Most employees are trying to reach the economic level at which their basic needs for food, shelter, health care, job security and the like will be fulfilled. Usually less fulfilled but equally important are the employee’s intangible needs for knowledge, achievement and general self-satisfaction. These higher-level needs can be fulfilled only through work that is personally significant or meaningful to the employee. Meaningful work not only improves the motivation of employees and serves their human needs, but also increases their productivity and the overall effectiveness of the. Meaningful work:
• Involves employees in the identification and solution of problems
• that affects them and the organization.
• Provides employees with the feeling – not the pretense – that
• they are personally contributing to the organization.
• Provides employees with the opportunity to do the work they do best.
If employees are performing meaningful work, they are highly involved in solving work problems that touch them personally and they share in the planning, organizing and controlling of what they do. With this comes increased understanding, achievement and stimulation, which combine to boost motivation and the organization’s effectiveness. One of the most effective ways to make work more meaningful is through vertical job loading or job enrichment. It goes a long way toward ensuring that the job satisfies people’s higher level needs and that employees are motivated to greater performance. Job enrichment can reduce turnover and give supervisors more time for work that cannot be easily delegated. Taking the time to build in motivators can result in increased job satisfaction and m ...