Motivation I Recently Discovered That a Female

Motivation

I recently discovered that a female employee was being paid more than I even though we were both hired at the same time. The reason (as I discerned it) was that they had to pay her more because she was needed for a project that required at least one female on the team. However, I was doing most of the work and getting paid less than her. This made me angry, and as I remember it, made her feel guilty. She knew that I was more qualified but that did not matter to the employer, instead I was informed that I should just live with it. Reacting to this situation was a classic response according to the equity theory. I felt less like doing the work, and more apt to take a more casual approach to the project itself. My performance was still okay, but could have been much more exemplary than what it was.

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There have been a number of events that qualify for the expectancy theory regarding the workplace and my role in that environment. One, in particular, comes to mind that involved a time when I overheard a situation concerning my employment. At the time, a regional manager was conversing with the manager to whom I reported. They were discussing compensation and benefits, who should get raises and who should not. The regional manager did not know me or my work, I had only recently been hired. His comment was that I should be kept at the low end of the scale, as I recall it; 'he will not be around long enough to make a mark'. I listened further to discover why the regional manager felt that way, his reasoning was that I was far too 'rough around the edges' to interact with wealthy individuals in a comfortable manner, therefore, my employment would be short-lived.

Further conversation led me to understand that they were going to reward the most productive newcomer with a trip to exotic Bermuda. My role was to develop clientele that would use the company's products. The regional manager did not believe I had the wherewithal to do so.

It seems to me that the low level of expectancy shown towards my employment by the regional manager was a motivating factor in my regard. I believed that if I worked hard enough, my performance would be the once that was rewarded, and I was correct in my thinking. In this case, I expected that the effort that I put forth would (as the book states) help me to "get a lot accomplished," and that "one's effort will result in performance" (p. 230).

Additionally, the reward of earning the trip to exotic Bermuda was something of valence to me. The book gives as an example "a reward of $100 would be unlikely to motivate a multibillionaire like Bill Gates, although it may be a very desirable reward for someone of more modest means" (p. 231). In this case, it was a highly motivating factor to me because I had never been to Bermuda and certainly would love to take my special lady with me as well.

Part 3