Motivation

Motivation is something tricky, some days we have it and some days we don’t. In those moments what needs done to get that motivation back. Is it a moment of solitude, is it getting a quick bite to eat, is it talking to fellow coworkers? For my own personal self, motivation was hard to come by when I was working. Being mistreated and looked down on as a team really brought the morale down, and ended up hurting our workflow. That was not always the case when it came to the management at Walmart.

Co-manager Joe was one of the first people I had met when I started my job at Walmart and he was kind. Sternly telling you what you were doing wrong and helping you get better was one of the best features he had. Though the things I remember the best is when he set a goal for the truck and it was reached he would go out and buy us cookies. Even if it was not the most lavish gift it showed that he cared and that good work was to be rewarded. Now this did not happen all the time or we would have expected it, but when we had a goal we knew there was a chance to get something so we worked for it.

Sometimes the team was down and that just happens during the workday, but it happened a lot once it hit the night shift (at this time the shift length was from 4pm – 1am). Another manager that made it fun was named Jeremy (also known as Mr. Clean). Jeremy was funny and quite merciful when it came to our antics in the backroom. He found ways to make things fun when we had to do picks (picks are scanning freight in the backroom to see what can fit on the shelf out on the floor). I was always sent to the frozen section because I was good at it, but I never wanted to go in there. So when I got assigned to do it Jeremy would always shoot off a joke and just the light mood made it feel nice.

“The most significant factor under your control is your relationship with each employee.” (Heathfield) Having these managers in the beginning of my job made it tolerable for sure, but now that those people are gone it is pretty hard. There are not any of those people who could just raise the morale by being funny, so most of the morale boosting is just between coworkers. “If you’re not the boss, then you probably don’t want to blatantly tell a colleague to get to work.”(Kalish) Now this was a huge thing in our backroom, as a team we did not really see a “boss” figure among us. That was the job of our supervisor and most of the time the supervisor was just one of us who had gotten a promotion.

Now that there is an idea of how motivation is needed in the workplace how could you affect it? Could you take the initiative and talk to your boss, talk to your coworkers, or are you going to stay silent. There is a huge difference between a good work full of motivation and one that is full of negative energy. Jacoby has five ways that you can motivate your coworkers. Communicate Better, Be an Example, Empower Them, Offer Opportunity and Advancement, and Provide Incentives. Looking at these options what do you think would be the easiest way to earn your employees, or coworkers motivation? In the end it is up to us to provide the motivation that others can not providing a better workplace for everyone.