Employee Motivation during COVID-19 pandemic
Introduction
The coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic is the defining global health crisis of our time and the greatest challenge we have faced since World War Two (UNDP, 2020). Moving beyond its limits it has now become not only a health crisis but an unprecedented socio-economic crisis. The pandemic resulted in lockdowns affecting all businesses globally (UNDP, 2020). Employees are induced to embrace new ways of doing jobs and this leads to challenges in productivity and motivation. Organizations’ contingency plans supported by situational leadership came into the play during the need for business sustenance during the crisis period.
The virus with no known treatment or vaccine countries shut their borders, banned travel to other countries and began to issue orders for their citizens to stay at home, with no gatherings of people. Schools and universities closed and moved education online. Sporting events were canceled, airlines cut flights, tourism evaporated, restaurants, movie theaters and bars closed, theater productions canceled, manufacturing facilities, services, and retail stores closed. In some businesses and industries, employees have been able to work remotely from home, but in others, workers have been laid off, furloughed, or had their hours cut (ILO, 2020a).
COVID-19 as a career shock
A career shock is a disruptive and extraordinary event that is, at least to some degree, caused by factors outside the focal individual’s control and that triggers a deliberate thought process concerning one’s career. The occurrence of a career shock can vary in terms of predictability, and can be either positively or negatively valenced (Akkermans et al., 2018). Akkermans et al., (2018), further opines that an extraordinary or disruptive event alone would not lead to a career shock but there are some attributes linked such as frequency, controllability, intensity, valence and duration, in combination makes a career shock. Based on above measurement COVID-19, can precisely be clarified as a career shock and the subsequent impact on around the world employee engagement, productivity and motivation.
Challenges of working during COVID-19 pandemic
Working culture during the crisis period is the experience of two categories: those who work from home (WFH) and those on essential services. Aviation sector been one of the most severely impacted by the pandemic, is prone to acquire the slightest opportunity available to operate flights to keep the business afloat. Passengers travel intentions during and post COVID-19 throws a significant challenge to airliners, furthered by numerous travel restrictions by countries all over and the ensuing economic crisis have resulted in a drastic drop of demand for airline services (OECD, 2020). During both the low and high peaks of the virus spread, areas and country been locked down but airline employees called in to handle cargo flight operations plus in Sri Lanka the repatriation flight handling as well. Wearing the personal protective equipment both during day and night, uncertain of who you are talking to and knowing that you are directly handling a person with high possibility to have infected arriving from abroad, certainly has that obscure impact on employees mental, physical and emotional status. Realizing that out of a lot your job circumstantially requires you to put both your and immediate family’s safety at risk over your need of the job for survival, for sure does not seems to be a good motivator.
Challenges of WFH are of at a different level and has its own facet to it. A research study identified a variety of challenges in working during such isolation, social distancing, self-quarantine, restriction of travel and the ever-spreading rumors in social media as Banerjee (2010), had said, are also likely to affect mental health adversely (Rani BM, Curtis and Reddy K, 2020). As per the research responses, majority have expressed their intrinsic mode of motivation through time management. Some due fear of losing employment had struggled to increase work productivity ending up stressed out. Fear of poor appraisals due to the pandemic had also been a cause for pain. A majority expressed that addiction with screen time to be the biggest challenge. It had been found that those with children found it challenging to engage themselves and built-up relationship stress (Rani BM, Curtis and Reddy K, 2020). These impinge as well balance work culture and mental health making employees less productive and demotivated (Employer Solutions, 2020).
How employers can re-energize remote teams to sustain engagement and motivation
Prior we probe into the employer's contribution when it comes to motivating and engaging remote working employees, it simultaneously becomes the sole responsibility of employees to deviate from a fixed mindset to a growing mindset and self-motivate while motivating your peers and subordinates through time management (Rani BM, Curtis and Reddy K, 2020). University of Pittsburgh suggests below Thinking methods to assist the quest (University of Pittsburgh, 2020).
Simple employee contribution (University of Pittsburgh, 2020).
Think AHEAD — This can be a moment for strategic and long-term planning.
Think BACK — “Quiet” times can be used to gather and examine data on previous initiatives.
Think DEEP — Make a plan to do a deep dive into systems you currently have in place.
Think ACROSS — Brainstorm ways that your work can impact others.
Think GROWTH — Downtimes are ideal for developing ourselves and our teams.
Think WELL-BEING — It is crucial that we all sustain our physical and mental health.
Think NOW — Importantly, there are some tasks that are critical or perfectly situated for doing right now,
Employers initiatives
The SHRM (2020), suggests below key transformational approaches for a better employee engagement and motivation. Professor Howe from University of Zurich in video 3.0, speaks succinctly of the importance of re-energizing remote teams and the need of employees to change mindset and initiate self motivation.
