MGT 231 : The Youth in Development Organizations

I recently took this "Should you quit your job?" and this came out: I don't want to follow the advice because I can still see some hope... Upon taking this quiz I realized that it would be nice to share with you also some excerpts from my paper on "The Youth in Development Organizations: A Study on the Motivations of the Youth in Ayala Foundation" (Special thanks to Teacher Candice for the supplementary studies!)

Your Job Dissatisfaction Level is 48%

Well, you don't have the worst job in the world, but it's not great. And don't worry, you're not the problem - your company is. Start looking around for another job, even if you're not totally fed up. Because in time, you're going to be dying to quit!

Should You Quit Your Job?

INTRODUCTION

I first thought of writing about how the tardiness and overtime policies at work affected the quality of outputs. Then, I realized, there is nothing much one can do about policies – it was something there that we had to live with. I wanted something that was closer to my heart and something that I myself have experienced or currently going through.

In 2005, the Association of Foundations released a book called, “Philippine NGOs in the 21st Century: Searching for Renewed Relevance” where they stated that one of the factors that are making NGOs lose its luster was because, “the youth are no longer interested in development work”. The book further expanded on how, in recent years, the youth has lost its idealism for development work and saw NGO employment as “just a job” that can provide a salary, as in employees in other for-profit institutions.

My job in Ayala Foundation involves varying levels of interaction with employees, especially with the staff of the Center for Social Development. Interaction is not limited to business transactions – and meaningful conversations usually carry on over lunch, coffee breaks and after office chats. From these everyday interactions, I can say that although there are hints of disillusionment and discouragement – the young people that I am working with have not yet lost their passion for helping people. Indeed, they are in this industry not for the extrinsic rewards, but for the nobler goal of helping others.

However, it is somewhat alarming that many people are being very vocal about wanting to look for other opportunities in other organizations. Some attribute it to the lack of a competitive salary, but a whole lot more blame the lack of empowerment up to limited opportunities for personal growth and development I know that my colleagues at Ayala Foundation have brilliant minds and ideas that are waiting to be harnessed. It is disappointing to know that lack of motivation dampens the passion and idealism of the youth working for Ayala Foundation. Further exploring the different motivations of the youth in AFI may be able to address the disappointments and may lead to improved job satisfaction, and eventually productivity.

Reflections

It did not come as a surprise that “Intrinsic factors” ranked number one in the overall tally of motivators, considering that the respondents were development workers and CHOSE to work for a development oriented organization rather than a corporate institution which can offer higher pay. Referring to Maslow’s theory, perhaps we can conclude at this point, that employees of AFI are primarily seeking “self-actualization” needs.

Although it cannot be deduced from the survey tool whether employees use their salaries and rewards for basic needs or luxury items, it can be said that “Rewards” play a very big role in motivating employees. The almost equal importance that employees give to “Intrinsic” / self-actualizing factors to physiological needs (salary used to meet basic needs) and the order of ranking support another theory of motivation by Alderfer. The ERG theory states that all needs can influence behavior at any one time.

A comparison of these results to Maslow's need-hierarchy theory provides some interesting insights the motivation of AFI employees. The number one ranked motivator, nature of work, is a self-actualizing factor. The number two ranked motivator, rewards, is a physiological factor. The number three ranked motivator, people/interpersonal relationships, is an esteem factor. The number four ranked motivator, organization as a whole, is a safety factor. Therefore, according to Maslow (1943), simply put, if managers wish to address the most important motivational factor of the foundations' employees, nature of work, physiological, safety, social, and esteem factors must first be satisfied. If managers wish to address the second most important motivational factor of the foundation’s employees, rewards, increased pay would suffice. Contrary to what Maslow's theory suggests, the range of motivational factors are mixed in this study. Maslow's conclusions that lower level motivational factors must be met before ascending to the next level were not confirmed by the results of this study.

Even if “Rewards” ranked second, it would not be easy for management to address this need by just increasing the wages of the employees. External factors such as the economic crisis, and the presence of other pending financial needs of the foundation, an increase in the salary may be difficult to provide. Therefore, management must strive to provide for the primary self-actualization needs of the employees and think of other ways to provide non-monetary rewards, and at the same time, sustain the passion and interest of the employees in their work.

