AB1601 Organizational Behavior

Human energy management is lacking in many companies, despite how it affects the overall performance in employees. Energy seems to be constantly drained, before, during and after work. It is affected by one’s relational, mental, physical and spiritual welfare. To find a way to retain or increase energy levels in the workplace, the frequency and correlation of micro-breaks (non-work and work related) taken by a group of knowledge workers with vitality and fatigue was investigated.

Firstly, the methodology in using subjective vitality was largely accurate in measuring the complicated term. The accuracy of the seven-item subjective vitality scale used has been proven in a validation paper by Bostic, McGartland and Hood (2000). Results showed high factor loadings (>0.60), indicative that scale was consistent and reliable. However, the relationship between vitality and fatigue was not explained. If vitality is the enthusiasm that an employee has, the lack of it is due to fatigue – indication that they are merely flip sides.

Improvements to data collection can be to use observational research by monitoring employees through a camera or to obtain colleagues’ assessment. While there is high cost in doing so, representative data can be obtained, eliminating the problem of inaccurate self-evaluation.

The paper’s focus on strategies and breaks targeted at the individual may not be effective in boosting energies. The individual’s work is assumed to be the main factor of energy drain. However, as mentioned by Jon Gordon, the problem lies in “the negativity of the people you work with and for, and the pessimistic culture that is now the norm”. By targeting a less contributive factor of the overall energy crisis, vitality recovery is less effective than if the gap between espoused and enacted values were targeted instead. By Ostroff, Kinicki and Tamkins’s organizational conceptual framework, this distinction between the values affect employee’s attitude, satisfaction and motivation, leading to falling vitality and energy levels. This is backed by the Society for Human Resource Management (2009), where major drainers of employee satisfaction and enthusiasm for work were noted to be the lack of opportunities to utilize skills and negative relations with management. To give a more holistic view on the level of job satisfaction in the workplace, evaluation of managers’ ability to fulfill expectations and equity can be included.

Energy may be important for productivity but it may not be the most important. Passion can be a better element; employees who love their job are self-motivated and tend to be open to experience. They derive energy from doing work, so there is no large energy drain from completing their tasks and develop aptitude (as opposed to just skill) for their work, increasing productivity.

Another theory made was the increased performance when people see the significance and positive impacts of their work on others. This personal want to leave a lasting impression on others through providing help, to feel a sense of achievement and purpose becomes an incentive for them and fosters their energy levels. The relationship is proved by the University of Essex’s research in Colchester; areas with the best quality of life were found to have high levels of informal voluntary activity and students who volunteer often do better. This perspective is also true for work, shown in Yad Sarah, an Israeli volunteer group, in the feedback of a group of dentist providing free services to Jerusalem’s poor elderly. They felt motivated when they brighten the elderly’s day through their work. However, this view might be restricted to job that have a direct impact on the receiver – like a doctor. Where the work is split between a group and is complementary to a final good, it is also difficult to determine the exact impact one has created.

While venting problems are deemed a counter-productive behavior in the paper, another school of thought believes that it can identify and rectify internal issues. The problem lies in how we complain. Richins (1982) found that consumers tend to focus on objective costs rather than societal benefits and took no action in achieving these. The secret is finding a balance, channeling the negative energy towards creative complaining, as recommended by Bob Kalal. Bill Gates acknowledged that it provides a reality check on products, services and even work behavior, preventing employees from becoming too conceited. Contrary to experiment findings, complaining has more value than merely as a stress-reliever and can enhance productivity if managed properly. This – along with creating a sense of achievement – can be utilized in teams to stimulate productivity and energy.

With diversity in the workplace, lumping everyone under a broad umbrella causes unrepresentative data and hit-and-miss scenarios for solutions derived. Outside the knowledge industry, this distinction increases due to different task natures. For example, asking construction workers to switch from building a wall to laying concrete (work-related break) may not be feasible for energy recovery – non-work related breaks would be more energizing in this case. Managers should adopt a contingency approach as mentioned by Clayton Christensen ‘Many of the widely accepted principles of good management are only situationally appropriate’. That said, the findings are still beneficial to the company. Due to the shared culture in the organization, workers would have similar pattern and frequency of breaks. Coupling with the lack of resources, management would prefer not to scrutinize on the individual level. It can also serve as a guide for similarly structured companies.

In sum, the findings are relevant - work-related strategies has more efficient recovery and decreases the impact of draining energies - not only for the knowledge industry but others too. However there are alternatives to improving performance; making work more interesting to increase passion for work or organizational reforms.

References

Terence J. Bostic, Doris McGartland Rubio and Mark Hood (2000), “A VALIDATION OF THE SUBJECTIVE VITALITY SCALE USING STRUCTURAL EQUATION MODELING”, in Social Indicators Research, Pages: 313-324.

C Ostroff, A Kinicki and M Tamkins, “Organisational Culture and Climate”, Handbook of Psychology, vol. 12, pages 565-593.

Society for Human Resource Management (2009), “Examining Employee Benefits in a Fiscaly Challenging Economy” (Internet). Available from: http://www.shrm.org/Research/SurveyFindings/Articles/Documents/09-0295_Employee_Benefits_Survey_Report_spread_fnl.pdf [Accessed 9 Feb 2012]

Social Guardian, 2004, “Volunteering 'boosts community happiness'”, in theguardian. Available at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2004/sep/20/research.highereducation [Accessed 5 Feb 2012]

Avraham Zini and Harold D. Sgan-Cohen (2008), “Satisfaction among Volunteer Dentists Serving Underprivileged Elderly in Jersusalem”, in e-Volunteerism Vol. 8, issue 3. Available at: http://e-volunteerism.com/quarterly/08apr/08apr-zinissgan-cohen.php [Accessed 5 Feb 2012]

Marsha L. Richins (1982), "AN INVESTIGATION OF CONSUMERS' ATTITUDES TOWARD COMPLAINING", in Advances in Consumer Research Volume 09, eds. Andrew Mitchell, Ann Abor : Association for Consumer Research, Pages: 502-506.

Bob Kalal, 2008, “Creative Complaining”. Available from: http://www.kaltraining.com/pdf/articles/CreativeComplaining.pdf [Accessed 7 Feb 2012]

Ian Brinkley, Rebecca Fauth, Michelle Mahdon and Sotiria Theodoropoulou (2009), “A Knowledge Economy Programme Report”, in The Work Foundation (Internet) Available from: http://www.theworkfoundation.com/Assets/Docs/Knowledge%20Workers-March%202009.pdf [Accessed 8 Feb 2012]

As quoted in P Labarre, “The Industrial Revolution”, Fast Company, November 2003, pages 116-118. The contingency approach was used in GER Tumeers, GG van Merode, and J A Landeweerd, “Organisational Characteristics as Predictors of Nurses’ Psychological Work Reactions”, Organisation Studies, April 2006, pages 559-584.

Allen Alter, 2005, “Knowledge Workers Need Better Management”. CIO Insight, (online), 5th August. Available at: http://www.cioinsight.com/c/a/Expert-Voices/Knowledge-Workers-Need-Better-Management/ [Accessed 8 Feb 2012]

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[ 1 ]. An author and public speaker specializing in human resource management
[ 2 ]. They were also told that company would develop and stretch their skills and provide a friendly and warm environment to work in.
[ 3 ]. Research was done through a survey of different districts, across several volunteer projects.
[ 4 ]. Specialist in HR management and trainer in Kalal Training Associates
[ 5 ]. Harvard Business Professor