Video 3.0: Energizing remote teams & self motivation
Prioritize Communication: Isolation could lead to feeling like being left out from the group. To eradicate this, establish constant communication. Managers can establish groups to maintain this communication. This way manager can value the employee and show his/her empathy.
Set Clear Expectations: To be exact and vivid on what you are expecting from employee in terms of any daily target achievement, particular time requested to be online, while being mindful of possibility to be interrupted due employee working set up background.
Recognize Good Work: People do extraordinary work and demonstrate astonishing kindness in crises. Make sure to encourage people to recognize each other in whatever ways are available. Management should take extra steps to recognize and, if practical, reward employees for going the extra mile to help colleagues and customers. Recognition does not necessarily be formal.
Encourage Work/Life Balance: Be conscious to the natural feeling that employees might perceive as they are requested to be available all time. Ensure to restrict WFH to ordinary office hours and help employees feel stress free.
Demonstrate a Collaborative Culture: Use whatever tools you have to get people working together to solve problems. For example, social collaboration tools might be second-nature to some and completely foreign to others. Let the natives help the novices get on board (teamwork). Then use the tools to spread collaboration to mitigate the isolation of expanded work-at-home and other unfamiliar situations.
Give the freedom and authority to make decisions: Our world is in flux. It will be impossible to control everything employees do. Give them as much direction as time and circumstance allow, welcome questions, then allow them to do their jobs. Let employees know you trust them. It will help you get through this and will carry over when the crisis subsides.
As had mentioned above the challenges faced by aviation industry employees the strategies used in contrast by organizations helps to stay connected and stress free. The airline I work for manifested a fair culture throughout the year by enhancing engagement and motivation in multiple methods. Since passenger traffic ceased from March 2020, the daily flight operations were completely shut down. During the first wave of the pandemic, it was quite dreadful to experience a flight-free environment and specially the eventual job uncertainty. Company took a fair stance at the situation and created extra online learning portals to develop employee technical knowledge as WFH for operational employees. This certainly assisted the majority to get updated of current but obscure data and to be in touch. Regional scale online recreation events were organized to stay engaged, where sometimes even thrice a week all regional employees engage in playing virtual games. This truly did help maintain a stress-free environment. For those essential services such as cargo operations, maximum safety culture was mandated by providing personal protective equipment and periodic sanitizing of office premises and free PCR tests for any employee if deemed necessary. Transportation was arranged for all employees during curfew times. Employees certainly experienced productivity with motivation on constant rise, especially due to new task/project introductions for operations staff as WFH. This fair culture rejuvenates the morale and motivation of employees to cope with current crisis.
References
Akkermans, J., Seibert, S.E., & Mol, S.T. (2018). Tales of the unexpected: Integrating career shocks in the contemporary careers' literature. SA Journal of Industrial Psychology/SA, p. 4., viewed on 02 December 2020.
https://doi.org/10.4102/sajip.v44i0.1503
Howe, L. and Menges, J., 2020. Mindsets About Remote Work Predict Employee Well-Being In Home Office: Evidence From The COVID-19 Pandemic. [online] Microsoft Research., viewed 02 December 2020.
<https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/publication/mindsets-about-remote-work-predict-employee-well-being-in-home-office-evidence-from-the-covid-19-pandemic/>
Hr.pitt.edu. 2020. COVID-19 Pandemic: Supervisor Tips & Tools for Motivating Remote Staff To Stay Engaged And Productive | Human Resources | University Of Pittsburgh, viewed on 02 December 2020.
<https://www.hr.pitt.edu/news/covid-19-pandemic-supervisor-tips-tools-motivating-remote-staff-stay-engaged-and-productive>
International Labor Organization ILO monitor: COVID-19 and the world of work. Third edition updated estimates and analysis, viewed 02 December 2020.
Oecd.org. 2020. COVID-19 And The Aviation Industry: Impact And Policy Responses., viewed on 02 December 2020.
<http://www.oecd.org/coronavirus/policy-responses/covid-19-and-the-aviation-industry-impact-and-policy-responses-26d521c1/>
Rani BM, S., Curtis, P. and Reddy K, J., 2020. A Study on Work from Home, Motivation & Productivity of Employees in Indian Population during COVID-19 Pandemic, pp.5-6., viewed on 02 December 2020.
<http://file:///Users/mankum/Downloads/AStudyonWorkFromHome-MotivationProducivityofanorganizationduringCOVID-19pandemic.pdf>
SHRM. 2020. How To Engage Remote Employees During The Coronavirus Pandemic., viewed on 02 December 2020.
<https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/tools-and-samples/how-to-guides/pages/how-to-engage-remote-employees-during-the-coronavirus-pandemic.aspx>
UNDP. 2020. Coronavirus Disease COVID-19 Pandemic | UNDP., viewed on 02 December 2020.
