Building and sustaining a motivated workforce is of crucial importance to the success of organizations and the well-being of individuals who work in organizations. The first part of this workshop will provide an overview of recent advances in work motivation that focus on the individual’s mindset/motivational orientation, and the effects of the socio-technical system in which work is performed. The second part of the workshop will focus on the assessment of motivational problems and a discussion of strategies that can be used to develop, enhance, and sustain employee motivation.
Learning Objectives:
- Describe current trends in workforce composition and motivation.
- Describe recent theories for understanding personal motivational barriers to effective performance.
- Identify the effects of the socio-technical context on employee motivation.
- Identify motivational problems in the workplace.
- Select and apply managerial/organizational strategies to mitigate and sustain employee motivation.
Intended Audience
This session is intended for a general audience at a post-graduate level; no specific content knowledge is required.
Presenter
Ruth Kanfer is a Professor of Psychology and Founding Director of the Work Science Center (www.worksciencecenter.gatech.edu) at the Georgia Institute of Technology, in Atlanta, Georgia. She received her Ph.D. from Arizona State University, served on the faculty at the University of Minnesota, and has had visiting appointments at the University of Illinois, Stanford University, the Universities of Giessen and Valencia, and Emory University. Her primary areas of expertise are in the psychology of work motivation and self-regulation in achievement and work settings, including in particular those issues as related to workforce aging, job loss/job search/and reemployment, and motivation in teams. She has published over 110 articles and chapters and is co-editor of four volumes on motivation and emotions related to work and the age-diverse workforce, including her latest volume with Finkelstein, Truxillo, and Fraccaroli entitled “Facing the Challenges of a Multi-Age Workforce.” Dr. Kanfer is an elected Fellow of the Academy of Management (AoM), the American Psychological Association (APA), the Association for Psychological Sciences (APS), and the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP). Her research has been supported by national agencies, foundations, and private organizations, including the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Office of Naval Research, the U.S. Air Force Office of Scientific Research, the Society for Human Resource Management, the Spencer Foundation, and the Cooperative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere (CARE USA). She has received national rewards for her work, including APA’s Distinguished Scientific Award for an Early Career Contribution to (Applied) Psychology (1989), the Academy of Management’s Outstanding Publication of the Year in Organizational Behavior Award (1989, 2004), SIOP’s William R. Owens Scholarly Achievement Award (2004), and SIOP’s Distinguished Scientific Contributions Award (2008). Dr. Kanfer has served on 11 journal editorial boards, several scientific advisory boards, and as elected member of the Academy of Management (AoM) Board of Governors, the AoM Organizational Behavior Division Chair, as APA representative to the Federation for Brain and Behavior Sciences (FABBS), on the National Academy of Sciences Science and Practice of Learning Committee, and on the Sloan Research Network on Aging & Work Steering Committee. Recent projects focus on the influence of future time perspective and identity on work decisions and the impact of technology innovation on work motivation.