Human beings are complex life forms. ‘What motivates them to work?’ is not a question that is easy to answer. Every individual has an intricate set of wants, needs, desires and motives around material, social, emotional, moral, spiritual aspects that must be met if they are to be motivated.
Every organization has goals to achieve and the people in the organization must collectively work to achieve those goals. It is not just the employees have to perform a task, but they have to satisfy the customers and solve problems as intended by the organization. People in the organization need to be motivated to care for the organization and its success.
For motivating a workforce, the managers and behavioral scientists have proposed various theories. Some say ‘give the employees more money’, others propose ‘give them recognition’, still others say ‘give them challenging work etc. Of course, each of these propositions and theories has some truth in them. However no single theory completely explains human motivation because behavior is a complex phenomenon.
Humanistic psychology of Carl Roger’s, one of the important theories of human behavior, is well placed paradigm in motivating people. This theory gives emphasis to subjective meaning and shows concern for positive growth. It proposes that the meaning of behavior is essentially personal and subjective. There are two basic points to be noted in this approach. First, healthy personal development occurs based on how an individual perceives one’s own being and is aware of needs/wants. A healthy individual will experience congruence between his / her idea of himself / herself (self) and who they feel they should be (ideal self). The second fundamental belief is the concept of conditions for healthy growth, and the role of environment in fostering healthy growth. The corollary of the humanistic view is that people in organizations where there is empathy, openness, and unconditional positive regard will have healthy self concepts, will act with self initiatives and will contribute positively to the organization.
Looking at present generation and contemporary organizations, such as Google, SAS, Southwest Airlines etc., humanistic approach seem to be appropriate means to motivate a workforce. Human Resource Managerial experience indicate that mere money, perks and position do not appeal to the Generation Ys (children born between 1980 and early 2000). Modern workforce expects constant feedback on their jobs; adore working in teams; prefer to make decisions in consultations with peers, they hate rigid rules but keen to negotiate every project norms, willing to work hard but expects an independence in scheduling their job etc. All these indicate that the concepts of the humanistic school are very pertinent and fit well in managing the young. The young are highly self conscious and want to develop an ideal self through a career.
Modern organizations aspire to be a learning organization, in which they encourage the people to progress on personal skills and knowledge beyond the job requirements, promotes openness in sharing information among peers, allows to manage and plan the employees time and work independently, etc. Companies also encourage peers to appreciate their colleague’s skills, values and work. The opinions and decisions which are expressed in work life interactions are treated equally and with respect in such organizations. The organizational goals are made aware to all workers, and they are appreciated for contributing towards the goal. Most common in modern organizations is the emphasis on innovation and free thinking. These practices essentially create an environment for personal growth of the individuals in the organization. One of the key concepts of Carl Rogers is the conditions for personal growth, which is provided by design, in the modern organizations such as Google, SAS etc. Humanistic approach occurs to be the best choice in motivating employees in the current socio-cultural scenarios, in the organizations.
Reference
Swanson, R.A. & Holton, E.F. (2009). Foundations of Human Resource Development
2nd Edition. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler.
