to succeed in the manner that it wants to. References: Raines, L. 2008, ‘A good boss is a business plus: success depends on supervisors who keep employees engaged,’ The Atlanta Journal- Constitution, p. R 1. Kerr, J. & Slocum, J. 1987, ‘Managing corporate culture through reward systems,’ The Academy of Management Executive, ABI/INFORM Global, p. 99. Teller Vision, 2009, ‘Year-round recognition pays morale rewards,’ Waterford, Issue 1378, pp. 4. Berger C. 1984, ‘The effects of pay level, pay values and employee benefits on pay satisfaction,’ Unpublished manuscript, Krannert School; Purdue University. Daily Gleaner 2008, ‘Professional development training vital to success,’ University of New Brunswick College of Extended Learning, p. D 8. Dreher G. 1981, ‘Predicting the salary satisfaction of exempt employees,’ Personnel Psychology, 34, pp. 579-589. Motowidlo SJ. 1983, ‘Predicting sales turnover from pay satisfaction and expectation,’ Journal of Applied Psychology, 68, pp. 484-489. Johnston, L. 2008, ‘Employees put high price on learning, development,’ Canadian HR Reporter, ABI/INFORM Global, p. 29. Herzberg, F. Mausner, B. And Snyderman, B. 1993, ‘The motivation to work,’ Transaction Publishers, pp. 124-126. Read More