<https://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/coronavirus.html>
According to the Kuvass, (2006) intrinsic motivation has a positive effect on commitment. Due to the covid -19 effect on the economy, organizations can motivate employees by intrinsic factors.
ReplyDeleteHI Rumesh, as mentioned above in the post SHRM (2020), suggests key transformational approaches for a better employee engagement and motivation.It speaks of the importance of re-energizing remote teams and the need of employees to change mindset and initiate self motivation. The suggestions are in fact Intrinsic factors mostly.
Delete‘How to keep employees motivated when their world is crashing around them’, is a major concern for CEO’s around the word based on a research conducted by Harvard Business School. With many bottle necks such as personal issues with work from home and other issues like cost cutting, safety and uncertainty in the job keeping motivational levels high has become a challenge like never before. However, the four drivers of motivation, Acquire, Bond, Comprehend and Defend which are fundamental to human psychology has not much changed due to Covid. Hence instead of using the traditional methods, organization must think of ways these drivers could be fulfilled to keep their employees motivated (Groysberg & Abrahams, 2020).
ReplyDeleteYes Sonali, trans-disciplinary contemporary research has predisposed a current thinking on motivation, leading to previously untouched perspectives which claims to be another platform to review the matter (Lee and Raschke, 2016). It adjoins the conventional theories to recast a much extensive theme with aspects like neuroscience, biology and psychology as measurements in play and in bargain (Clark and Dumas, 2016). Since the drivers are much associated to innate human qualities, attending and implementing these drive to motivate during the crisis would certainly make a positive impact.
DeleteAn outbreak of what is clinically referred to as febrile respiratory illness of unknown cause was first reported in the city of Wuhan in the Hubei province of China in December 2019 (Hui et al. 2020; Tesarik 2020). Subsequently, the causative agent of this respiratory illness was identified as a new type of coronavirus (Tesarik 2020). Strategic Flexibility is the capability to respond to a dynamic environment through continuous changes and systemic actions (Yawson and Greiman 2016). Sanchez (1997) defines strategic flexibility as ‘the condition of having strategic options that are created through the combined effects of an organization’s coordination flexibility in acquiring and using flexible resources’ . Strategic flexibility started as a new management approach for organizations as a counterfactual to the traditional strategic management objective of choosing a single ‘best’ plan of action. The realization that selecting a single best plan of action is likely to be an unrealistic objective in an uncertain environment, established strategic flexibility as a core management concept. Several studies have emphasized the effectiveness of strategic flexibility in the context of environmental dynamism and uncertainties like we are currently facing with the COVID-19 pandemic (Brozovic 2018; Nadkarni and Herrmann 2010; Sanchez 1995; Stieglitz, Knudsen, and Becker 2016). Sanchez (1995) argues that firms can enhance their competitiveness in dynamic environments by applying strategic flexibility to form alternative courses of action or strategic options.
ReplyDeleteHow right you are Surendra, yet the occurrence of a career shock can vary in terms of predictability, and can be either positively or negatively valenced (Akkermans et al., 2018). Akkermans et al., (2018), further opines that an extraordinary or disruptive event alone would not lead to a career shock but there are some attributes linked such as frequency, controllability, intensity, valence and duration, in combination makes a career shock. Based on above measurement COVID-19, can precisely be clarified as a career shock and the subsequent impact on around the world employee engagement, productivity and motivation. Strategic flexibility could be a much delayed response from within people at such shocking situations, yet once applied could make a difference indeed.
DeleteAgreed on your statement. Employees should motivate under even pandemic situation. Health care sector should prepare to treat physically and mentality. According to UK.ORG (2020) UK Government supporting for business is available to employers and the self-employed, including sole traders and limited company directors. They may be eligible for loans, tax relief and cash grants, whether there business is open or closed. Then the employees are motivated even under pandemic situation
ReplyDeleteYes Isuru, Quite a few organizations have actually been walking that extra mile in wining employees during the crisis.Out of all thought to extract one such with PepsiCo.
DeletePepsiCo reports that the enhanced benefits to all U.S. employees include:
Employees who must quarantine will receive 100% of their pay during the up to 14-day quarantine period. The quarantine period will not reduce accrued unused sick days, nor will it reflect negatively in attendance records.
Employees who have been assessed by a doctor and are either showing symptoms or are diagnosed with COVID-19 will receive 100% of their pay during the 14-day quarantine period. Beginning in week 3, employees will receive sick pay/short-term disability benefits, which will provide a minimum of two-thirds of their pay, for up to 10 weeks.