Different Strokes for Different Folks

From a different perspective, it is interesting to note that the collective responses of employees aged 20-30 ranked Intrinsic motivators first, versus those from the 31-50 age bracket who collectively ranked Rewards number one. These results show the difference of priorities from people coming from different age groups.
For the young ones, “Rewards” was ranked fourth priority – considered less important than Personal Relationships and Organizational goals which ranked 2nd and 3rd, respectively. Last on the list was “External factors”.
Based on observation and everyday interaction, the young people in Ayala Foundation is an idealistic and eager bunch. Everyone is eager to put their best foot forward and apply the skills and talents that they have acquired throughout the years towards helping the underprivileged. Given this trait among the employees, the prioritization of “Intrisic” rewards was to be expected.

Candice Cabutihan, 26 years old, and a Music and Arts teacher at CENTEX shares, “In doing my job for the foundation, I value the non-financial rewards most. I find myself fulfilled while working for the underprivileged, and it also helps that I am working with a great team.”

“Personal Relationships” play a big part in motivating the young people of AFI. Development projects require a high level of interactions and teamwork in order for programs to succeed. Also, at this stage in their career, young people seek attention and approval from their peers, and this is necessary for their personality’s further development. The absence of good relationships among colleagues is also considered a valid reason for a person at this age to resign from his or her job.

Third in the priority list were “Organizational factors” – considering that this was ranked as more important than financial/ material rewards, show that these young people are not apathetic about their jobs’ primary goals. So far, these results show that remuneration was not on their top priority when they chose their job.

“Rewards” as the 4th motivating factor can be attributed to the fact that most of the young employees are still unmarried and do not have families to support. Majority lives with their parents and still do not see the need for much financial rewards. Again, based on the results, it can be seen that the young people value their love for their work (and the rewards gathered from self-fulfillment) rather than material rewards.

Lastly, the job hours and working environment came as the least important motivating factor. AFI offers wonderful working conditions (spacious offices, adequate lighting and air-conditioning) so perhaps employees saw this as an “everyday thing” and do not give much value to it. But based on the frequency of “unpaid” overtime rendered by the younger members of the staff, it can be seen that the level of comfort can be overlooked as long as their jobs are done. Dedication and passion is necessary in this type of work.

The results for the survey among the employees aged 31-50 supported Maslow’s needs hierarchy theory. Most respondents claim to rank “Rewards” as number one because they have families to support. However, most of them consider “Intrinsic factors” as something that is equally important to them. According to Mario Deriquito, 44 years old, and Director for the Center for Social Development, “Financial rewards are important, of course, because I have a family to support. These things help, of course, but they are not the main source of motivation for me, considering that I can also find these in other jobs.”

People and relationships and organizational factors ranked 3rd and 4th, respectively. Whereas “External” factors such as job hours and working conditions ranked last , as in the ranking of those in the younger age bracket. This shows the attitude of the development worker, who puts accomplishment of tasks ahead of personal comfort.

The results of this informal study show that indeed, employee motivation varies from age to age. Overall, it can be said that AFI employees value the nature of their work, growth enhancement, achievement, and fulfillment and level of responsibility. This was further reflected on their answers to the question, “What can AFI management do to motivate you to be more satisfied and content with your job?” where majority of the answers centered on better communication and interaction, personal and professional growth and the need to be heard.

However, it is encouraging that AFI employees are motivated enough to seek ways on how to further improve their job performances by listing meaningful items under the question, How can you as a AFI employee contribute to help AFI as a whole?
It is interesting to note that human beings have different views about their jobs, based on their own situations and experiences. It is actually very interesting to observe how people perceive their work life as well as their motives especially when they are in an organization. The ranked importance of motivational factors of employees at the foundation will provide useful information for the foundations’ human resource department as well as the employees.

