Dear Ms. Theologian,
I work part-time at a grocery store with lots of people under 23 years old. In the last month or so, I have been promoted to a supervisory position. It is now my job to make sure certain daily chores are done. I have found the kids (in general) don’t like to work. They want a paycheck without the responsibilities. The chores themselves are pretty easy—empty trash here and there, pick up mats, clean counters, put unwanted items away, clean breakrooms and bathrooms, and gather shopping carts from outside. The worst are cleaning the bathrooms and getting carts (when it is -5 to 15 outside). Any suggestions on how to encourage them and motivate them to work? I thank them and compliment them when they do perform well and listen to me. Sometimes though, I have found I have to sound bossy and harsh to get them to do what they need to do. I don’t like doing that though I have no problem speaking firmly to them when I need to.
Sincerely,
Part Time Pusher
Dear Part Time Pusher:
First, Ms. Theologian had no idea that she lived in a house with 23-year-olds. Because Ms. Theologian and her staff also have trouble taking out the trash, putting things away, wiping down counters, and god help us, cleaning the bathroom.
Humor aside, Ms. Theologian does want to point out that motivation is not an issue limited to the young ones. She, herself, has extreme difficulties in this area.
Motivation can be intrinsic (from inside) and extrinsic (from outside). Motivation is a challenging issue for supervisors because it’s hard (impossible?) to instill it within employees who don’t have it. Yet it’s important to note that hard working employees make “lazy” coworkers more productive. (Note that the research actually takes place in a grocery store. How serendipitous.)
So what can you do? Praise for good work is certainly important. Caring about them certainly helps (See 12: The Elements of Great Managing for more). Mentoring. Modeling appropriate behavior also helps. Organizing a task list might help as it sounds like there is an array of disparate tasks.
Ms. Theologian is ambivalent about bossiness. Now, sometimes it is called for. And, in fact, she has noticed that often people are more comfortable when they are told what to do. Let’s see if it works.
Get to work,
Ms. Theologian
P.S. Did it work?