Page 209 - Managing the Mobile Workforce

188 � mAnAgIng the moBIle workForCe

they are more likely to persist longer, give more effort, and set their
goals higher. Managers using Principle Six, Manage Expectancies, help
employees develop a belief in their capability to achieve challenging
assignments.

technology and motivation for the mobile workforce
Lousy technology is extremely demotivating. Have you ever wanted
to scream when your fax machine went on the blink? Have you ever
pulled your hair out—perhaps literally—when your printer spewed out
blank page after blank page after . . . ? Have you ever lost everything
on your computer, as we have? Does that make you want to cry like
a baby? Weep like a willow? Wail like a banshee? We feel your pain.
We’ve all been there, and know the consequence of tech troubles.
The previous examples are egregious, but little day-to-day obstruc-
tions are even more wearing: downloads that take way too long; audio
conferences that strain the ears just to make out every other word;
videoconferences that seem like convenience store crime tapes (slow-
motion blurs with a five-second delay); software that is three upgrades
older than your client’s. Bad technology erodes energy.
When workers have poor technology to support their work, every
piece of the motivational puzzle starts to fall apart. First, no employees
believe the organization cares about them or understands them when
the tools provided are mismatched dinosaurs. Second, enjoyable work
deteriorates into an endurance contest involving long suffering; em-
ployee delight is replaced with techno-blight. Third, coping with tools
that don’t work can sap self-confidence. Fourth, when the equipment
doesn’t work, performance can be spotty even for the most proficient
performers; therefore, trust is eroded—you just can’t depend on anyone.
Fifth, people are less likely to shoot for the stars and to seek excellence
when they know they are going to be dragged down by (or have to drag
along) the ware—hard or soft—that’s supposed to be lifting and sup-
porting them. Shall we go on? When technology is a drag, so is work.
Alternatively, great technology is exciting. It connects mobile
workers seamlessly, provides needed information instantaneously, and