Nov. 25, 2017 "Nine ways to stay motivated when work becomes a grind": Today I found this article by Dan Richards in the Globe and Mail:
Dan Richards is a faculty member, Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto, and author of Getting Clients, Keeping Clients.
We all encounter periods when we're challenged at work. Last summer, I was faculty adviser to 35 MBA students during their summer internships. When some complained that their job was uninspiring or felt like a grind, we worked on nine strategies to help them stay positive.
Set key priorities each day
Feeling overwhelmed and out of control drains energy. Spend 10 minutes each morning laying out the critical things you have to do that day. Or consider making this the last thing you do before you leave the office, so you hit the ground running when you arrive the next day.
Do the hard thing first
Periodically, we all have calls that we avoid or projects that we don't want to even think about starting. The difficulty is that the longer you put off that tough call or delay that daunting project, the more overwhelming it becomes. In the interim, it hangs over your head and drains energy.
In his book, Do the Hard Thing First, Michael Bloomberg advocates ending each day by writing down the one important item on your to-do list that's overdue – and to do it first thing in the morning when you get in. The energy from making that call or filing that expense report will give you a boost through the day.
Focus on progress
Harvard Business School's Teresa Amabile conducted research with knowledge workers in which she had them complete diaries at the end of each day, recording their motivation level and what had happened during the day.
Her conclusion: Being able to point to progress in your work, even if it's modest, has a strong correlation with enthusiasm at the end of a workday. The opposite is true as well – people who can't point to progress report lower levels of motivation.
Her conclusion: Being able to point to progress in your work, even if it's modest, has a strong correlation with enthusiasm at the end of a workday. The opposite is true as well – people who can't point to progress report lower levels of motivation.
Consider creating a file on your computer labelled "Progress." As the last item each day, take 30 seconds to write down at least one thing you've done where you made tangible progress.
Take breaks to increase motivation
You can't be effective when your motivation is below a minimum threshold, so if your enthusiasm level is dragging, take a quick pause. In The Organized Mind, McGill's Daniel Levitin points to research on the benefit of regular breaks, provided that they're for fresh air rather than checking status updates or completing the latest BuzzFeed quiz.
Everyone is different, so pinpoint what will get you recharged when you're flagging.
Consider taking a five-minute break between meetings or schedule 15-minute morning and afternoon breaks to inject fresh air into your system, whether it's a quick walk around the block or a run to Tim Hortons.
Consider taking a five-minute break between meetings or schedule 15-minute morning and afternoon breaks to inject fresh air into your system, whether it's a quick walk around the block or a run to Tim Hortons.
Refuse to be a victim
Former General Electric CEO Jack Welch says feeling sorry for yourself is one of the most destructive and energy-sapping behaviours you can engage in. Yes, it's unfair that our boss or clients are unreasonable. But accept this for the reality it is and move on. Every minute engaged in self-pity is one minute too many. "Refuse to be a victim," says Mr. Welch.
Reward yourself
Sometimes internal motivation isn't enough and we need external incentives to see us through. It doesn't have to be elaborate.
Something as simple as looking forward to a quiet dinner out on Friday night with your partner can be a reward for making those challenging phone calls or grinding through that spreadsheet. Looking ahead to a small payoff can provide that extra motivation.
Something as simple as looking forward to a quiet dinner out on Friday night with your partner can be a reward for making those challenging phone calls or grinding through that spreadsheet. Looking ahead to a small payoff can provide that extra motivation.
Boost your energy level
Keeping your energy level up is always important, but is absolutely essential when your motivation is challenged. We all know the ingredients that create high energy – what's key is make them a priority.
Begin by getting enough sleep and eating the healthiest foods you can. Starting the day with exercise has a big impact. Even a brisk half-hour walk first thing can make a lasting positive impact on your energy throughout the day. Don't underestimate the effect of fresh air; yes, it's colder and there's less sun in winter, but a bracing walk can pep you up for several hours.
Build a positive mindset
A positive mindset is as contagious as any flu. Seek out people in your office who are positive and upbeat to share coffee or a sandwich at lunch. Work hard to be positive yourself.
