The Experience of Work

Influences on Work Experience Influenced by a company’s set of rules and expectations for employees attitudes and behavior Employees allow parts of our lives to be controlled by company Organizations work to get employees to coordinate and work toward its goals Challenge for employees is to achieve individuation and identification simultaneously though communication Each person experience of work and sense making is impacted by organizational assimilation, indicators of cooperation and indicators of resistance

Impacts Assimilation – is a process where people learn the rules, norms and expectations of a culture over time and become members of that culture Assimilation is essential in any culture and begins at an early age Organizational assimilation – learning process has three stages –Anticipatory socialization – learning about nature of work through communication with others before job begins: two ways –Vocational anticipatory socialization – begins in childhood – learning what is work –Organizational anticipatory socialization – learning that occurs before first day of work via organizational literature, interactions with interviewers and employees

Assimilation Stages Two and Three Organizational Assimilation – process where new employees learn about, make sense of and transition into members of new organizational situation –Initial part of process involves surprise and sense making –Newcomers learn the requirements of new roles and solicit information about organizational culture –Time needed for newcomers to fully transition into members varies and not everyo9ne fully completes assimilation process –During transitional period employees learn to balance their own satisfaction with their role in organization Organizational turning points are critical moments in workplace that help employees understand their role –Moments can change relationship between employee and organization –Turning points alter employees’ perceptions of identification with company and also structure their perception of career choices, job transfers and their purpose in life

Indicators of Cooperation Job satisfaction – is most common indicator of the quality of an employees’ work experiences –A satisfied employee is said to be one whose needs are being met –Employees have three levels of needs that correlate with degrees of job satisfaction Level 1 needs include safe working conditions, fair play, rewards and proper equipment Level 2 needs include supportive interpersonal relationships with co-workers and supervisors Level 3 needs include opportunities of personal growth –Challenging work only increases satisfaction when employees desire it –There is little proven correlation between job satisfaction and productivity

Indicators of Cooperation Job involvement – degree to which employees personally involve themselves in their work –There are extreme levels of job involvement from person who lives to work to whose who work to live –Can lead to workaholism Organizational identification is the overlap between an employee’s values and those of the organization –Identification involves the internalization of company values and assumptions by employees and can be essential in crating sense of community –Organization identification exerts control over decisions and can destroy employee’s definitions of what is real or taken for granted –Organizational restructuring can shift identification from the organization to teams or work groups.

Indicators of Cooperation Organizational commitment – is the amount of dedication and support an employee has for organization goals and values –Commitment can be displayed in attitudes and behaviors –Employees can be highly committed even with low levels of identification or job involvement –Commitment usually varies by industry Employee empowerment – giving employees control over significant aspects of their work –High involvement management assumes people do best work when they feel ownership of processes and decision making –Empowerment can be achieved via compensation including stock ownership –High involvement management is not easily implemented as it requires cooperation of both managers and employees

Indicators of Cooperation Employee productivity – most important indicator from organization standpoint –Defined as relationship between the outputs generated by system and the imports required to create outputs Productivity linked to efficiency and effectiveness Most organizations do poor job measuring individual productivity except in routine jobs Two alternative scenarios relating communication to productivity –Monologic approach – connects communication by promoting a work environment in which simple tasks and performance measure permit continuous measurable improvement »View similar to scientific management in that communication comes from supervisor –Dialogic approach- emphasizes mutual, two-way communicating between managers and employees

Indicators of Resistance Stress – marked by feelings of anxiety, tension or pressure –Increased levels of stress linked to absenteeism, tardiness, sabotage, poor quality, turnover and dysfunctional conflict –Job stress is a psychologically disturbed response to work –Four areas that are sources of stress: environmental, organizational, job and individual

Environmental Stress Low control over environment stressors Often generated by national culture, intercultural difficulties and physical characteristics of workplace National culture influences attitudes about nature of work, leisure and employment Intercultural – six sources of stress of business travelers –Culture shock –Challenge of diversity –Bias, discrimination and prejudice –Language barriers –Customs and taboos –Physical stress Physical – lighting, noise, crowding, etc

Stress as Damaging to Employees Organizational culture problem –A mild-mannered person may work in environment that creates stress –Even successful individuals can find pressure situations Organizational norms about aspects of culture – employees effected by features such as –Social support –Participation in decision making –Diversity –Expressions of emotion

Job Stressors Workload – number of projects one is responsible for completing within a period of time Role uncertainty – uncertain and inconsistent job descriptions – even from too much information Job design – characteristics of work

Stress Reducers Factors creating work satisfaction –Job variety –Task significance –Autonomy or degree of freedom in performing own work –Feedback about work from others Autonomy most important – use RAA delegation – responsibility, authority and accountability

Outside of Work Stressors Personality traits (workaholic, type A behavior, etc) Personal life Communication style

New Trends in Work Experience Rise in entrepreneurship Third sector – soft-money supported projects New career path via continuing education, shifting identifications New sources of self- employment Outsourcers – specialists who work for themselves