Leading With The Carrot: Positive Reinforcement in the Workplace

Your boss is a complete ass. You feel resentful because they seem to always have a snide remark or outright criticism when you do something they don't like, but never seem to recognize anything you do well. When you find yourself in this situation, you're probably a lot less likely to put your all into your job--if you even decide to remain at that company.

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Many managers may be faced with an "unexplained" lack of morale in their department or agency. If this describes you, it could be that you're leading with negative feedback instead of positive. While it is often a lot easier to criticize someone than it is to praise them, studies have shown that praise is a much more powerful source of influence. 

If you're stuck trying to think of ways to flip the morale switch for your employees, here are a few possibilities. 

With Money

Money talks. Loudly. If your agency has, or can get, the funds to do so, pay raises, bonuses, and incentive checks are always fantastic ways to let an employee know that you appreciate their hard work. If you don't have access to cash, gift cards can work the same way. If you know an employee enjoys Bojangles, get them a gift card for that restaurant. If you know a particular employee has a notably long commute to work each day, get them a gift card to a gas station. If an employee recently had a child, get them a gift card to Babies "R" Us. Be creative and clear. Don't just leave the card in their mailbox or on their desk. Leave a note that tells them why they're receiving it: Great sales, perfect customer service record, working multiple double-shifts during a staff shortage, etc. If you want to really make them feel appreciated, deliver the gift in person and tell them directly what it is that they did well. 

With Time

Time is something you can't actually ever get back, but giving someone their time back in a quantitative sense helps show them that the extra work they do for the company is being appreciated. For instance, if staff normally works from 9:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. 5 days a week, and an employee has come in 2 hours early to help finish and submit a quarterly report, letting that employee take an extra long lunch, or allowing them to leave 2 hours early at the end of the work week, would be great ways to say "thank you." If possible, maybe your agency could offer more time off to employees by way of personal days or vacation days. 

With Attention

As with hand-delivering any monetary incentive, just giving employees basic attention and recognition for their efforts can be huge motivators. Recognition could come in the form of a round of applause during a staff meeting, a physical pat on the back at the employee's desk, or even printing out and framing a paper certificate outlining the employee's achievements. When giving someone recognition, be careful not to upset them based on their personality style. For instance, a more reserved, shy person might feel embarrassed and uncomfortable when being pointed out in front of the entire staff, even though it is for a positive reason. This person may appreciate a quick voicing of your appreciation as you walk by their desk. On the other end of the spectrum are the more outgoing, socially-oriented individuals. If you were to simply leave a framed certificate of appreciation on their desk, they may feel cheated, as though you don't really care about their achievements because you didn't bring it to anyone else's attention. These people would bask in public appreciation at a staff or board meeting. 

No matter how you choose to show your employees appreciation, understand that these methods can help increase morale and a positive milieu in your agency. When people believe that they are making a difference, even if only to their supervisor, they're more likely to work harder to get the next token of thanks from you. 

Not Communicating With Supervisors: Social Work Practicum Fail #7

Life happens. Most people in the field of social work understand that. If you are having trouble performing your duties at practicum because of problems at home, illness (physical or mental), class schedule changes, or other issues, talk to your supervisor about this. When I ran into this problem with students, it was often just a matter of us having a conversation in which we worked together to come up with a plan to get through present hardships. Once current situations were dealt with, we made a plan (and contingency plans) to make sure the issue either (1) didn't come up in the future at all or (2) was able to be worked around instead of impeding the students' performance.

Examples of things that might interfere with your presence of mind, attendance, timeliness, or mood would be:

• Developing a short-term condition such as catching the flu or breaking a bone
• A loved one recently passing away
• An unexpected change to your (or your child's) school schedule
• The public transportation system in your area running late
• Going through a divorce
• Finding out you have a long-term illness like diabetes, HIV, or cancer
• Getting married
• Your current caseload at the agency is overwhelming
• Finding out you're going to become a parent (again)

Not being open about outside issues getting in the way of your performance at practicum can put you in a negative light as a staff member. When people don't have information, they often fill in the blanks for themselves. While some supervisors may hold a more compassionate view and just assume that something outside of your control is going on, others may hold a more suspicious view and are likely to see you as lazy, incompetent, and unmotivated.

