Unit 5 - Motivation

All businesses need to find ways of encouraging their employees. If they do not the workers may:

· Work slowly and/or carelessly
· Take days off work
· Strike
· Leave the company altogether – causing the business to have HIGH LABOUR TURNOVER. This will cause disruption to the business as they will have the cost and inconvenience of replacing those workers.

A psychologist called ABRAHAM MASLOW drew up what he called a HIERARCHY OF NEEDS – things that all human beings must have to function well. The basic needs have to be met before the higher ones are looked at. Businesses have used this to see how best to treat their employees.

· Physiological or bodily needs are the most basic needs. People will not function unless they have sufficient food and drink. Therefore businesses must pay a reasonable wage so that they can buy them.
· Safety is the next most important need. People need to feel safe and comfortable so working conditions should be as good and free from danger as possible
· All human beings need the company of others at one time or another. Businesses can have social clubs, outings, functions etc. to help cater for this
· We all need to feel appreciated. This is called an ego need and can be met by praise where appropriate and promotion where possible
· Self actualisation means fulfilling yourself completely. Many people do not think that their job can ever quite help them meet this and is the most difficult for a business to address.

Most businesses might feel that they are doing well if they meet the first four levels for their employees.

INTERESTING FACTS

• 70% of employees are less motivated today than they used to be.
• 80% of employees could perform significantly better if they wanted to.
• 50% of employees only put enough effort into their work to keep their job⁽¹⁾.

Some other tips – courtesy of http://www.motivation123.com

• Post major goals or objectives around the office and work areas
• Communicate the company's aim through a clearly defined mission statement
• Send weekly memos keeping people on track
• Lead by example - believe in what you say, and act the part

What do you think of these? Type out a short report saying whether you agree or disagree with each of these suggestions and why.

⁽¹⁾ Statistics are from the book Super Motivation by Dean Spitzer, 1995.