Motivation is one of the essential factors that help increase individual performance. It should not be taken for granted – various reasons and factors result in diminishing employee motivation. Part of the manager’s job is to keep the staff motivated; to do so, the manager can apply theoretical frameworks concerning workforce motivation, such as expectancy theory. He can also use motivation methods or incentives to support subordinates and keep a high team spirit.
If left unchecked, motivation can expire, resulting in an unwillingness to work, improve, or contribute to the company. The workplace environment plays a vital part in employee motivation; if it is not adequately maintained, people will begin to tire. Additionally, if an employee feels undervalued in a workplace or else has to face unrealistic workloads, the emotional and physical exhaustion will ultimately result in demotivation. It might also occur when the staff is provided only with short-term objectives without any place for career growth – it limits the planning and takes away the stimulus.
To positively influence employees’ expectations, managers can use the expectancy theory. In short, it implies increased individual performance based on whether people can perceive the outcome of their actions and how strongly they desire it (Bateman et al., 2020). For example, employees will be demotivated if they do not value the perceived reward, do not believe they will receive it, or if the perceived goal difficulty is too great.
In the light of expectancy theory, the practice that VP Thomas can apply to motivate people is to understand what demotivates them in the first place. Striking the root of the problem can help deal with its continuous consequences (Lloyd & Mertens, 2018). If the reward is insufficient, he might try to increase it. Otherwise, if the team’s goal seems exceedingly complicated, Thomas can try to split it into smaller parts and address them separately.
If the manager can maintain the high motivation level of his team, the latter will perform better. The workplace might include various demotivating features, such as a hostile environment, absence of personal and career growth, and a significant workload. To control them, the manager can apply the framework of expectancy theory – increase the employees’ positive expectations of the job done. For example, he can try to increase the reward or simplify the goals to influence subordinates’ expectations positively.
References
Bateman, T. S., Snell, S., & Konopaske, R. (2020). Management. McGraw-Hill Education.
Lloyd, R., & Mertens, D. (2018). Expecting more out of expectancy theory: History urges inclusion of the social context. International Management Review, 14(1), 28-43.