MOTIVATING THE YOUTH

The survey results greatly emphasized the importance of Intrinsic factors among the youth by the wide gap between this factor and material rewards as motivators. This fact alone shows that it takes a lot more than adequate pay and a nice office to harness their passion and dedication.

The fast expansion of AFI (taking on new projects and responsibilities) and the growing employee population have led management to focus on deadlines, timeframes and tasks being done right away rather than giving room for interactive and participatory discussions and conducive learning conditions. “Urgent” projects and purely administrative tasks are slowly eating up the idealism of the youth. The managerial style of some managers prevents creative thinking and grabs employees’ sense of contribution to the company.

This situation in AFI poses a threat to the main motivating factor for the youth: employees are motivated because of the nature of their work, growth enhancement to higher level tasks, sense of achievement, self-fulfillment, and level of responsibility.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Motivation for better performance depends on job satisfaction, achievement, recognition, and professional growth (Boyett and Boyett, 2000). Providing a positive motivational work environment is a challenging managerial activity. Therefore, managers must understand associates and their professional needs.
Given that the people from different age brackets showed differences in their choices of motivation, it is recommended that HR or the management consider the youth’s need for intrinsic rewards. Among those identified intrinsic needs were opportunities for growth, interaction with co-employees, better communication channels, work-life balance, creative expression and participatory decision-making.

Resource material taken from the website : www.employeesatisfaction.com, identifies motivators of employees and suggests specific actions to be taken by management.

1. Opportunity
Employees are more satisfied when they have challenging opportunities at work. This includes chances to participate in interesting projects, jobs with a satisfying degree of challenge and opportunities for increased responsibility. Important: this is not simply "promotional opportunity." As organizations have become flatter, promotions can be rare. People have found challenge through projects, team leadership, special assignments-as well as promotions.
Recommended actions :
Promote from within when possible
Reward promising employees with roles on interesting projects
Divide jobs into levels of increasing leadership and responsibility.

2. Stress
When negative stress is continuously high, job satisfaction is low. Jobs are more stressful if they interfere with employees' personal lives or are a continuing source of worry or concern.
Recommended actions :
Promote a balance of work and personal lives. Make sure that senior managers model this behavior.
Distribute work evenly (fairly) within workteams.
Review work procedures to remove unnecessary "red tape" or bureaucracy.
Manage the number of interruptions employees have to endure while trying to do their jobs.
Some organizations utilize exercise or "fun" breaks at work.

3. Leadership
Employees are more satisfied when their managers are good leaders. This includes motivating employees to do a good job, striving for excellence or just taking action. Recommended Actions :
Make sure managers are well trained. Leadership combines attitudes and behavior. It can be learned.
People respond to managers that they can trust and who inspire them to achieve meaningful goals.

4. Work Standards
Employees are more satisfied when their entire workgroup takes pride in the quality of its work.
Recommended Actions :
Encourage communication between employees and customers. Quality gains importance when employees see its impact on customers
Develop meaningful measures of quality. Celebrate achievements in quality.

5. Fair Rewards
Employees are more satisfied when they feel they are rewarded fairly for the work they do. Consider employee responsibilities, the effort they have put forth, the work they have done well and the demands of their jobs.
Recommended actions :
· Make sure rewards are for genuine contributions to the organization.
· Be consistent in your reward policies.
· If your wages are competitive, make sure employees know this
· Rewards can include a variety of benefits and perks other than money.
As an added benefit, employees who are rewarded fairly, experience less stress.

6. Adequate Authority
Employees are more satisfied when they have adequate freedom and authority to do their jobs.
Recommended actions : (when reasonable)
§ Let employees make decisions.
§ Allow employees to have input on decisions that will affect them.
§ Establish work goals but let employees determine how they will achieve those goals. Later reviews may identify innovative "best practices."
§ Ask, "If there were just one or two decisions that you could make, which ones would make the biggest difference in your job?

It is best also to continue this study and venture into a more thorough research about employee motivation that would lead to increased job satisfaction and productivity. Time constraints prevented a more thorough analysis of the gathered data. This informal study may be a starting point from where the HR department can base their planned research. Scope should be increased to include more respondents from different age groups, and perhaps, from different companies.