complacency: de-motivation
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This clip from Office Space (a classic within the world of IO psychology) shows Peter Gibbons' lack of motivation at work. I chose this clip because he describes all three of the major predictors of complacency described in this chapter: 1. Lack of Consequence - he knows that his actions will not get him fired. 2. Historic Success - he has been showing up late, then "spacing out" for a while and it has yielded successful results. 3. Poor Feedback - In this instance, Peter hears the same thing from so many different bosses that the information becomes meaningless.
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Because complacent employees are satisfied with the way things are going, they are not motivated to improve. As Peter Gibbons just said: “That will only motivate someone to work hard enough not to get fired”. Sinclair et al. (2005) investigated various commitment styles, finding that complacent employees may feel a bit of emotional attachment to an organization, but would leave for a different organization should the opportunity arise. In other words, complacent employee are simply going through the motions until someone or something forces them to change. In the previous example, (Sinclair et al., 2005) that force was a different employment opportunity. However, employees who lack motivation due to complacent attitudes are not a lost cause.
Osborne & Cohen (2002) researched what makes high-performing companies different from the competition. They found that employee attitudes are contagious. Said one interviewee: “Complacency doesn’t work around here. We are always asking one another how we can do better” (Osborne & Cohen, 2002). This indicates that employees can motivate each other through complacency toward high levels of motivation and achievement.
On the other hand, David Sirota puts the impetus on management. He finds that management is responsible for demotivating their employees, but can take control of the situation through properly administering feedback (Sirota, 2006). When an employee engages in a positive behavior, positive feedback can motivate her to continue doing so. If demotivation via complacency is the result of poor feedback, it is time for management to step in and motivate their employees!
Osborne & Cohen (2002) researched what makes high-performing companies different from the competition. They found that employee attitudes are contagious. Said one interviewee: “Complacency doesn’t work around here. We are always asking one another how we can do better” (Osborne & Cohen, 2002). This indicates that employees can motivate each other through complacency toward high levels of motivation and achievement.
On the other hand, David Sirota puts the impetus on management. He finds that management is responsible for demotivating their employees, but can take control of the situation through properly administering feedback (Sirota, 2006). When an employee engages in a positive behavior, positive feedback can motivate her to continue doing so. If demotivation via complacency is the result of poor feedback, it is time for management to step in and motivate their employees!