Motivation in the Time of a Pandemic
The pandemic has wreaked havoc on the world of work as we know it making this a time of great importance for IO psychologists. The shutdown of the economy in March 2020 left many workers unemployed during an already stressful time. The “essential workers” who continued to report to work during the shutdown are now experiencing employee burnout, this is an especially major concern for healthcare workers and others in service jobs. As our country tries to get on the other side of this virus, we are starting to see news of organizations being faced with worker strikes and higher turnover as a workforce shortage has now shifted the power balance to employees. Organizational psychologist Anthony Klotz, who coined the term The Great Resignation, says this: “One hopefully silver lining of this horrible pandemic would be if the world of work transitioned to a more healthy, sustainable place for employee well-being.”
INSTRUCTIONS:
In a well-written discussion post address the following:
1. Discuss your thoughts about applying motivation theories with employees in today’s organizational environment. What theories will be most effective and how should they be used to address the different segments of the workforce?
2. In what ways should organizations change standard employee benefits and/or evaluations in order to motivate employees in the current workplace?
