How to motivate employees during layoffs

Motivation during Change

Research Summaries

SOURCE #1:

Full citation in APA format:

Nohria, N., Groysberg, B., & Lee, L. E. (2016). Employee motivation.

Harvard business review, 86(7/8), 78-84.

Category/topic: Motivating Employees in the wake of layoffs.

This article identifies how managers motivate their employees through advanced motivation techniques that are tied to fields like biology, neuroscience, and other evolutionary psychology available today. Managers can tap into the various drives of employee motivation using these advanced motivation techniques. Employees are motivated by the drive to acquire, the drive to comprehend, the drive to bond and the drive to defend. Employees are motivated when they can acquire their desired goods and services. Whether it be to improve their social status, getting that promotion or affording new car employees will be more productive if they are promised something to acquire. Human beings are a social species. They have a desire to bond with other human beings with whom they have a common interest. In organizations, these types of bonds are witnessed in formal and informal groups. Employees are motivated by a sense of belonging to the organization. Hence, bonding to form efficient teams is beneficial to the organization they work in. The motivation of employees is hinged on the ability of employees to maintain a comprehensive nature in the organization. Employees who understand what is going on around them can deliver the best services that will lead to the betterment of the company. Managers should keep their employees motivated by offering them better and challenging tasks for their growth. It is in human nature to defend what is ours. Whether it be our families, homes, businesses or work. Laying off employees tend to make them get defensive and portray aggressive behavior. This is because their livelihood is threatened. Employees who are not laid off may feel insecure and unsure of the future of their jobs.

Evaluation of Usefulness for the Project:

The dissection of the above article has revealed that there is more to laying off of employees. Managers are obliged to provide continued support to their employees to prevent drawbacks to the organization. This research is useful to the project by educating employees as well as managers on how to handle work layoffs.

SOURCE #2:

Full citation in APA format:

Holland, K. (2017, August 24). After a Downsizing, How to Motivate? The New York Times - Breaking News, World News & Multimedia. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/24/jobs/24mgmt.html

Category/topic:Motivating Employees in the wake of layoffs.

Most people think that laying off employees is only detrimental to the employee alone. This, however, is not the case. Managers have to deal with their cutoffs and minimal or no bonuses not to mention the guilt of laying off employees. Hiring a new workforce could mean that the short-term saving the company will be trying to save will diminish and the initial layoff was a waste. Employees who survive layoff and experience other employees having to go through unemployment may become unproductive in the fear of getting laid off themselves. Managers have to be keen not to forget to motivate these employees. Failure to motivate these employees could lead to the company experiencing losses and the initial layoff would be a waste. Managers must be completely honest with their employees on the cause and consequence of the layoff. This will motivate employees by reassuring them of the reason for the layoff which was not intentional but just a temporary situation. Employees want to be reassured of their future in the organization so that they can plan for it. Hence, managers should motivate their employees to reassure them and make them feel secure about their jobs.

Evaluation of Usefulness for the Project:

This has shown that employees who are retrenched should be taken care of by offering them pensions. The information from this article will help managers to offer supportive care and advice to retrenched employees. Offering advice to employees will allow them to transition into their new lives with ease. Treating employees who are retrenched with care will assure the organization's other employees that they are catered for in the organization.

SOURCE #3:

Full citation in APA format:

Dr. Javitch, D.G.(April 14, 2010) Keep Employee Motivated After Downsizing.

Retrieved from: https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/206042

Category/topic:

Keep Employee Motivated After Downsizing.

Summary of key points (add space as needed; summarize in your own words – do not copy and paste from the article):

l Through layoffs or adjustments to a smaller company size, the responsibilities of employees are assigned to the remaining employees. This means that employees may have to take on more work.

l The extra workload at the beginning can motivate employees, because it poses challenges to employees, and they will therefore realize the recognized sense of achievement!

l Ideally, the company's revenue may increase because it reduces labor costs. But it will not last. As the workload increases, employees will become overworked and stressed, which may lead to errors and reduced productivity.

l Employees will not resist because they are worried about being fired. Employees may feel that the company does not understand them. However, this will lead to an unavoidable decline in employee motivation, morale and productivity.

l Many leaders may consider not taking any action, believing that the situation will improve soon, but this may lead to worse consequences.

