Case Study: Motivation, Trust and Social Interaction in the Workplace

Motivation, Trust and Social Interaction in the Workplace

Motivation, trust and positive social interactions are essential factors that help leaders in creating sound management relationships which ultimately result in successful organizations. Accurately incorporating these concepts in the work place can result in employees’ satisfaction in their work, increased efficiency and productivity, increase employee loyalty and retention and make employees more confident in the organization’s decisions and initiatives which is essential in overcoming resistance because of change. This paper focuses on these concepts individually and collectively and how they relate in creation of sound management relationships resulting in successful organizations. It also focuses on the relationship-building issues in the case of Jackson Spice Ingredients, a large Maryland spice and food ingredient company and strategies that aim at building interpersonal relationship, diversity and trust during the implementation of these new strategies.

Motivation is the desire to act or behave in a certain way. It can be further defined as the behavioural, affective and cognitive process that influences the willingness of an individual to perform various tasks to achieve personal and organisational goals. Motivation is influenced by many factors. Extrinsic motivation is achieved when an action is undertaken to receive external rewards or outcomes. This type of motivation is influenced by promotions, remunerations, incentives or recognition from superiors. Intrinsic motivation comes from actions or tasks undertaken for internal fulfilment or as a result of the joy generated in performing the task itself.

Intrinsic motivation is influenced by the sense of responsibility, social interactions, self-esteem, the sense of belonging and competency (Paais et al., 2020). Most policies within an organization focus solely on extrinsic motivation. However, extrinsic motivation on its own has been attributed to a culture with trust issues. It is therefore, important to incorporate both extrinsic and intrinsic motivation. As intrinsic motivation has been linked to positive behaviour in employees and enjoyment of work which in turn improves the quality of work undertaken.

Trust is the belief that something or someone is good, sincere, and honest. Trust influences the willingness of an individual to act despite the risk involved, vulnerability and the uncertainty. Trust in the workplace enhances collaboration and team work, improves organizational alignment (i.e., employees work together in achieving the same goal), efficiency and productivity, increases employee loyalty and retention, encourages innovation and creativity, makes people more confident in the organization decisions and initiatives which is essential in overcoming resistance as a result of change and it can also be a source of intrinsic motivation (Li Hui et al., 2019).

The desire to connect with others is a basic human need. The human brain releases oxytocin a powerful hormone linked to trustworthiness and motivation as a response to positive social interaction. It is therefore, important to develop interpersonal relationships in the work place. When relationships in the workplace are characterized by fairness, trust, and cooperation people are triggered to interact in the future with confidence and respect while inspiring each other and looking out for each another. Positive social interaction encourages employee engagement in day to day activity which result in improved performance, lower the business costs and reduce cases of absenteeism.

Social interaction encourages sharing of knowledge which is essential in increasing productivity among employees (Phong et al., 2018). Employees’ satisfaction to the quality of relationships in their places of work are more likely to form a positive attachment to the organization they work for. The strong bonds developed through social interaction serve as a source of inspiration and support which are essential in facilitating innovative thinking. Positive social interaction cultivates shared experiences which yields in development of trust. 

In the Jackson Spice Ingredients (JSI) case study, it is clearly evident that essential relationship-building skills are lacking. In the transformation process of JSI, the chief information officer, Ann McConnell and the company president, Charles Jackson are only partially delivering the information employees need to co-create and be successful. This is evidenced by the company’s new plan to implement new global organizational structure without seeking the employees’ opinion. In so doing they are likely to face reluctant to change from three of the seven current managers.

To avert this crisis, they should adopt a human-centric approach which enhances employees’ empowerment. In order for the employees to buy-in and work with the employer towards the same goal, the employer needs to put them first. By so doing the employees acquire a sense of belonging and feel more empowered. When the expectations of the employees on how they should be treated does not align with the employer’s treatment, their trust towards the organization and employers is hurt and are not motivated to work. This adversely affects the success of the organization (Gerards et al., 2021).

In the evolving business world, JSI needs to create a better company culture with open and transparent employee communications. JSI is an organization with many hierarchical levels and a culture specific company, however, with globalization the company should incorporate a new culture of openness and transparency in their day to day activities. Effective communication is one of the ways in which an organization can offer accountability.

By being honest and giving frequent feedback, the employees are informed, feel valued and connected. Internal communications play an important role in informing the employees the importance of change and how to go about it. Through effective communication, positive social interaction thrive which result in trust development. In this culture, the people are more confident about the organization’s decision and new initiatives to be undertaken. They are in turn motivated to work with the company to achieve its goals.

Jackson Spice Ingredients’ global organizational structure, will create significant changes in their day to day operations and human capital management. It is therefore, essential that the organization quickly adapts to these changes and aligns its employees with the new initiative. It is very crucial to have the employees’ buy-in and cooperation during change and transformation. This determines the success of the transformation process (Salas-Vallina et al., 2021). By adopting a human-centric approach and creating a better company culture with open and transparent employee communications JSI will maximize the company’s effectiveness which will help the company achieve its purpose and work in line with its vision.

Employee-centric workplace create an environment of trust. Trust enhances collaboration and team work, improves organizational alignment (i.e., employees work together in achieving the same goal), efficiency and productivity, increases employee loyalty and retention, encourages innovation and creativity, makes people more confident in the organization decisions and initiatives which is essential in overcoming resistance as a result of change. This will be very essential for the company to achieve its purpose and vision.

In conclusion, Jackson Spice Ingredients case study present relationship-building issues that can be mitigated by incorporation motivation, trust and social interaction in their leadership structure. By integrating a human-centric approach and creating a better company culture with open and transparent employee communications, Jackson Spice Ingredients can accurately incorporate these three concepts; motivation, trust and social interaction in the work place which will result in employees’ satisfaction in their work, increased efficiency and productivity, increase employees loyalty and retention and make employees more confident in the organization decisions and initiatives which is essential in overcoming resistance as a result of change.

References

Gerards, R., van Wetten, S., van Sambeek, C. (2021). New ways of working and intrapreneurial behavior: the mediating role of transformational leadership and social interaction. Review of Managerial Science, 15(7), 2075-2110.

Li, H., Sajjad, N.,Wang, Q., Muhammad Ali, A., Khaqan, Z., & Amina, S. (2019). Influence of transformational leadership on employees’ innovative work behavior in sustainable organizations: Test of meditation and moderation processes. Sustainability, 11(6), 1594.

Paais, M., & Paatiruhu, J. R. (2020). Effect of motivation, leadership, and organizational culture on satisfaction and employee performance. The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics, and Business, 7(8), 577-588.

Phong, L. B., Hui, L., & Son, T. T. (2018). How leadership and trust in leaders foster employees’ behavior toward knowledge sharing. Social Behavior and Personality: An International Journal, 46(5), 705-720.

Salas-Vallina, A., Alegre, J., & Lopez- Cabrales, A. (2021). The challenge of increasing employees’ well-being and performance: How human resource management practices and engaging leadership work together towards reaching this goal. Human Resources Management, 60(3), 333-337.