Edward Jacobson, author of Appreciative Moments, has some suggestions on maintaining a positive mindset. First, find the opportunity to make at least one honest compliment twice a day (he calls this "filling people's buckets").
He also suggests replacing throwaway greetings like, "How was your weekend?" with more engaged greetings like, "What was the highlight of your weekend?" or "What's been the best part of your day so far?" You'll get much more than the standard "fine" when you ask questions that show real interest in the answers.
He also suggests replacing throwaway greetings like, "How was your weekend?" with more engaged greetings like, "What was the highlight of your weekend?" or "What's been the best part of your day so far?" You'll get much more than the standard "fine" when you ask questions that show real interest in the answers.
Avoid negative people
Just as talking to positive people gives us energy, spending time with negative people drains it. We all know people who are perpetually down and mad at the world, who suck the energy out of every room they're in. If you have a "woe is me, it's so unfair" person in your office, stay clear of them.
One final tip that I shared with students: If they were really down after a tough day, I suggested that when they got home they watch the funniest movie they could think of – twice, if necessary. Laughter is a proven remedy for feeling down in the dumps. And it's cheaper and less guilt-inducing the next morning than that bottle of wine or box of chocolates.
1 comment:
SmackWhazzie
4 days ago
Hey Boss, let's try this technique: How about you bring back some of the "headcount" you sliced to ensure your bonus payment remained intact? How about you spend some of that huge cash pile you are hoarding to give us a significant raise more in line with what the Board of Directors will be handing out to you and your peers? And how about you just stop acting like an a$$hole for once and for all?
My opinion: I like this article. I already do the above tips. I like to listen and dance to music to release stress and increase my energy.
Mar. 14, 2018 "Lotto tickets are swell, but may I have my bonus?": Today I found this article by Noam Scheiber in the Globe and Mail. It turns out this was in the NY Times bigger article.
It seemed like an epic blunder: United Airlines announced that it was replacing a standard bonus with a lottery that would give nothing to most of its roughly 90,000 workers while awarding lavish prizes, like $100,000 in cash and Mercedes-Benz sedans, to a few lucky winners.
United had hoped the sweepstakes approach would “build excitement and a sense of accomplishment.” But after workers deluged the company with hostile comments, the airline said last week that it was “pressing the pause button on these changes.”
The fiasco pulled back the curtain on the widespread use of gamelike techniques for motivating employees.
While employers have relied on such practices for decades, the methods have become increasingly sophisticated in an age when companies can collect more data about employee behavior than ever before, and as video game technology has proliferated.
Recent studies show a rapidly growing market for so-called gamification software, some of which allows workers to earn points and badges by completing certain tasks or performing well.
Defenders say such practices can be useful — if they are designed to make employees feel more engaged and invested in their work, not to save money. But to skeptics, the United program illustrated a deeper problem with gamelike motivational methods.
“Shareholders and management get the monetary rewards, and ‘meaning’ and ‘excitement’ are consolation prizes that go to workers,” said Caitlin Petre, an assistant professor of media studies at Rutgers University who has examined similar practices at media companies. “This is very much in line with my understanding of how the gamification trend in workplaces operates.”
Whatever one thinks about the ethics of workplace games, few question their potential to influence workers in certain circumstances. A pile of psychological research has shown that they can be cheaper and more effective at motivating workers than straight cash.
An experiment published in 2012 in the American Journal of Health Promotion showed that a far higher proportion of employees completed a health-risk assessment when they got a modest chance to win up to $125 in a lottery than when they would receive a $25 gift certificate.
“Lotteries in general may be more effective than fixed payments, as people tend to overweigh small probabilities in making decisions,” the paper noted.
Other studies have shown that simple compliments and recognition, which gamification software frequently incorporates, may be more effective than cash in motivating workers. An experiment at a semiconductor plant, published in 2014, showed that workers’ productivity rose more if they were rewarded with a note thanking them for their “hard work and great achievements in yesterday’s shift” than if they were given a cash bonus worth about $25.
In principle, there is no moral problem with seeking cheaper ways to motivate workers. Compensation and motivation are two distinct concepts, and a company could decide to pay its workers fairly — or exceedingly generously — then deploy lotteries and praise to motivate them to perform better.
