Employee Motivation in Work From Home
With the current situation of the world due to the covid-19 pandemic, the way of working has been changed. Accordingly, most of the organizations have currently shifted to the work from home strategy to run their businesses (Zeidner 2020). Butakhieo (2021) explains working from home concept as a work arrangement in which no need to place to a centralized working environment like an office building. Even though this method is convenient for the employees, it is a challenge for the organization to monitor their efficiency and productivity while keeping the employees motivated (Butakhieo,2021).
Currently, employees have been engaging in remote working for more than one year due to the pandemic and with the current situation, it might be extended for another year. According to Zeidner (2020) most of the employees who are engaging in remote working are in a real struggle. Figure 1.0 illustrates the percentage of problems that are faced by employees when engage in remote working.
Figure 1.0 (Biggest problems in remote working)
(Source: Zeidner, 2020)
One of the major issues faced by the employees is that unplugging after work. When they work in a centered place, they have a scheduled time period to be in the office with a fixed time duration, but Zeidner (2020) emphasizes that with the remote working system, employees work more hours than before since it gives access and flexibility to work in anywhere. Thus, Greer et al. (2014) claim that due to this condition employees have to manage work and personal life matters, especially with kids. Hence, with the heavy workload they have to manage, most of the employees get stressed and pressurized since they have no free time to engage in extra activity rather than work. This has become an issue which affects mentally and physically for the employees. Consequently, by providing flexibility and target oriented work plan, it can manage the remote workers effectively.
Furthermore, Zeidner (2020) depicts that the second highest rated issue is the loneliness. When employees present to work physically, they get the chance to meet their co-workers and share their time together but during remote working, they lose this opportunity which brings monotony since the day spends only with work. Thus, Virtual working is difficult rather than working in a physical environment. Ford & Butts (1991) explain the reason for this as employees do not have time to share ideas and communicate with others (p.21). Accordingly, it is evident that during the remote working process, employees feel isolated and less connected with others. Henceforth, it may be an issue for the company’s productivity. However, Peter et al. (2004) attest that by giving targets and achieving them, company can recognize the efforts and achievements of the employees. Moreover, it can boost their motivation and confidence to work as well.
As it is recognized, another issue arise with work from home is that the challenge to stay focused. When employees engage in work while staying at home, they can get distracted due to the interruptions cause by family members. This is further explained by Greer et al. (2014) as, when employees work in the office environment, they fully focus on the work they do while at home their concentrations get distract with other work.
Thus, it is a fact that it is crucial for a company to maintain the motivation of the employees while adopting them to the current situation (Butakhieo ,2021). However, by introducing some basic motivational concepts, organizations can keep their employees motivated (Greer et al, 2014).
I work for an education institute and as per the personal experience, it is necessary for professionals like lecturers and tutors to deal with their students through online methods due to the current pandemic. Since in this situation they engage with a third party whom they have not met physically, the employees have to be motivated and have to be careful about technical issues, lecturing environment, communication or their behavior as it affects for the company image. Therefore, if any employee face difficulties due to internet connection, not having communication tools or any video conferencing issue, the company must provide a rigid solution for them otherwise, employees will become demotivated and will not be able to deliver their best outcomes for the company.
Cascio (2000) suggest that virtual office space can be created to keep all the employees linked together and it creates the opportunity for the employees to share their issues and experience with others. It is a fact that these knowledge sharing sessions are helpful in overcoming common issues faced by employees. In my working place, which is an educational institute, knowledge sharing sessions and meetings are conducted at least twice a week through which the company lets the employees to learn and grow. Thus, the organization creates an environment for the employees to focus on their potential rather than not just on their performance. Consequently, this leads for the carrier growth of the employees.
For any organization to thrive and succeed, it is necessary to have constant inputs in the form of feedback. Accordingly, through the virtual meetings that are conducted in my workplace, employees receive real-time and continuous feedback that are essential for their growth and improvement. Moreover, managers do one-on-one sessions with their team and offer insights on the employee’s performance to accelerate their performance.
