Discretionary Work andIntrinsic MotivationDonna NeedsWhitehorse ConsultingMay 31, 2010

In a perfect world, how would we like our employees to think, feel and behave at work?

Some Definitions…•Discretionary Work: Work effort that is

voluntary, above what is minimally required.•Engaged employee: Someone who is

“mentally and emotionally invested in their work and in contributing to their employer’s success.”

•Knowledge worker: a person employed to produce or analyze creative ideas and information.

•Intrinsic Motivation: Motivation that comes from within, not external (boss, money, reward)

Benefits of an Engaged Workforce•enhance customer service and

help drive customer satisfaction

•improve organizational productivity

• improve the bottom line•improve teamwork and morale•reduce turnover, attract new

employees

Scary Statistics!• According to the Gallup

Management Journal’s Employee Engagement Index 29% of employees are actively engaged in their jobs, 54% are not-engaged, and 17% are actively disengaged.

•71% of employees are CHOOSING not to give as much as they can to the organization!

•Do we always know when someone is only doing the minimum?

•If they are NOT choosing to do more than the minimum, WHAT ARE THEY DOING (Not doing)?

Exercise•How engaged are you in your

current role on a scale of 1 – 10 (10 being high)?

•Now, imagine what a “15” would look like. What job would you be doing? Where would you be? What projects would you work on? What kind of people would you be surrounded by? How would people react to you?

Intrinsic Motivation•Definition: Motivation that comes from

within, not external (boss, money, reward)

• Benefits to individual and organization▫People who take initiative and make

decisions that inspire loyalty▫Not easily swayed▫Enduring stamina▫Not trying to “look good” or “please

others”▫Self-assured, self-reliant

How to Kill Intrinsic Motivation•Control: micro-

managing, lack of flexibility, lack of trust

•Poor management – lack of accountability, skills, recognition and empathy

•Poor systems – performance appraisals

•Incentive programs – narrows focus and restricts possibilities

         

How to ensure employees are intrinsically motivated?•Recruitment – psychometric testing•Can be learned – two components

▫Reduce the need for external validation and reward

▫Be passionate about what is important and make that the centre of his/her work

          Simple, but not easy….

How to encourage discretionary work and intrinsic motivation

•Everyone is responsible, not just HR!•Provide engaging work – authentic

challenge and opportunities to use strengths

•Communication – transparent, frequent: leaders need to have conversations with people

•Autonomy – self directed work - giving choices on how to do the job

Whitehorse Consulting

L&D ConsultingoTNAoSourcing trainingoCoachingoPerformance management systemsoEvaluating training programsoE-learning implementation

www.whitehorse-consulting.biz

References

•Edward L. Deci, Why we Do What We do; The Dynamics of Personal Autonomy

•Marcus Buckingham, Putting Strengths to Work

•Robert St. Jacques, HR Director, twofour54

•ASTD, Learning’s Role in Employee Engagement

•Daniel Pink, Drive