“There are two things to consider,” said Kristen Berman of the behavioral consulting nonprofit Irrational Labs. “One is pay — what do people get paid, what should they get paid, what do they expect to get paid. The second is motivating people to do things we want them to do in the workplace.”
That distinction is often easiest to enforce when the tasks that employers link to gamelike rewards are narrow, and not central to a worker’s job description.
Charlotte Blank, the chief behavioral officer of Maritz, which designs employee motivation and incentive programs, said lotteries could be an effective way to pique interest among salespeople in a new product but should not replace crucial components of pay.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/11/business/economy/games-employers.html
My opinion: I like this article. I already do the above tips. I like to listen and dance to music to release stress and increase my energy.
Mar. 14, 2018 "Lotto tickets are swell, but may I have my bonus?": Today I found this article by Noam Scheiber in the Globe and Mail. It turns out this was in the NY Times bigger article.
It seemed like an epic blunder: United Airlines announced that it was replacing a standard bonus with a lottery that would give nothing to most of its roughly 90,000 workers while awarding lavish prizes, like $100,000 in cash and Mercedes-Benz sedans, to a few lucky winners.
United had hoped the sweepstakes approach would “build excitement and a sense of accomplishment.” But after workers deluged the company with hostile comments, the airline said last week that it was “pressing the pause button on these changes.”
The fiasco pulled back the curtain on the widespread use of gamelike techniques for motivating employees.
While employers have relied on such practices for decades, the methods have become increasingly sophisticated in an age when companies can collect more data about employee behavior than ever before, and as video game technology has proliferated.
Recent studies show a rapidly growing market for so-called gamification software, some of which allows workers to earn points and badges by completing certain tasks or performing well.
Defenders say such practices can be useful — if they are designed to make employees feel more engaged and invested in their work, not to save money. But to skeptics, the United program illustrated a deeper problem with gamelike motivational methods.
“Shareholders and management get the monetary rewards, and ‘meaning’ and ‘excitement’ are consolation prizes that go to workers,” said Caitlin Petre, an assistant professor of media studies at Rutgers University who has examined similar practices at media companies. “This is very much in line with my understanding of how the gamification trend in workplaces operates.”
Whatever one thinks about the ethics of workplace games, few question their potential to influence workers in certain circumstances. A pile of psychological research has shown that they can be cheaper and more effective at motivating workers than straight cash.
An experiment published in 2012 in the American Journal of Health Promotion showed that a far higher proportion of employees completed a health-risk assessment when they got a modest chance to win up to $125 in a lottery than when they would receive a $25 gift certificate.
“Lotteries in general may be more effective than fixed payments, as people tend to overweigh small probabilities in making decisions,” the paper noted.
Other studies have shown that simple compliments and recognition, which gamification software frequently incorporates, may be more effective than cash in motivating workers. An experiment at a semiconductor plant, published in 2014, showed that workers’ productivity rose more if they were rewarded with a note thanking them for their “hard work and great achievements in yesterday’s shift” than if they were given a cash bonus worth about $25.
In principle, there is no moral problem with seeking cheaper ways to motivate workers. Compensation and motivation are two distinct concepts, and a company could decide to pay its workers fairly — or exceedingly generously — then deploy lotteries and praise to motivate them to perform better.
“There are two things to consider,” said Kristen Berman of the behavioral consulting nonprofit Irrational Labs. “One is pay — what do people get paid, what should they get paid, what do they expect to get paid. The second is motivating people to do things we want them to do in the workplace.”
That distinction is often easiest to enforce when the tasks that employers link to gamelike rewards are narrow, and not central to a worker’s job description.
Charlotte Blank, the chief behavioral officer of Maritz, which designs employee motivation and incentive programs, said lotteries could be an effective way to pique interest among salespeople in a new product but should not replace crucial components of pay.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/11/business/economy/games-employers.html
1 comment:
Excellent post.
One thing I have noticed about certain sites is that, even though they have tons of content, the site looks great and the headlines are eye catching is that the material is simply filler. It’s downright unreadable. You can forget it 6 seconds after you read it. Not the case with your post though, really enjoyed it reading it and it held my attention all the way through!
motivation.
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