Using Strengths to Increase Motivation Paper

Using Strengths to Increase Motivation

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What is PsyCap?

The PsyCap, or psychological capital, assessment is an assessment tool that describes how a person feels about their current job and/or career at the present time. It measures the amount of hope, efficacy, resilience, and optimism that a person has towards their current job. These scores can help a person realize where they need to improve in order to enjoy their job more, along with their own well-being. This can lead to reducing stress as well.

My Results and Feelings

My results for the PsyCap assessment were as follows:

The scores ranging from 15 – 18 points were seen as a high level of PsyCap, while the scores ranging from 9-14 were seen as a moderate level of PsyCap. Going into this assessment, I believed that I would score white high in all of these categories, and I was fairly correct. I scored into the high bracket for all of the categories except for the optimism one, but I believe that there is a reasoning behind that. The last few months at my job, we have been short staffed and very busy, causing a high stress environment. Although I attempt to keep my optimism high, it is sometimes hard to do so.

• Efficacy – 18 points
• Resiliency – 15 points
• Hope – 18 points
• Optimism – 13 points

Strategies to Advance My Career

In order to advance my career, I know that I need to be more optimistic towards my approach at my job. By being more optimistic, I can bring my PsyCap score up and have better job satisfaction. The only other score that could really improve, in my case, is resiliency. In order to bring my resiliency skill up, I need to learn to deal with challenges in the workplace better. According to Dr. Darcy Sterling, Ph.D., of Psychology Today, there are five tips that you can use in order to boost resilience: find meaning in adversity, build a community of support, be hopeful, focus on gratitude, and accept and anticipate change. By using these tips, I believe that I can bring my scores all into the high brackets and make myself an employee who has a great outlook on their career with a great attitude. By doing this, I will be able to focus more on my development, and advance further in my career.

Use Goal-Setting to Increase Motivation and Improve Job Performance

By setting goals of increasing my resiliency and optimism at work, I will also be increasing my motivation. Goal setting is very important in order to reach a target because once one goal is reached, you can reward yourself for reaching some sort of a “milestone.” By rewarding yourself, you will increase motivation because the next goal will be just ahead and the next reward is right around the corner! This will increase your performance because you will want to work harder in order to obtain your goals.

Engagement as Employee and Job Satisfaction Influence Job Performance

Being an engaged employee is a very important part of job satisfaction. Without being an engaged employee or keeping your employees engaged, job satisfaction levels will be low. Being engaged means being interested in your job, as well as knowledgeable about it and passionate about it. If an employee is truly passionate about what they do, then they will be satisfied with their job. If they are satisfied, then their performance will show that because it will be great. If an employee does not like their job, then their performance will reflect that because it will be poor. This employee is more than likely not going to be an engaged employee, as well. They will not be social at work, they may keep to themselves and just not be interested in it as well. Keeping employees engaged and satisfied with their jobs will make performance levels stay at a positive level.

Motivational Theories and Job Performance

Motivational theories also aid in job performance. There are many motivational theories to choose from, but I have chosen to speak about extrinsic motivation, intrinsic motivation, Herzberg’s Motivator-Hygiene theory, Maslow’s Needs Hierarchy, and the self-determination theory.

Extrinsic Motivation

Extrinsic motivation “results from the potential or actual receipt of extrinsic rewards…. Like recognition, money, or a promotion,” (Kinicki, 147). Job performance will clearly improve if extrinsic motivation techniques are used. If rewards such as raises and promotions are offered for increased job performance, then there is a lot of incentive for an employee to step up their work in order to make that incentive be theirs.

Intrinsic Motivation

Intrinsic motivation “occurs when an individual is ‘turn on to one’s work because of the positive internal feelings that are generated by doing well, rather than being dependent on external factors (such as incentive pay or compliments…) for the motivation to work effectively,’” (Kinicki, 147). As you can see, intrinsic motivation is the exact opposite of extrinsic motivation. You just get to feel good about doing a good job with intrinsic motivation, which is not good enough for a lot of people. I do not believe that this is a good way to motivate people to step up their production or PsyCap.

Herzberg’s Motivator-Hygiene Theory

Herzberg’s Motivator-Hygiene theory “proposes that job satisfaction and dissatisfaction arise from two different sets of factors – satisfaction comes from motivating factors and dissatisfaction comes from hygiene factors,” (Kinicki, 153). Hygiene factors are defined as “company policy and administration, technical supervision, salary, interpersonal relations with superiors, and working conditions,” (Kinicki, 153). I believe that Herzberg’s theory is spot on with job performance. Satisfaction does indeed come from jobs that offer things that motivate their employees, such as recognition and advancement opportunities. Employees will also get discouraged if the hygiene factors described above are tainted.

Maslow’s Needs Hierarchy

Maslow’s needs hierarchy “states that motivation is a function of five basic needs: physiological, safety, love, esteem, and self-actualization,” (Kinicki, 149). Self-actualization is at the top of the hierarchy, followed by esteem, then love, then safety, then physiological. Maslow’s needs are the basis of human life, so they clearly are put to use in the workplace as well. If all of our needs are met, then we will be motivated to work well.

The Self-Determination Theory

The self-determination theory “assumes that three innate needs influence our behavior and well-being – competence, autonomy, and relatedness,” (Kinicki, 151). Competence needs mean you need to feel qualified, autonomy needs mean you need to feel that you have freedom and discretion in making decisions, and relatedness needs mean that you want to feel that you belong. The self-determination theory is one of the best, in my opinion, to bring into the workplace. Making your employees feel qualified, letting them have some discretion to make decisions, and making them feel like they belong there is very important! This will promote employee engagement, which will promote motivation and bring job performance up.

Conclusion

In conclusion, everything in the workplace comes back to how an employee feels about their job and how they are treated. It is important, as a manager, to remember that when dealing with your employees. Promoting employee engagement by using some of the motivational theories mentioned can increase job performance and make the workplace a great place for all employees.

References

Kinicki, A. (2016). Organizational Behavior: A Practical, Problem-Solving Approach. Retrieved from The University of Phoenix eBook Collection database

Sterling Ph.D., Dr. D. (2011, February). 5 Tips To Increase Resiliency. Psychology Today. Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/ask-dr-darcy/201102/5-tips-increase-resilience