I read an interesting article in the Irish Times today which quoted German philospher Friedrich Nietzsche who said “rare individuals would rather perish than work without taking pleasure in their work; they are choosy, hard to please, and have no use for ample rewards if the work is not itself the reward”.

The article went on to discuss how in the boom times this attitude was clearly the attitude of many workers. Ultimately, given the abundance of jobs, people had the opportunity to pick and choose between employers to both, suit and maintain a lifestyle and also to fulfill personal career goals and interests. A job was not simply a means to putting food on the table and paying the bills at the end of a week or month.

Motivating factors

So if in the boom times the motivating factors were the big pay cheques, bonuses, perks, keeping up with the neighbours and job satisfaction, what is going to motivate people when most, if not all of these factors are taken away? Will we go back to basics and find ourselves motivated by simply being able to survive, providing for our families and taking care of our fundamental needs? Will this be enough? And how will organisations motivate employees who may be doing jobs they feel they are unsuited to or below them, or are dealing with increased workloads with no increase in pay or benefits?

In the western world we have been dealt a huge reality check which hit us very quickly and with such impact that most are still assimilating the effects. However we need to deal with it as best we can and look at how to keep positive both in and out of the workplace. Nervous energy needs to be channelled in the right direction. Employees need to feel valued for themselves, even with job shortages and employers having the pick of the crop. If employees are not motivated the knock-on effect will be detrimental to any business.

Learning increases output

As an elearning provider, ThirdForce is continually seeing how organisations are using training, up-skilling and re-skilling to do exactly this. Reduced staffing numbers in an uncertain environment requires employee output to be at its highest level to survive. If employees see their employers investing in training them to do their job better, or re-skilling to take up a different position they are going to feel confident that they are valued, confident in their position and motivated to work hard which ultimately will lead to more productive staff. At any level whether it’s learning how to serve the perfect pint, developing business skills or getting a new IT qualification business will benefit.

Like in any crisis, we need to work together to come out the other side intact, stronger and having learned something. Learning, I believe is going to be a pivotal factor for organisations to get through this crisis.