Masonry Magazine January 2001 Page. 53
Picture this: After asking two of your employees to work on an important new project, both respond enthusiastically. One tells you that the extra money he'll earn from the project will help him make a down payment on a new house he'd like to buy. The other employee enthusiastically tells you that this opportunity will be a tremendous boost to her career.
Or how about this? Two customers express their thanks for a high-quality product you recently sold them. One makes it a point to mention the deep respect your salesperson showed her. The other tells you that, as a result of buying the product, she's saving a lot of time each day.
Clearly, the two employees in the first example and the two customers in the second are motivated by very different desires. And that's true of people everywhere. An individual's motives and desires can be influenced by his or her income (or lack of it), family circumstances, health, hobbies, values, even childhood upbringing.
No two people are alike. So if you want to motivate individuals to do things, you must understand the burning needs and desires they feel. The more thoroughly you understand these desires, the more successful you'll become in managing your employees or selling to your customers.
So what motivates people? Here's a starter list:
• Physical Security. People everywhere want to be safe from harm and free from deep financial worries. Picture the customer who decides to frequent places of business which offer public, well-lit parking areas. Or the employee who gladly assumes extra responsibilities in order to earn higher compensation. Both individuals are exercising their desire to remain safe and secure.
"Many researchers suggest that the leading cause of stress today is the inability on the part of people to control what happens to them."
• Emotional Security. For many individuals, emotional security is just as powerful a motivator as physical security. They may seek consistency in their lives. They may want to avoid worry. They may want to pick and choose their own challenges. The customer willing to pay a higher per-unit price for a product in return for quick, no-hassle delivery offers an example of this phenomenon. The employee who feels compelled to give his/her boss a weekly statistical report and consult him/her at every turn may be doing so out of a deep need to maintain a smooth working relationship.
• Comfort. Most people, of course, want physical comfort: moderate temperatures, clean and bright surroundings, relaxing furniture, and a myriad of other small pleasures of life. But comfort can also include the ability to take vacations, amass some measure of personal wealth, or indulge oneself in a favorite pastime. The customer who appreciates the plush waiting room or the employee who looks forward to the refreshments provided at your weekly staff meeting might feel these comfort needs being met.
• Achievement. Some people have a burning desire to succeed. They need to bring tasks and projects to a satisfying end. The customer anxious to put the finishing touches on a complex deal or the employee who works two weekends straight to complete an important report are both examples of people striving for achievement.
• Pride. Just about everyone has a skill or accomplishment worth bragging about-and most people want to be recognized for these skills. The employee who expresses delight when asked to consult on a thorny problem probably experiences a deep sense of pride when asked. So does the customer who beams at a compliment over his clothing.
• Identity. People are, first and foremost, individuals with unique.
ATION: A GLANCE AT THE RESEARCH
with high output. More recently, Douglas McGregor postulated differences between employees who respond to "Theory X" and "Theory Y" styles of management. Theory X employees, according to McGregor, disliked work and required direction and external motivation before they would perform effectively. Theory Y employees, on the other hand, were self-motivated and used their internal needs as the basis for their performance.
A. H. Maslow developed one of the most famous motivational theories of all time. Maslow said that an individual's motives are rooted in a hierarchy of five broad needs: safety needs, social needs, ego needs, esteem needs and personal fulfillment needs. As the individual meets one set of needs, he or she "progresses" to a different, "higher" set of needs.
Frederick Herzberg, in his studies of satisfied and dissatisfied employees, found that the most satisfied employees experienced a high degree of personal achievement, recognition, interesting work, and the opportunity to take on new challenges. Satisfied employees generally disliked strict supervision, lack of communication on the job, and overly rigid policies.
These, and other research studies, make fascinating reading to any manager interested in workplace motivation.
This subject will undoubtedly remain a favorite topic of researchers. But we already know two things for sure: first, the needs of employees are varied, and second, managers who remain tuned in to the needs of individual employees stand the best chance of motivating them effectively.