Apply It 12.5: Strategies for Motivating Employees
Understand how job characteristics theory can enhance worker motivation
Recognize how goal setting can improve worker performance
Motivation Strategies
This Apply It continues using the return to in-office work case study video from earlier in this module. The video is included below in case you want to refresh your memory about specific details, but if you have already watched it, you don’t need to watch it again.
The video presents various approaches companies are taking to work arrangements, from full return-to-office to hybrid models.
The video suggests that RTO mandates can be a “magic wand” that companies hope will solve complex problems. Using goal-setting theory, what more specific and measurable approaches might better address organizational challenges?
Goal-setting theory emphasizes that specific, measurable objectives result in better performance than vague directives. Rather than broadly mandating office attendance, organizations could:
Identify the precise challenges they’re facing (e.g. collaboration gaps, innovation slowdowns, or communication breakdowns) through data collection and employee feedback. Then, establish SMART goals directly targeting these issues, such as “increase cross-departmental collaboration on Project X by 30% within three months” or “reduce client response time to under 4 hours.”
Involve employees in setting these goals to increase commitment and provide the necessary resources to achieve them.
Implement regular feedback mechanisms measuring progress toward these specific goals would help employees adjust their strategies accordingly. This approach would focus on outcomes rather than location, allowing teams flexibility in how they achieve results—whether through scheduled in-office collaboration days, better digital tools, or hybrid approaches tailored to specific tasks.
Unlike blanket RTO mandates, this goal-focused approach addresses the fact that there’s no simple solution to complex organizational challenges and avoids the significant drops in satisfaction and retention associated with rigid office policies.