As Thomas Brown Jr. said, there is more for us in life than the 8-9 hours that we engage ourselves to do work. Douglas McGregor, situated at the MIT Sloan School of Management, came up with two theories of how humans are motivated differently to perform tasks.
McGregor Theory X stated that human beings are generally lazy and have no motivation to work. He also added given a chance they would avoid working. Thus, with this in mind, the managers in this school of thought believe that the workers should be supervised and coerced to work (Sapru 27).
Theory Y states that human beings are self-motivated and have self-control. They enjoy work although it drains their physical and mental strength (Sapru 28-29). It states that the workers feel that they have a responsibility to work, and thus there is no need to force them to perform their duties. Lars Svenden associates work with boredom as it inconveniences an individual not to do what he or she loves.
He envisions work as a burden, but he also acknowledges that it leads to a prolonged life which leads to better physical and mental health (Svenden 32). These two conflicting views have been extended from the work place to our homes. Generally, it is believed that after the working hours we go home to relax, and get ready for the next day in the office. Mostly this is not the case.
Instead of coming home into a relaxed setting one is confronted by various house chores that include doing dishes, cooking dinner, cleaning the house and various other duties. This makes some individuals dread going home and it is amplified if one has kids as they are known to be playful, messy, noisy and destructive. The peaceful environment is suddenly changed into a playground. One has to keep vigilance to ensure everything is in place which also in extreme cases increases stress levels (Familylobby).
The difference between the workplace and home is that, in the workplace one is paid to perform his duties, but at home there is no monetary reward to do the duties. These home tasks, which include doing dishes, making time for the kids, and house cleaning are recurrent and have to be performed daily. Hence, this may lead to employing a nanny or butler to take care of those duties which lead to extra expenses.
Deadlines set by managers lead to employees doing all they can to meet them, and this leads them to transfer incomplete tasks to their homes. It is less rewarding since one works for extra hours to complete the tasks at home, but is not compensated for the amount of time spent.
Some people have acknowledged the importance of a home office where they can do their work and beat deadlines. As Lars Svenden puts it, boredom kicks in, and one is not rested enough to efficiently work the next morning (Svenden 69). Hence the home becomes the second workplace whereby the work done is not quantified with the rewards leading to further stress and frustration.
In conclusion, as McGregor’s theory X describes human beings as lazy beings, and need some motivation to work. This can be in the form of rewards such as salaries, promotions, wages and recognition (Sapru 48). Mostly, this is not reflected in homes, and the rewards cannot be quantified while as the chores have to be performed because this is what the society expects. Hence, one has to come up with a schedule that can accommodate his formal work and home commitments.
Works Cited
Pardue Candice. “Accomplishing Daily Chores as a work at Home Mom’’ Familylobby. Web.
Sapru, Ranju. Administrative Theories and Management Thought. PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd, 2006. Print.
Svenden, Lars. Work (The Art of Living Series). Acumen Publishing, 2008. Print