Evaluation of Usefulness for the Project:

The reason I use the resources of this project is because it will help give the leader advice on how to deal with it. When layoffs are uncertain, people are not physically or psychologically threatened. Therefore, managers should use their skills and abilities to reassure people, motivate them, and move them forward. The study makes recommendations such as focusing on positive action and discussing how difficult steps in the short term will have a positive impact on the future. Trying to re-employ some dismissed employees. Encourage them to share their feelings and try to empathize with them.

SOURCE #4:

Full citation in APA format:

Cable,D. (March 12, 2018) Why People Lose Motivation — and What Managers Can Do to Help. Retrieved from:

https://hbr.org/2018/03/why-people-lose-motivation-and-what-managers-can-do-to-help

Category/topic:

Why People Lose Motivation — and What Managers Can Do to Help

Summary of key points (add space as needed; summarize in your own words – do not copy and paste from the article):

l Both leaders and employees will be lost and need work motivation in the workplace.

l Leaders should be people who encourage employees and encourage them to help them better, especially when experiencing layoffs and lack of motivation

l Managers need to create a sense of purpose for employees. When employees have goals, they can be more engaged in work and make the team progress. When employees can directly interact with the people affected by their work, the company can generate the greatest benefits.

l Employees in the company should have a real sense of showing themselves, but because the company's system or bureaucracy influences employees' desire for self-expression.

Evaluation of Usefulness for the Project:

The reason why the resources of this project are used for this project is that both the leadership and the employees are disoriented due to layoffs. As a result, employees feel anxious when there are uncertainties. So managers need to create a sense of purpose for employees. When employees have goals, they can be more involved in the work and make the team better. When employees can directly interact with people affected by the job, the company can generate the most revenue. A very dedicated, active leader can often make change easier and use their leadership to motivate their employees and move them forward.

SOURCE #5:

Full citation in APA format:

Cable, D. (2018). Why People Lose Motivation -- and What Managers Can Do to Help. Harvard Business Review Digital Articles, 2.

Category/topic: Motivation During Change

Summary of key points (add space as needed; summarize in your own words – do not copy and paste from the article):

Dealing with workers that are unmotivated can be challenging and at times can make you feel to just give up as well. As humans we want to find meaning in something to do. It's a part of our motivation. We have to take a different approach and find what is meaningful to the workers and work on their motivation from there. Companies lack on doing this which can make the situation worse and it can spiral down. To come up with ways to become more motivated while there are many roadblocks the article has 3 ways. First is self- expression, find a way that leaders can have their workers express themselves without changing the frames of their job. The second is experimentation, by creating an “experimental “safe zone” that includes play and supportive social bonding. Third, us purpose, finding purpose by directly interacting with what they are doing. The article states that as a leader it’s not about igniting the spark in people, it's reigniting the spark that was already there but just dormant.

Evaluation of Usefulness for the Project:

This article is very useful because it touches on how to motivate employees with a little bit of phycology. This approach is different because many want it to be extrinsic motivation where with this article it's mostly focuses on their intrinsic motivation and how to use what they already had and remind them instead of trying to make them find another reason where at times can be more difficult.

SOURCE #6:

Full citation in APA format:

Sanchez, P. (2018). The Secret to Leading Organizational Change Is Empathy. Harvard Business Review Digital Articles, 6.