Employees who are caring for a family member living in the same household who has been assessed by a doctor and is either showing symptoms or has been diagnosed with COVID-19 will receive 100% of their pay during the 14-day quarantine period. Beginning week 3, if they are not able to work from home, they will receive a minimum of two-thirds of their pay for up to 10 weeks. If they are working from home, their full pay will be continued.
Employees who work at a facility that must be closed will receive 100% pay for up to 12 weeks.
Employees who have to stay home to care for a child because of a school or day care center closure will receive a minimum of two-thirds of their pay for up to 12 weeks if they are not able to work from home.
Employees are also eligible for free COVID-19 testing, a “Crisis Care” reimbursement of $100 a day for childcare, and access to specially trained mental health professionals.( Source: Spielman, S 2020).
Yes Hasitha , even in the service industry, employees who are highly motivated and committed to the organization, provide excellent quality to the customer (Mohsen et al., 2004).
ReplyDeleteWork motivation is the desire that causes the person to take action (Slamet and Riyadi,2011) to achieve the goal of meeting the needs or achieving balance (Wiradendi, Supriyati, and Purwana, 2019). There are several motivational theories at this time, this study uses motivation theory from Abraham H. Maslow as a reference in How to Maintain Employee Motivation Amid the Covid-19 Virus Pandemic 80 analyzing existing problems and providing several solutions for the company's recommendations. Anxiety about this disease outbreak will negatively affect employee‘s motivation which affects the level of negative emotions that arise and will be difficult to maintain the performance of these employees (Assor, Kaplan, Kanat-maymon, and Roth, 2005). However, on the other hand, employees will be motivated to continue to act even if it is dangerous when it comes to life values especially their basic needs (Amiot, Sansfaçon, and Louis, 2013).
ReplyDeleteYes Malika, seems like Maslow comes to our help here again.Identifying and understanding the system of human needs is critical for understanding COVID-19 response and recovery strategies. Subjective needs will determine both individual behavior and effective response levels. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs provides a framework for understanding these needs, system impacts on society, and what motivates humans(Benjamin, J et al. 2020).
DeleteEarning employee trust is important because, employees' trust affects
ReplyDeletethe success and effectiveness of a particular organization to perform well in every aspect of business atmosphere(Hansen, 2011).
The role of trust, or the tendency to cooperation, is being accorded more attention in the economics literature at both the macroeconomic and microeconomic levels. At the macroeconomics level, in addition to long-standing work on the role of trust in the process of economic growth and economic development (Knack and Keefer, 1997; Zak and Knack, 2001), recent studies have examined the relation between trust and unemployment (Blanchard and Philippon, 2004), trust and labor laws (Algan and Cahuc, 2009), and trust and social pacts (Den Butter and Mosch, 2003).
ReplyDeleteThank you Thilini, trust is the expectation and faith that two parties will act to secure mutual benefit. Trust and cooperation are enhanced by meeting expectations of mutually beneficial behavior in the present( Bunt, D 2003).Trust is important in organizational relationships and has many few types with different nature attributed. Trust can be horizontal (between co-workers), vertical (between managers and
Deleteemployees or between employees and managers), or institutional (between employees and organizations) ( Loon, Hoe, S 2007).
Employees should be motivated to engage with the employment by helping them to navigate different through different work patterns while at home, maintaining good team collaboration and supporting employees to disconnect from work and creating reasonable working hours and organizations should have taken various approaches to ensure that their employees are well-equipped to perform effectively when teleworking such as line-managers are capable of effectively managing a remote team using a results-based approach; and all teleworkers have the skills and knowledge required to successfully navigate regular teleworking, including during the pandemic, or are provided relevant training to fill any skills gaps (ILO, 2020).
ReplyDeleteWorking culture during the crisis period is the experience of two categories: those who work from home (WFH) and those on essential services. Workers anyhow have the right to avoid presence at any place if they think a risk factor is available. As you have righteously mentioned the involvement of supervisors/managers in getting the necessities of remote teams to carry out the tasks is much of an operational requirement to sustain the standards of the company( Webber, A 2020).
DeleteFerris et al. (2009) considers building a good working relationship in the form of different stages people go through. In every stage of relationship development new dimension can enter because of met and unmet expectations and the situation both trusting parties are in. These stages for building a relationship could be used for any kind of relationship including that of employees and their daily supervisors. When employees and daily supervisors walk through all stages a high quality relationship is formed.
ReplyDeleteThe need for a two-way communication is necessary in the process of establishing a good relationship between employee and organization in order to support and develop engagement (Robinson, et al, 2004). Engagement again speaks volumes of the inner commitment of employees towards achieving organizational goals (Allen, 2014). Employee engagement strategies when successful brings about a decrease in employee turnover, better productivity, workplace trust, finer efficiency and win customer centricity/loyalty (Robertson-Smith and Markwick, 2009).
Delete