Motivating or failing to motivate employees to cause increased job satisfaction
This project asks you to assess the current state of your workplace environment in regard to how it motivates–or fails to motivate–employees to cause increased job satisfaction and workplace productivity.
Write a 1,750- to 2,100-word assessment focusing on a selected job or department in your company in regard to the related system of goal setting, performance evaluation, and workplace rewards that affect productivity and job satisfaction. Address the following:
Identify the position’s current major components, tasks, or responsibilities.
Describe the different types of emotions humans experience, and analyze the biological and cognitive factors that affect emotion and their effects on worker productivity in this role.
Assess whether the position cultivates a sense of intrinsic motivation.
Briefly discuss current company-wide rewards, such as bonus plans, profit sharing, and one-to-one rewards such as praise or recognition, and how employees’ emotions affect their performance.
Sample Solution
The current role I will be evaluating is a customer service representative in an e-commerce company. The major components include interacting with customers via phone, email, and chat to answer their questions or provide support for any issues they may have. This involves taking detailed notes of the customer’s inquiry so that it can be accurately documented, as well as being able to communicate effectively and troubleshoot any technical problems they might encounter.
The key motivation factor here is goal setting; clear expectations should be established with employees to let them know what success looks like, such as a certain number of calls per hour or tickets resolved within a certain time frame (Weiten et al., 2017). Performance evaluation serves two purposes: it helps measure progress towards goals and rewards positive behaviors, which boosts employee morale by providing constructive feedback on how to improve (Grote & Hildreth 2018). Finally, workplace rewards are beneficial for recognizing outstanding performance; these could range from verbal recognition from supervisors to bonuses or prizes depending on the nature of the job (Cascio & Aguinis 2014).
Emotions play an important role in motivating people both positively and negatively; understanding how emotions affect behavior can help employers create better working environments that promote productivity and job satisfaction. For example, feeling overwhelmed has been linked to decreased efficiency due to cognitive overload which impairs decision making process (Kahneman et al.,1982). On the other hand positive emotions like hope can increase problem solving capabilities by enabling individuals think creatively when faced with challenges(Carver et al., 1999 ). Understanding these emotional factors therefore provides insight into how best to motivate employees towards achieving their goals.