As a well-maintained organization, my working place has introduced effective internal communication methods and has defined clear goals and targets for the employees to achieve. As for the convenience of the employees, most of the information is shared through official Whatsapp groups. Accordingly, separate Whatsapp groups are maintained as per the different the levels like groups for student counselors, managers, students, program owners and groups to discuss about issues like system issues, HR issues. Consequently, it has the advantage of getting quick responses and solutions while making the employees well-connected.
Moreover, with the implementation of an administrative system, employees have the ability to access for any information easily without inconvenience. For instance, student counselors can see their inquiries, registrations, course fees and university payments without any difficulty. Simultaneously, lecturers have the opportunity to monitor their students’ attendance, assignments, assignment submission progress and marks through the systems. Besides, managers can evaluate their employee performance and branch performance through their logins at any time. Moreover, through this system the management use visual scoreboard to show their employees about their individual performance and progress with the intension of motivating them to achieve their goals. A visual scoreboard can also use to clarify the priorities and the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for each team as well. Moreover, by using modern applications like analytics and graphics, the management can convey the weekly or monthly progress as well.
Reference
Butakhieo, L. V. (2021) The impact of working from home during COVID-19 on work and life domains: an exploratory study on Hong Kong. Policy Design and Practice, 4(1), 59-76.
Cascio, W. F. (2000) Managing a virtual workplace. Academy of Management Executive, 14(3), 81–90.
Ford, R.C. & Butts, M. A. (1991) Is Your Organization Ready for Telecommuting? SAM Advanced Management Journal, 56(4).
Greer, T. W. & Payne, S. C. (2014) Overcoming telework challenges: Outcomes of successful telework strategies. Psychologist-Manager Journal, 17(2), 87-111.
Peters, P., Tijdens, K. G. & Wetzels, C. (2004) Employees’ opportunities, preferences, and practices in telecommuting adoption’. Information & management, 41(4), 469–482.
Zeidner, R. (2020) Coronavirus Makes Work from Home the New Normal. [online] Available from: https://www.shrm.org/hr-today/news/all-things-work/pages/remote-work-has-become-the-new-normal.aspx [Assessed 20th August 2021].
Well said. According to the search outcomes and as you also mentioned with evidence, there is a direct relationship between lecturers’ motivation and job satisfaction level with his/her outcome to the participants (Munyengbe et al, 2017). Satisfied trainers achieve quality level, innovation, imitativeness in high level and show better job performance as well which is directly effected to participant of the programs (Usop ei al, 2007).
ReplyDeleteOne of the biggest challenge for lecturers is get the attention of students to the lesson. Students struggle with focusing on the screen for long periods of time. With online learning, there is also a better chance for students to be easily distracted by social media or other web sites. Therefore, it is very difficult for the lecturers to keep their online classes engaging, and interactive to help students stay focused on the lesson(Priyanka,2020).
DeleteAgreed. Additionally, there are several drawbacks of working from home for employees. Lupu (2017) mentions these drawbacks as the technical problems that cannot be solved remotely, the unequal salaries between employees working in the office and employees who work from home, employee isolation, limitation of normal interaction with the colleagues and difficulties in organizing union activities.
ReplyDeleteAgreed. Some workers may not be able to access the internet because broadband speeds that enable them to do their job effectively (Miller,2020).
DeleteThe employees may not be able to get together for the company’s annual R&R ceremony, but that shouldn’t stop the companies from recognizing their contributions. Being recognized among their colleagues goes a long way in keeping employees motivated, even in the virtual setting. Thanks to advanced technology, recognition can now be rewarded instantly and from any place.
ReplyDeleteWhile recognition is one step towards employee motivation, keeping them truly engaged to the company requires rewarding the employees with the right gift. The rewards should be such that they are equally valued by all employees while also being relevant given the current pandemic situation (Camilleri, 2021).
Agreed. There are lot of ways to appreciate employees. Company can send care package to employees. it is a great way to demonstrate their appreciation for them. Care packages can include company swag, gift certificates, treats or games employees can share with their families(Narine,2021).
