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What Do People Want From Their Jobs?

In this present economic climate if we are fortunate enough we may be in employment and motivation for working can stem not just from economic needs to survive but also for other reasons much of which is the substance of who we really are, our traits determine our quality of life, work harder and we stand a chance to get promoted and earn more money.

Motivation drives people differently and the outcome came be seen  by the way some people work, some work  to reach goals that have been set ,some true professionals do a job for what they truly love its their  calling in life, others enjoy the friendship and feelings of belonging  to a group. On the other hand there are a few who like a challenge and to deal with complex or diverse issues to provide a solution.

In reality the truth of the matter is that we are all ultimately slaves to the need for money for the benefits that it brings hence we work to live and if you are passionate about work you'll be one of the minority who live to work.

For the services we render to our employer we are rewarded by a salary, do a job well and we are offered bonuses, get a promotion and we maybe luckily remunerated. Such motivations allows us to sustain our needs be to buy clothing, food, consumer products participate in leisure activities, build for the future ...our pensions or pay for a college education to live a little and enjoy life by spending like there is no tomorrow.

You’d be a fool to think that money is not a motivation for people who work, many a successful business is built on benefits and good salary, work conditions.

Retaining staff is also due to the motivation of the employee who feels valued by the employer.

Failure to meet such conditions leads to low moral, a large turnover of staff, greater sickness leave, low productivity and hence low profits.

A few surveys from back in the 80's show that money is not just the thing that people want from work ,they wanted personal time and attention from the closest line management  ,many felt they were just getting paid to work and the management compounded that with their management styles. Research shows employees want more ,by way of training ,involvement in meetings, control of work instead of being controlled gives a sense of belonging and being allowed to set targets personally through a annual performance review .This is the new way forward for staff involvement in a company and not just reserved for the managers who maybe are measured on performance alone ,being informed of company developments being asked to do a little something for the company to put their mark on the company ,however little or large it may be, To be informed of company news ,letters help to spread the news of  local staff who have played a small part in the bigger picture, for the worker it allows them to stand up and be counted where it matters in the eyes of the company as a whole, Bulletin boards showing company performance broken down to a level where staff could see their part did equate to something made them realize that they are part of the business and that they mattered ,such is the new motivation streak by companies to keep their staff happy ,in years past visual information was merely just a throw back to keep staff informed ..Today such information is revised and constantly updated weekly if not daily, emails or presentations are sent for personal viewing. Another new motivational stance is the meetings being held once or twice year are held in locations away from the main office with refreshments all this heightens the feeling of being important and part of the in crowd.

Competitions and awards are also seen as markers of motivation as are team building or bonding away days all meant to bring us closer together be it as individuals or as a collective team. Courses for self improvement and cross training are also more common place now, many people are happy to stay in one position but equally there are many who feel they have more to offer if they were allowed to show their talents by cross training to do something slightly different than the position they were hired for, this reiterates the old adage divided we fall, united we stand, all this led to staff feeling like humans and not just a commodity that got paid for doing work.

Being valued for the work they did improved output and gives rise to improved esteem

Pay attributed to personal performance is what people want and are growing weary of having to carry staff who are not up to the job they want them to be dealt with, so the people not pulling their weight wont be getting paid as same as them or the out performer .this really does de-motivate people, a stricter view point from staff on addressing this issue is easy ...dismissal with no regard for the consequences, but company life doesn't work like that. New governance of company laws allows low performers to be retrained and or re deployed if things are not working out and dismissal is really a last option and one not taken lightly due the implication of litigation that is so easily brought about today by compensation seeking solicitors ready to pounce at the management   for the mis treatment of their client, now the days of the role of staunch trade unions seems to be diminishing, their once previous clout now reduced to just a mentoring support role..Today’s rules of engagement are to be found in the ubiquitous employer’s handbook, these days solicitors are the new guardians of the mistreated staff.

Generally employers under estimate how much employees actually want by way of motivations other than just monetary needs, a new culture of working together yields itself to flexible working, leading to a better quality of life for the employee and thus gives back by a better work commitment and motivation from staff, investment in the future via stocks and shares at discounted prices appeals to many savvy would be private investor.

So you want a leaner meaner business ,how do you go about putting into practice what so many  success full business preach ,there is no one size fits all approach that can provide the solution ,the answer is on your door step. Motivation is best applied through a collective effort and to that end to ascertain what the employee wants to see for the good of company is beneficial, this can so easily be elaborated by conducting a company survey taken by all staff preferably anonymously so that unbiased views can be heard, heed the underlying theme and let that be the guide to motivate and keep the staff that really matter.

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