Social Work Practicum Fail #6: Not Treating the Placement Like a Job

 

No, you're not being paid (by the agency). No, you don't get benefits or vacation time. However, your practicum site is your first solid step on the path to your career as a social worker. Because the people you are working for now will provide future references, letters of recommendation, and even full-time positions, this is not the place to slack off.

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These tips are a great place to start:

• Be mentally and physically present each day.
• Be on time to the practicum and any meetings or events that take place there.
• Stay for your entire shift.
• Call in advance if something urgent is going to keep you from being at practicum on time or at all.
• Take responsibility for your mistakes and work daily to improve in these areas.
• Pitch in with ideas, resources, and labor to help the agency solve problems and achieve goals.
• Socialize with your co-workers and get to know them better.
• Volunteer for tasks--especially less than desirable ones. You often help the agency out and relieve your colleagues of having to perform these tedious activities. This can earn you big points with some of the people you work with. Keep a balance, though. While it's great for you to help out (even on a regular basis) you probably shouldn't be the only person who ever does things like clean the break room, take out the trash, change the light bulbs, water the plants, or cover the phones while the receptionist is out sick or on vacation.

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Social Work Practicum Fail #5: Not Understanding Your Role

Some practicum sites treat students as no more than unpaid errand-runners. At other sites, you may be fully in charge of multiple jobs or have a full case load like a full-fledged employee. It can be disturbing to think that one of these is going to happen and the opposite turns out to be true.

While you would ideally have spoken about this during your practicum interview before you accepted the placement, if you're having trouble understanding your duties and level of authority at the agency, be sure to ask your supervisor(s). Don't end the conversation until you feel confident that you know exactly what is expected from you.

 

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Have you ever been under- or overwhelmed by your practicum responsibilities?

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Here are some examples of questions you might have:

• Am I allowed to discharge clients from agency services?
• Do I have the authority to discipline clients or am I merely meant to observe and report to staff?
• Should I be completing service documentation on my own or does it happen under direct supervision?
• Will I represent the agency at conferences such as career or resource fairs?
• Am I expected to attend staff, board, department, or community meetings?

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The Big Bad Hobby Lobby: Influence vs Control

While I can understand a genuine desire to be allowed to practice one's own religious beliefs, I'm concerned about how that has translated into this latest legal action involving Hobby Lobby and the Affordable Care Act.

It looks as though Hobby Lobby is attempting to impose their religious beliefs upon their employees. Even though the employees may not share Hobby Lobby executives' religious beliefs, there is an attempt to trap them into making choices as though they share those beliefs. This seems controlling and oppressive to me. Hobby Lobby could allow employees to have access to birth control, then do what they can to influence employees not to use it.

In general, humans have a tendency to rail against control (rebel) and be attracted to influence. A teenage girl may devise a plan to wear a makeup to a party because she's moving away from the angry control of her parents and towards the relaxed influence of her friends. She was forbidden to EVER wear makeup by our parents (control). Her friends casually let her know that they will be wearing makeup to the party (influence). We're drawn to fall in line with the influence (All my friends will be wearing makeup at the party and I'll be the only one who isn't! That can't happen!). We rebel against the control (I can't wear makeup? We'll see about that!).

A wife may go out with her friends once a week--more often than her husband is comfortable with. He tells her he doesn't want her going out with them any more than once a month. Beyond the possible disrespect, belittlement, and resentment she may feel, she may have an urge to now go out twice a week, just to spite her husband's attempts at control and to continue to enjoy the pull of the influence of her friends. The husband tells her what she is and is not allowed to do, the friends simply invite her out to a movie (with no attempt at controlling her).

If Hobby Lobby really were interested in changing the kinds of reproductive choices their employees were making, it would seem that they would take a more influential approach, as opposed to attempting to wield their power over employees in the form of control. Then again, I suppose the issue could be more about saving money than actually helping employees make specific decisions.

What are your thoughts?

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