DeleteAgreed. Further, work at home part a work-life balance impact to employees positively, especially during a pandemic. Psychological stability can decrease by interpersonal contact and Isolations. Support and monitoring of organizations and leaders enhance employees feelings, mitigate misunderstanding can maintain their motivation (Christian et al., 2020).
ReplyDeleteWorking from home can actually lead to more burnout in some cases. It can be more difficult to mentally switch off at the end of the workday when work is at home, which can also result in employees working longer hours. Therefore, burnout can happen easily and may not be as obvious(Millar,2020).
DeleteYes. According to Zeidner (2020) most of the employees who are engaging in remote working are in a real struggle. most of employee get stress & pressurized while working from home. his has become an issue which affects mentally and physically for the employees. hence employees have to motivate form other way (positive thinking patterns)
ReplyDeleteTo keep employees motivated and connected, management can build a virtual office for their employees (Zeidner,2020) . Investing in technological tools like Virtual Conferencing Software and Collaboration Tools( like MS team, zoom), the company should build an online community for employees to facilitate professional and personal conversations among colleagues. Then management can reduce their stress.
DeleteAgreed with your comment. ‘High level of job satisfaction is directly related to positive behavior on the job, specifically to higher performance, low turnover and low absenteeism.’(Shalts & Shalts, 2016). Therefore in present competitive environment it is important for organizations to keep their employees motivated by offering both financial as well as non-financial benefits. Because it will directly lead organization to achieve its goals in a smooth way.
ReplyDeleteAs Aslan (2017) states, mostly the employed are satisfied with their jobs when they are paid higher salaries at the end of the month and when they will know they will receive the same salary the next month. Job security. Along with them, satisfactory work environment and less pressure from management has been identified as factors affecting the job satisfaction.
DeleteDespite WFH been a popular concept post Covid-19 is considered as empowering workers to more efficiently plan and coordinate their schedule, reducing cost on travelling and infrastructure, I am of the opinion that it may make things complex in terms of costs related where employees on WFH should bear the burden of taking care of expenses on energy and internet expenses. (Nakrošienė et al.,2019) as a negative consequence home-based workers may get distracted and successful application of WFH is quite difficult leading to human resources management issues.
ReplyDeleteAgreed. Another advantage is in a normal office environment, people switching between tasks a lot and get many opinions on a task’s priority. But during remote working, with proper time management and discipline, workers have more independence regarding their work(Smita,2021).
DeleteAgreed. This is a challenge for the company facing the coronavirus pandemic on how to maintain employee motivation at work. Companies that continue to run their business amid the covid-19 virus outbreak should be equipped with a supply of masks and hand sanitizers to provide security to their employees, but the fact is that many workers, especially those in the lower classes are not equipped with safety equipment and extensive knowledge about the covid-19 virus (Syakriah, 2020a; Grima et al., 2020).
ReplyDeleteAgreed. Another thing is because of this pandemic job loss and unemployment also happened. This lead to long-term impact on mental health (Gallo et al., 2000). Because of this, the emergence of depression following job loss increases the risk of continued unemployment (Stolove et al., 2017).
DeleteTheir identified motivations, job security as well as their employers’ social responsibility were significant antecedents of their intrinsic motivations. Moreover, there were significant indirect effects that predicted the employees’ productivity in their workplace during COVID-19 ( MDPI Sustainability ,2021)
ReplyDeleteWhen we talk about productivity, most of the office workers who were assigned boring tasks performed better and faster in the office premises. Home-life distractions are more likely to avoid productive work when you don’t enjoy the work.(Michael Gibbs, Friederike Mengel, and Christoph Siemroth,2021).
DeleteEmployers are already noticing the benefit of work from home. For instance, one recent study showed that 85% of global companies demonstrate an increase in work productivity after offering workplace flexibility options. It found that 74% of Canadian business leaders believe allowing employees to work remotely increases productivity by at least 20% (Matt,2021).
ReplyDeleteAgreed, Employee motivation is characterized as a company's employees' degree of enthusiasm, commitment, perseverance, and innovation in the workplace. Employee motivation, it goes without saying, leads to increased engagement and productivity. Employee motivation has become one of the top goals for most firms, which is unsurprising (Smarp,2020)
ReplyDelete