No
motivation
?
No
problem
!
How
do
you
motivate
employees
to
greater
levels
of
engagement
and
productivity
?
Maybe
you
shouldn't
try
to
do
it
yourself
.
For
many
people
,
the
popular
TV
show
The
Office
strikes
just
a
little
too
close
to
the
reality
of
their
day
-
to
-
day
experience
.
It
is
funny
because
it
is
true
.
Consider
this
example
:
manager
,
Michael
Scott
,
often
gives
'motivational'
to
his
team
.
Just
about
every
time
,
the
effort
.
Michael's
efforts
to
pump
up
his
colleagues
are
greeted
with
rolled
eyes
and
cynicism
.
Whether
sincere
or
not
,
his
words
and
deeds
are
viewed
as
inauthentic
and
superficial
.
By
contrast
,
seldom
if
ever
do
we
actually
see
or
hear
from
the
fictional
company
Dunder
Mifflin's
customers
in
the
show
.
There
are
specific
,
research
-
based
steps
towards
an
alternative
possibility
:
a
world
of
engaged
workers
who
are
happier
,
healthier
,
and
more
productive
.
Employees
are
more
likely
to
be
motivated
and
engaged
when
they
feel
their
work
is
meaningful
,
which
researchers
Brent
Rosso
,
Kathryn
Dekas
,
and
Amy
Wrzesniewski
define
as
:
"
significant
,
challenging
,
and
complete
.
"
It
seems
logical
,
people
who
feel
that
their
work
is
'making
a
difference'
are
more
likely
to
engage
with
it
.
Usually
,
when
we
think
of
'meaningful
work'
,
we
think
of
teachers
,
nurses
,
physicians
,
social
workers
,
people
whose
jobs
directly
impact
the
lives
of
others
.
However
,
many
employees
in
other
kinds
of
roles
are
doing
work
that
indirectly
impacts
the
lives
of
others
,
but
are
unable
to
see
the
effects
of
their
work
.
These
employees
may
hear
about
how
their
work
affects
others
,
but
are
otherwise
unaware
of
their
impact
and
therefore
remain
unmotivated
and
unengaged
.
Take
telefund
callers
,
for
instance
.
Many
of
us
receive
calls
regularly
from
our
asking
for
donations
.
These
calls
are
often
placed
by
young
students
,
paying
their
way
through
school
by
making
fundraising
calls
to
alumni
.
The
work
is
repetitive
,
and
the
callers
have
to
stay
motivated
and
persistent
even
in
the
face
of
frequent
?
and
not
always
very
polite
?
rejection
.
Not
necessarily
a
job
that
comes
to
mind
when
we
think
'meaningful
work'
.
However
,
in
How
to
be
a
positive
leader
,
Adam
Grant
shares
a
study
of
how
outsourcing
inspiration
contributed
to
a
more
engaged
workplace
.
In
2007
,
University
of
Michigan
Telefund
experimented
with
inviting
a
scholarship
recipient
to
help
motivate
its
employees
.
Telefund
callers
are
often
students
without
much
work
experience
,
and
face
frequent
rejection
as
they
try
to
raise
money
for
the
university
.
In
the
experiment
?
which
has
since
been
widely
replicated
?
a
scholarship
recipient
shared
her
story
about
how
her
scholarship
helped
ease
a
financial
with
some
of
the
callers
before
their
phone
shift
.
In
the
month
after
hearing
her
story
,
those
callers
obtained
on
average
of
215
more
pledges
and
$1
,
670
more
in
donations
per
week
than
a
group
that
didn't
receive
a
motivational
talk
from
a
scholarship
student
.
Both
groups
of
callers
used
the
exact
same
script
.
So
what
was
the
?
inspiration
!
It
can
and
will
look
different
in
each
organization
.
Here
are
three
helpful
strategies
from
Grant's
study
that
organizations
can
use
to
get
started
:
1
.
Make
the
face
-
to
-
face
connection
:
Hearing
first
-
hand
from
the
of
their
work
is
the
most
direct
,
and
most
effective
way
to
connect
employees
to
the
impact
of
their
work
.
In
the
case
of
Michigan
Telefund
,
a
five
-
minute
story
from
a
scholarship
student
measurably
boosted
employee
engagement
.
2
.
Encourage
employees
to
swap
stories
:
It
might
be
the
case
at
an
organization
that
some
employees
are
very
connected
to
their
impact
,
while
others
are
not
.
When
employees
are
given
the
opportunity
to
share
their
contributions
with
each
other
,
they
can
make
connections
about
impact
that
they
may
not
have
been
able
to
make
otherwise
.
3
.
Become
a
linking
pin
:
What
good
is
in
an
inspiring
story
if
not
connected
to
the
mission
of
the
organization
?
Connecting
employees'
contributions
with
the
mission
or
vision
of
the
organization
can
be
even
more
engaging
for
employees
than
simply
hearing
the
story
of
an
end
user
.
With
these
ideas
as
a
starting
point
,
you
can
start
outsourcing
inspiration
quickly
.
Today
at
lunch
,
encourage
employees
to
share
stories
of
contributions
they've
made
toward
your
mission
.
Reach
out
to
one
of
your
team's
beneficiaries
to
see
if
they
would
be
willing
to
share
the
impact
your
organization
has
had
on
them
.
Make
your
mission
known
and
connect
it
to
the
day
-
to
-
day
work
of
your
employees
.
Perhaps
an
added
bonus
will
be
a
boost
to
your
own
motivation
,
as
well
as
that
of
your
team
!
Let's
check
what
you
can
remember
!
Fill in the missing words in this quiz concerning the Anatomy page of the website. You should read through the passage provided, and click the word you think fits from the list at the side. If you ...
Complete the lyrics of the song with the words that appear on the right side