The Tricky Business of Motivating Employees - Part 5

WAYS TO GET BACK ON TRACK

The emotional snowball will be harder to stop than it would have been to address the work problem in the first place:

Addictive and compulsive behaviors must be addressed first.

As these are attempts to avoid and deny the original problem, they will be in the way of getting back to the underlying issue. Depending on which behaviors are present, structured hospital or outpatient treatment may be indicated, along with participation in twelve step or other self-help groups. To locate these resources, the employee can contact his/her Employee Assistance Program, health insurance provider and the local branch of the National Mental Health Association.

Psychotherapy may be indicated to begin unraveling the emotional puzzle.

The first step will be to utilize either individual or family psychotherapy to stabilize the individual\'s situation at work and at home.

A \"corrective action plan\" will be needed at work (if not already established), or plans to find other employment must be made. Contracts with family members will be put in place, so that the individual has some \"breathing room\" to address conflicts while the family receives some initial relief through basic agreements with their troubled family member.

Then the work begins in earnest. What is the source of the employee\'s work dilemma? A very careful history of the problem is taken, to determine this. There are many possibilities.

It could be uncovered that the employee has difficulties taking direction from authority figures, which leads to job dissatisfaction. Conversely, he/she could be struggling with a position which requires more independent work and less structure than the person can handle. Other types of \"personality conflicts\" may indicate that there are people in the workplace that remind the individual of unfinished business with people from his/her past.

Then there are those that \"do themselves in\" because they maintain unhealthy beliefs that interfere with communication and negotiation. Here are some examples: Those who do not assert themselves may either believe that they have \"no right\" to comment on the ways they feel about their assignments, or fear retaliation for their feedback to management. Others may believe that \"nothing ever works out for them\" and so fall into unhappy acquiescence in the workplace. Naturally, few individuals with any of these beliefs have worked much on developing the critical skills of healthy assertive communication and negotiation.

For these and other similar emotional dilemmas, the work of psychotherapy may reap benefits that resolve workplace concerns and those beyond. To feel that one is reaching their life goals, one must be emotionally \"freed up\" to reach for them. A shift in behavior related to authority figures, for instance, might result in an employee being more receptive to management\'s requests and make him more willing to be his son\'s parent (i.e. authority figure), instead of friend. This might also result in a better atmosphere at home, which is not marked by daily struggles with the adolescent member of the family.

Sometimes, workshops and readings on assertiveness, communication skills, self-esteem and the like are recommended to complement psychotherapy. Once the employee has a clear view of where the problems lie, he/she will be able to continue working on them well beyond the termination of therapy.

Career counseling also may be an option.

Sometimes, during the course of counseling, it becomes clear that the employee has never found their vocational niche. While this may be a problem related to the emotional conflicts discussed above (such as an individual choosing the same career as his father, but not one that fits his talents or interests), career counseling may be recommended to help the employee identify their aptitudes, interests and preferred work setting. Career counseling also is extremely valuable in insuring that the individual is creating a career plan that is possible to successfully pursue in the current economic climate and at the person\'s given stage in life. For example, there is less and less work for those who want to repair the office machines of yesterday and it may not be the best plan to begin training to be an astronaut at age 50.

IN CONCLUSION

The precise course of action needed to remedy any given employee\'s job dissatisfaction will of course have to be uniquely tailored for him/her. However, the information presented in this article will hopefully provide enough \"food for thought\" for employees to consider \"working\" more deliberately \"toward reaching their life goals\" -- at work and at home. It\'s also rewarding to know, that the more satisfying life is, the more likely life span will increase (refer again to the Health Trap section of this article), giving more time to enjoy the outcome of this therapeutic work.

Roberta Cohen, LCSW is a grief counseling expert that provides
\r
critical incident stress managment services, management
\r
consultations, \r
corporate trainings, coaching and customized
\r
counseling services for corporate executives and their families.

For businesses or families requesting grief counseling or
\r
critical incident stress management response, please visit:
\r
http://www.path2solutions.com/

The Tricky Business of Motivating Employees - Part 3
MANAGEMENT COULD ALSO BE THE SOURCE OFrEMPLOYEES' LACK OF MOTIVATIONOrganizations must be willing evaluate themselves asrseri...

The Tricky Business of Motivating Employees - Part 4
We are all aware that businesses must have a viable service or product to thrive. We also know that employees with talent and...

Which Home Businesses Work Best for Families?
It feels like there's a million family businesses out there and it can be a real challenge finding a business that is a good ...

Employee Motivation Techniques - How to Fire Up Your Employees’ Motivation
If you know how to motivate employees, your company's overall status and profits will improve as a result. Employees are the ...

Preventing Commercial Identity Theft
Commercial Identity Theft is one of the fastest growing crimes in the country and the Internet certainly make it easier. You ...

Know More About Business Retirement Plans
Coming up with a small business retirement savings plan is a lot easier than the majority of people would like others to beli...

10 Motivational Quotes That Will Make You Unforgettable
AND I QUOTE...Have you ever wished you could quote from memory one or two awesome motivating quotes that would blow your audi...

Federal Trade Commission Violates Employees Identification
The Federal Trade Commission has allowed two laptops to be stolen in Scottsdale, Arizona which contained personal information...

Make Fear a Nine Day Wonder - Motivate Yourself with Fun!
Have you heard something referred to as a "nine day wonder"? The phrase refers to something that causes a sensation for a br...

FTC Gives Away Employee Information to Scottsdale Identity Thieves
Can you believe that the Federal Trade Commission allowed two lap tops filled with personal information to be stolen out of a...

Four Pillars of Creating Wealth
Some people in this world are thinking that their poor financial condition today is their destiny. They keep telling themselv...

Develop Your Personal Excellence
Transform your life and your businessThere is a powerful shift taking place in this country regarding the long-term success o...

5 Tips To Keep On Being Motivated In Hard Times
"It's not what's happening to you now or what has happened in your past thatdetermines who you become. Rather, it's your deci...

Internet Marketing Home Business - 3 Ways to Get Into Action
The fact is if you are going to have success in your internet marketing home business, you must take action. Taking consiste...

The Value Of Autoresponders
Autoresponders are tools of the trade of doing business online. Any ecommerce business person knows that in order to get som...

Motivation at Work 2
Experts believe that there is a relationship between goal setting and motivation. It is important to set goals on a daily, w...

Financial Planning For Singles
Financial planning often gets a bad rap. Part of the problem is self-inflicted, since some industry participants would rathe...

Becoming Financially Free from Multiple Sources of Income - Part II - Unlimited Income
In Part I, we learned that being an employee or self-employed is not necessarily the fast track to financial freedom. Howeve...

Identity Theft Goes Corporate - ABC Office
Shopping in the garbage, also known as "dumpster diving," is not commonly associated with white collar crime. However, compan...

3 Tips For Staying Motivated
Motivation is such a tricky little thing, and while motivation is always incredibly enthusiastic in the beginning, it tends t...