Category/topic: Motivation During Change

Summary of key points (add space as needed; summarize in your own words – do not copy and paste from the article):

The answer to motivation during change is empathy. This article touches on the feeling of the employees and the communication channels. Sanchez starts off by talking with the team and wants to know how information was communicated and what information was communicated. “Lack of audience empathy when conveying new about an organizational transformation can cause it to fail”. To add along to that she then profiles the employees. The employees are segmented into different groups based on if they are excited, frightened, or frustrated. This way they can know how to communicate to those segments and encourage them based on their feelings. There will be multiple stages and more interviews would still take place to have more empathic listening. Then they would tell those segments what to expect. It is good to know their fear in each segment and acknowledge them. Doing this relieves any negative thoughts of the situation. Lastly to involve individuals at all levels. They would conduct a “dialogue-based planning” that gets everyone involved and adds to the information. This lets everyone understand how everyone is being impacted and lets them feel active and can contribute something valuable. This lets the process move smoother knowing that changes are affecting others and how they can work on it as a company. Also, those that don’t usually get a say do and provide the best information. With that they feel motivated to do more and be positive through the change. The employees feel comforted and would want to be more involved because they are getting their concerns answered and contributing to the solution.

Evaluation of Usefulness for the Project:

This article shows how important communication is. Knowing how to talk with the audience can make a frustrating change smooth. I chose this because we think we can be empathic but when it comes to being like that to a whole company during a change can be hard. This article has information such as percentages and studies that show that most leaders do this wrong and with this article it can show how to do it right to get the best results. Segmenting employees to figure out the best way to speak to them can dramatically change the outcome of how the change will be. Also it motivates them to do more because they are being heard but also involved with the whole process.

SOURCE #7:

Full citation in APA format:

Knight, R. (2019). How to Motivate Your Team During Crunch Time. Harvard Business Review Digital Articles, 2.

Category/topic: Motivation During Change

Summary of key points (add space as needed; summarize in your own words – do not copy and paste from the article):

1. Value Mismatch

· When the task the person is doing doesn’t connect with the employer, they lose motivation to keep working on the task Most of the time the organization is only looking for what is right from wrong without incorporating other members values or beliefs.

2. Lack of Self-Efficacy

· When workers lack the capacity to carry out a task they won’t be motivated enough to move forward. You want to make sure the employer is building confidence for future projects for them to succeed. You want to make sure that the employer also has the correct resources in order to improve and to make sure they are comfortable asking questions.

3. Disruptive Emotions

· As a leader you should be flexible and try and figure out what is going on and why these issues are occurring within the employer. By solving these issues, you can help the team move forward and you have a sense of how to approach the next steps. You can hear them out and guide them in the right direction for success.

Evaluation of Usefulness for the Project:

The article is useful for the team presentation because it provides insight of what you should be looking for when you have unmotivated employees within an organization. Also, talks about how these issues can be resolved in order to prevent this from happening in the future to more employees. The leader demonstrates character by providing their peers with information that is relevant to their needs for whatever issue they are going through in order to make sure that the task is carried out.

SOURCE #8:

Full citation in APA format:

Gagne, Y. (2018, September 21). How to manage your team through change. Retrieved

March 22, 2020, from

https://www.fastcompany.com/90234613/how-to-manage-your-team-through-change

Category/topic: Managing your team through change

Summary of key points (add space as needed; summarize in your own words – do not copy and paste from the article):

The article talks about how to manage a team through change whether its within a new leadership role, a reorganization, a merger or acquisition. It also mentions that leading a successful team through change can be hard and it presents opportunities and challenges for the leader. For change to take place the leader needs to be well organized and prepared in order to lead their team. It is highly recommended for an action plan to be in place in order to be task focused and goal oriented. Change can also cause an impact within the organizations culture and cause it to shift affecting its employees. For change to take place the leader of the group would have to engage with the team to help them through the transitions so they can be satisfied. As a team leader you should be engaging in with your team, empowering decision making, and leveraging your team’s talent to move forward. At the end of the day you want to share your success with the team and everyone around you. You want to increase their spirit and inform them that they will get through whatever change is happening within their personal life or within an organization.

Evaluation of Usefulness for the Project:

This article is useful for the team project because it provides information on what steps to take in order to motivate your team through hard changes within an organization. You want to make sure and share the success with everyone and make them feel involved with the process. You want to make sure that they grasp the understanding of what is happening and why it is happening. It also talks about how leaders should be looking ahead most of the time so when an issue arises, they are able to tackle the issue right away and helps the team move forward.