There are many different challenges that managers face today when compared to 50 years ago. The rise of the Internet has led to employees and companies alike having access to an increasing amount of media and information. Managers must employ new methods of motivation to deal with these new challenges.
Diversity is the first change that managers must deal with when it comes to motivating their employees. 50 years ago, there were fewer women in the work force, and minority groups were underrepresented in the workforce. Not everyone is motivated in the same way.As our society continues this trend towards increased diversity, the need for developing new methods to motivate employees is even more important.
Thus, motivating today’s diverse workforce poses a greater challenge than 50 years ago when the workforce was more homogeneous. For instance, McClelland's needs theory states that people are motivated by three basic needs: the need for achievement, power, and affiliation. Those motivated by achievement strive for excellence, enjoy competition, and like challenging goals. A manager who clearly states goals and how to achieve them would best motivate this type of person.Second, McClelland’s theory states that some people are motivated by power.
This type of person has a desire to influence others, the urge to change people or events, and wants to make a difference in life. A manager must make sure the employee has a chance to make a difference within the company in order to motivate him or her. Allowing them to make decisions or putting them in control of a special project could accomplish this. The final type of motivation in McClelland's needs theory is the need for affiliation. These types of people enjoy close relationships with others.They dislike conflict and are motivated to break down barriers to closeness.
Managers must make sure people with a strong need for affiliation work with a group of people. It is important for managers to recognize the different ways their employees are motivated, and then manage accordingly. Most people would say the world moved slower 50 years ago. It goes without saying that employees today are under increased pressure to get more done at a faster pace. Eustress is a new theory that attempts to handle this new trend. Eustress is defined as healthy, normal stress.
This type of stress must be harnessed and used for something positive.Eustress involves a positive response to challenges and generates energy that motivates an individual to achieve. Training employees to react calmly to challenging events at work would thus lead to more productive work. The third challenge managers face today relates to the idea mentioned earlier that employees are flooded with large amounts of information everyday. As a result, people must learn to focus their energy on the task at hand.
Jim Loehr’s full engagement theory supports this claim. Loehr suggests it is more effective for individuals to manage their energy rather than trying to manage their time.It is important for managers to realize this and help educate their employees on how to best manage their energy. Productivity will increase once an employee learns how to best direct their energy. In summary, managers are faced with many new challenges in motivating their employees.
Our world move at a much faster pace now. Managers must work to find out the best way to motivate each individual employee. Furthermore, employees must understand how to best focus their energy on the task at hand in order to deal with the many distractions they are faced with on a daily basis.
