|
Enjoying Your Work Richard Brislin |
Two theories attempt
to explain why we
dread or enjoy workWith her degree in business, internship experience and active participation in university clubs, Sandra Kaleo felt that she was ready for a set of job interviews with various companies in Hawaii.
She discussed her plans with the professor who had taught courses in management and organizational behavior. Sandra mentioned various companies in Hawaii where she would seek interviews. Her professor commented, "You have an interesting collection of Theory X and Theory Y organizations. Do you remember the class discussion about the differences?"
Theory X refers to an organization whose executives believe that people don't like to work. Executives believe that people work only as hard as necessary to provide food and shelter for themselves and their families. Given this belief, executives feel they must engage in constant supervision and they try to manage employees with carrots and sticks. They dangle "carrots" in front to people in the form of pay for piecework, overtime pay or vacation time. Or, they manage behavior with "sticks" in the form of various punishments should employees not perform at the level expected by executives. In Theory X organizations, executives invest little in staff development efforts such as training programs since employees will probably leave the company in a few years.
Theory Y, as explained by Douglas McGregor, refers to an organization whose executives believe that people can enjoy work. People can find fulfillment in the workplace and can experience major contributions to general life happiness. A management policy involving only carrots and sticks is not necessary. People will work because they enjoy what they are doing. Certainly a competitive salary and set of benefits is necessary, but given Theory Y executives do not have to spend all their time monitoring employee behavior. Executives can put resources into staff development. They can be confident that their investment will pay off since employees will stay with a company where they enjoy working.
Theory Y can be seen in the behavior of people who clearly don't have to work. Most readers know of people in their 60s and 70s who could retire comfortably. But the people continue to work because they enjoy it.
They know that various needs will be met in the workplace: Socialization with others, the sense that they are doing something important and the feeling that they are making positive contributions to others.
Winners of multimillion dollar lotteries often continue working at their same jobs even though they could invest their money and live comfortably.
The terms "Theory X" and "Theory Y" have become so well known that people going through job interviews for managerial positions could encounter them.
To obtain information concerning how managers would deal with employees, members of an interview panel might ask about the applicants' views concerning the two theories.
The purpose of this column is to increase understanding of
human behavior as it has an impact on the workplace. Given the amount
of time people spend at work, job satisfaction should ideally be high and
it should contribute to general life happiness. Enjoyment can increase as
people learn more about workplace psychology, communication, and group influences.
Richard Brislin is a professor in the College of Business Administration,
University of Hawaii. He can be reached through the
College Relations Office: cro@cba.hawaii.edu