Teamwork and Employee Satisfaction

Gurleen Gill in her blogpost posed the question of whether “teamwork can be the solution to all problems.” I do not know if teamwork can effect “everything” but it can have a significant impact on employee intrinsic motivation. Humans are social species so interacting and working in a group sounds more promising than working alone. However, working in team can pose risks as a dysfunctional team can lead to more employee dissatisfaction than a job without human interaction ever would.

The most important aspect of working in a team is the relationships built between the team members. Effective teams have open communication, clear purpose, clear rules and work assignments and shared leadership. In such teams, each team member can express his idea, which is heard and valued. Employees build strong relationships with their team members and feel included and useful to both the organisation and the team.

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs explains that such interpersonal relationships and this sense of belonging satisfies people’s social needs and thus acts as an intrinsic motivator. As a result, employees that work in functional teams are more eager to go to work, more willing to stay for longer in the office and less willing to quit their job. This decreases the “labor turnover” and “absenteeism” as Gurleen also mentions.

However, a team can be dysfunctional or, to the extreme, team members can be abusive to each other. Ineffective teams might not share issues and concerns, or fail to carry out decisions. However, the most detrimental teams in employee motivation are those with hidden conflict and subgroups. In such dysfunctional teams, some members feel excluded and their opinions and ideas are not heard or are undermined.

Herzberg’s motivation theory explains that being undermined and not heard violate hygiene factors so employees are not only not motivated, but are totally dissatisfied with their work. Such employees might stay in the organisation only because of extrinsic factors, such as money. Employees who feel excluded from their teams are more willing to quit their job and are less eager to go to work in the morning or stay longer in the office. In this case, the employees are more miserable working in a team than they would be if they were working alone.

3 thoughts on “Teamwork and Employee Satisfaction

  1. Hanna

    Gill’s analysis prompts reflection on the delicate balance between the benefits of teamwork and the dangers of dysfunctional team dynamics. Such considerations are critical to fostering a work culture where collaboration thrives and employees feel valued, fostering a sense of purpose beyond external stimuli. Ultimately, it’s worth write an essay that delves into the nuances of teamwork’s impact on employee motivation, reiterating the call to cultivate harmonious team dynamics for sustained organizational success.

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