Empowering Employees to be Self-Empowered

Why is it that some employees are highly motivated? It seems like you can rely on them to do what it takes to get the job done. Then there are those who need constant supervision and (it seems like) motivation. What differentiates the two? Is there a way to create an environment which fosters productivity regardless of personality types?

Contrary to popular belief, employee motivation doesn’t stem from salary. According to the Self-Determination Theory, every worker is motivated by three basic psychological needs — autonomy, competence and relatedness.

Autonomy

To have an autonomous workforce means to allow employees to be self-directed in their own work. This enhances job satisfaction as employees can experience a greater feeling of responsibility for the quality of their work.

Autonomy can be supported by creating an environment of choice — making employees feel as though they are free to choose how they do their work. Autonomy exists in complete isolation to micromanagement, moving away from traditional hierarchical settings and works to empower the employee. It’s built on the trust that the employee will achieve their target by a means they choose. One such example could be allowing flexible working hours, so long as employees have completed their designated work each week, month or quarter.

Competence

Competence is another psychological need. If an employee feels that they are performing well and are on their way to mastering the work they are producing, it re-enforces their positive self-beliefs. They begin to take more pride in their execution.

Competence can be created by simply using positive and encouraging language with the employee, whilst allowing them to find the answer themselves (which also encourages autonomy). It’s also good to always have a leader reachable for support, ensuring they are able to get help when needed. In addition, having that support ensures employees can be more accurate in their work — leading them to feel a sense of mastery in the work that they’re creating.

Relatedness

Relatedness is having a sense of connectedness with others, and in the workplace this is especially important. Workplace relatedness causes an increase in empathy towards others, more positivity and greater collaboration within the team.

To ensure employees also feel a sense of relatedness, one strategy could be to hold weekly team meetings. These meetings could be in the form of discussions, in which employees are given the opportunity to provide feedback on the positive things that have happened within the work environment over the last week, as well as the negative. Both types of feedback can create a feeling of connectedness within the team — team members may get the chance to understand that their struggles are not felt alone, therefore creating relatedness amongst others.

To Sum It Up ..

As 2020 approaches, so does the era of employee empowerment. Implementing simple, yet effective measures such as these can ensure your employees don’t just work at your company, they live the values of the business.

References

• Rayburn, S 2014, ‘Improving service employee affect: The transformative potential of work design’ Journal of Services Marketing, vol. 28, no.1, pp.71–81.
• Rayburn, S, Anderson, S & Smith, K 2018, ‘Designing Marketing Courses based on Self- Determination Theory: Promoting Psychological Need Fulfillment and Improving Student Outcomes’, Journal for Advancement of Marketing Education, vol. 26, pp. 22–34.
• Unlu, A & Dettweiler U 2015, ‘Motivation internalization and simplex structure in self- determination theory’, Psychological Reports, vol.117, no.3, pp. 675- 691.