In the previous video we looked at intrinsic motivation in the pursuit of fulfillment from your work. We talked about satisfaction, competence, belonging, essentially trying to derive positive self-esteem and psychological well-being. Now some workers might be looking for something deeper. They might be looking for identity in their work. What is identity? Identity is a sense of who you are, and where you fit into the broader social scheme. So when work provides a source of identity, it gives you more than just satisfaction or fulfillment. It provides a sense of meaning, understanding. So in this way, it's a deeper psychological and social set of rewards. Now there's a variety of ways in which identities are created. We can name ourselves, others can name us, and maybe even at a deep level we can ask, well what does it really mean to be human? So first naming ourselves. So we can just potentially identify ourselves by some descriptors attached to our work. I might identify myself as the author of several books or the creator of this MOOC. In addition to looking inwards, individuals can further construct their identities by categorizing themselves into groups. So my understanding of myself is derived from what it means to be part of various groups. I might categorize myself as a University of Minnesota professor, or as a social scientist. And I might derive some meaning for myself about what those groups represent to me. In other words, when I look in the mirror, what do I see? Well we cannot name ourselves simply in a vacuum. Our understanding of what it means to be part of these groups is derived from this meaning that society bestows upon these groups. I can only fully understand my identity as a professor by considering the social standing of professors. The social expectations of professor's roles. And society's evaluation of my fulfillment of these roles. Or at least my peers' evaluation of these roles. So our identity is being generated by identification with different groups. And if I fail to live up to what it means to be a part of this group then it can't be a strong part of my identity. So for example, when you hear that I'm a professor, you probably expect me to teach. If I never teach, how can I consider myself to be a professor, or at least, how can I consider myself a good professor. So, in other words, I can't rely solely on what I see in the mirror to define my own identity. It matters what I think you see when you see me, or what I think other professors see when they see me. So this has an important managerial implication, which is that you should expect employees to act in ways that conform with societal expectations, or with peer expectations for that occupation, even if the organization wishes them to act differently. Now, if you've risen through the ranks to manage within your own occupation, you probably understand these norms. But if you're coming from outside that occupation, you have some learning to do. For example, think about a finance person who now finds herself managing engineers. And there might be a lot of occupational norms that manager needs to become acquainted with. Identification with groups has important implications for managers. We can pull out lessons from two different theories. Now, I know theory can be an intimidating word, but we'll try to keep it simple and focus on the application. So first, social identity theory. Social identity theory essentially says that you categorize yourself as members of groups in order to boost your self esteem. And so, when you identify with your own group, called an in-group. You emphasize the positive traits of that group compared to other groups which are called out-groups. And so this pursuit of self-esteem by identifying with groups magnifies the differences between the groups you identify with compared to those that you do not. So this can lead to discrimination as well as inter-group conflict. For example, Hispanic employees might choose to speak Spanish in an American work place because of an in group social identity attachment. But this can lead to prejudicial treatment by whites as a outgroup. A second theory to quickly look at is called self-catergorization theory. Which essentially extends social identity theory by digging deeper into the cognitive processes that are going on here. And so, essentially this theory says that by identifying with different groups, you're essentially depersonalizing things. So instead of thinking of members as different groups as individuals, you replace them with images of stereotypes based on group characteristics. Now this may start to sound sort of academic, but the implication here is that a group becomes a true singular entity with shared values, norms, and therefore behaviors. So, do you want to create high performing teams? Well, then create a shared social identity and workers will internalize the values of this group, and use it as a basis for behavior and decision making. Also, wanna create organizational identity? Well, then help workers derive self-esteem by being aligned with the values of your organization and seeing themselves as part of your group, part of your organization. Now notice this can be challenging when organizations treat their employees as short-term disposable commodities or even as highly paid free agents. So lastly, we can also ask whether work defines what it means to be a human. Now, not everybody would go this far but some people see work as an essential quality of being a human being. So this is a reinforcement for why we should take the quality of work very seriously. If work really is part of what it means to be human, then we need to pay particular attention to the conditions under which people work. Note, however, that the importance of work for fulfillment and add an even deeper level, identity, has a dark side. What happens when work conflicts with one's authentic or true self? For example, one element of this dark side. Suppose you have a belief of who you truly are. For example, you wanna be creative and autonomous, what happens when your work doesn't allow you to fulfill those expectations? What happens when work is scripted drudgery? What happens when we're expected to portray certain demeanors that conflict with how we really feel? What if a customer service worker is expected to provide service with a smile, but they're having a bad day? What happens when care givers need to suppress difficult emotions and deliver bad news with a professional demeanor, or in some cases, even a smile? This is called emotional labor. It can cause real stress for workers. Now returning to the previous video in this lesson, I indicated that intrinsic motivation stems from psychological needs like autonomy, confidence and relatedness. So continuing with this dark side theme, what happens when someone's work is stressful? When coworkers undermine them and they feel like a failure? Now, just as good work can yield positive psychological rewards, then it must be the case that bad work can cause psychological damage. Presumably, the stronger someone thinks intrinsic motivation is, the more damaging must be the effects when it is repressed and left unfulfilled. So manage your human resources carefully and with a deep appreciation for the deep importance of their work.
