At any job you begin at, there is always a “team” where coworkers and leaders are essentially working together to fulfill a mission. When you are working within a group, there are different social norms and factors that go along with it, some unconscious and conscious actions. Also, with the rise of technology advancement there is some nature of work that is being diminished by machines instead of using teamwork. As a result of this advancement, workers are lessening their specialized skill work and a concept of “deskilling ” is prominent. Deskilling takes place when there is the lack to learn and progress new skills that are beneficial for the work environment due to computers and machines doing the work for the group.
I am currently employed at Target where I have worked for the past year and a half. Working there has taught me how to gain problem-solving and communication skills. We identify as a team with leaders in each specific department. Thankfully, there are no jerks within my workplace as I truly enjoy working there and the people I am around everyday when I am there. It is important for communication and respect to effectively come together to complete a task.
When it comes to work motivation, our textbook says that with respect that human factors that managers can influence, employee performance is described as a joint objective of ability and motivation (Pinder,1998). An important task for managers is to motivate employees to reach the best of their ability in performance. At target, there is often days where the team members receive a treat in the break room such as Chic fil la or pizza. It reassures us that we are doing a great job and gives us the reassurance to keep getting the job done successfully with motivation.
In any workplace there is going to be a wide variety of people that do not have any familiarity with one another. The key is to get to know each other and communicate, to establish the leaders within the group, and to find the ultimate goal that is trying to be accomplished. It is important to remain open to gaining insight on other employee’s perspectives and perceptions of the mission trying to be accomplished. More brains involved the more intelligence is present to finish the task efficiently and rapidly.
Gruman, J. A., Schneider, F. W., & Coutts, L. M. (Eds.). (2016). Applied social psychology : Understanding and addressing social and practical problems. SAGE Publications, Incorporated.
It is so lucky that you enjoy your work and the people that you work with as well. To me, coworkers can make or break a workplace. I have worked many jobs and the ones I hated the most were the ones where I did not like my coworkers. When I was a server at a local Cajun restaurant my manager would often ignore the requests of me and the other servers. I remember asking him for a few days off because my mother was having surgery and he told me that if I cared about my job I should still come in. For me, that was the final line that was crossed and I quit the next day. I quit because I had lost the motivation to work in that job. One theory that deals with motivation is the equity theory. The equity theory suggests that an employee compares what they put into a job such as an experience or talent, to the outcomes they receive such as treatment and pay (Gruman et al.,2016). In my specific situation, the comparison no longer felt fair or equitable. I had been a server for a few years at that point and was working about 36 hours a week. So I felt as though I gave a lot to my job. I had the experience and I work a lot. So when my manager told me that I could not get a few days off for my mom’s surgery I no longer felt like the comparison was fair. In the work situation that you described, it sounds like your job feels fair and equitable to you. In the equity theory, you would compare the work that you do to the treats you receive in the break room.
Gruman, J. A., Schneider, F. W., & Coutts, L. M. (Eds.). (2016). Applied social psychology: Understanding and addressing social and practical problems. SAGE Publications, Incorporated