Motivation in the Workplace

Part 1 - Workplace Leadership: In many of today's work environments, employees primary goal is quitting time and payday. Leaders priorities are power, control and maintaining the status quo. Getting the job done is down the list. Once needed skills are mastered and employees follow established procedures, the job offers little or no challenge. The unwritten law, "accept the way things are or leave."

Part 2 - Workplace Education: Change equals challenge which is the source of motivation, workplace efficiency and job security. Because of fast changing trends and technology, work environments are evolving into continuous challenges. Responsibility is moving to the front line where it becomes the workers' responsibility to find the best way to get the job done, not management alone. For this to succeed, the front line must have continuous learning opportunity, be in a continuous learning mode and be continuously adapting to new technology.

Part 3 - Work Environment Notes: Notes based on my experiences and my analyses the these experiences.

Who has the efficiency advantage?

Below are two warriors who will complete the job, but at what efficiency level? Each works under a different leadership style that is based on organization priority, worker responsibility or command-and-control leadership? These priorities produce different results, sometimes opposite, and cannot be considered equal. The organization's priority determines its leadership style.

Efficiency under worker responsibility!... People who are first aware of elementary problems have full authority to prevent or solve them while the problem is minor. Management is not involved with them, they are focused on new trends and technology. Management's priority is to GET THE JOB DONE.

Efficiency under command-and-control leadership!... The front line does not have authority to solve or prevent elementary problems - they must go through management before authority to take action is granted. Some of these problems pile up and become a never - ending burden on the front line while other problems grow until they explode, at which time they are recognized. Management is preoccupied with the exploding elementary problems. Management's priority is CONTROL.

Decision-making responsibility and learning opportunity work together. If an employer wants employees to assume responsibility and make quality decisions, they must organize in a way that offers learning opportunity.

Additional Information

Employee Wealth and Workplace Leadership - This page is in the Motivation and Education section.
Tools for Super Achievers has documents and posters in PDF format. Most of this section is in the document Motivation in the Workplace.
How we Learn is a PDF document that has a section about skill development and workplace leadership styles. This could be helpful when developing workplace training programs. It is found at Tools for Super Achievers.
Education & Motivation section can be very helpful for people whose professional skills are becoming obsolete. The technique for starting over in midlife is the same for young people who established a career outside the formal education system.