Page 215 - Managing the Mobile Workforce

194 � mAnAgIng the moBIle workForCe

It is when people are doing work they don’t like because they have
to that leaders must design costly incentive programs, conduct hard-
nosed performance appraisals, and force acceptable behavior. So let’s
think what makes work enjoyable for mobile workers.
Mobile workers like work that is challenging and innovative and
that gives them a chance to develop their ideas. (Funny, so do mem-
bers of the traditional workforce.) Mobile workers find it enjoyable
to try out new technology, to learn something, and to grow person-
ally and professionally. (So do most people who work across the aisle
from their bosses every day.) Lots of mobile workers like to work with
caring people with whom they can build professional and personal
relationships. So do traditional workers. Mobile workers want to do
work that is meaningful and makes a difference. Well, who doesn’t?
Mobile workers like to laugh and have a sense of play, curiosity, and
self-expression in their work. ’Nuff said—have we made the point?
Everything that makes work enjoyable to the onsite sales force applies
to a sales force operating globally. Everything that makes an accoun-
tant jump out of bed in the morning pumped to head to the office does
the exact same thing for the accountant jumping out of bed 2,000
miles from her corporate headquarters.

principle Five: Create organizational Commitment
When people are emotionally committed to your organization, they
want to be there. They’re excited about the future, they feel a strong
emotional bond with their leaders and coworkers, they have a sense
of pride in their work, and they feel that the organization cares about
them. There is a sense that they would volunteer for this organization
even if they weren’t being paid.
Employees can also feel committed to an organization from a
sense of obligation. They feel as if they ought to continue to work
there, perhaps out of a sense of duty.
Finally, employees remain committed to organizations they don’t
care about, and about which they don’t feel a sense of duty to, because