And we're back: Self-Motivation and Employment Services

While on vacation and reading through old magazines, I found an article in a 2008 Men's Health about motivation that can be applied to onestop customers.

The article, The Psychology of Motivation, compares the techniques of a successful college football coach with self-determination theory first articulated and later refined by psychologists at the University of Rochester.

The article highlights three factors of self-determination theory that can be applied to program planning and case management:

1. Autonomy: "the choice to do it was made by you, not somebody else." Self-motivated individuals will do better than those who are simply serving a parole/probation officer, case manager, or fulfilling other requirements imposed on them by others. Part of assessment should be to gauge what motivates a customer. Is it external or internal, or a combination of both? Program language, materials, and activities should emphasize the personal benefits of employment and training.

2. Competence: "you know what you're doing, or at least are becoming better at it." Job-search is a challenging activity with many opportunities for feeling like a failure, such as rejection letters and tough interviews. Customers need to feel prepared for the challenge, and need practice that will build confidence. Verbal praise, achievable short-term goals, and other confidence boosters will help customers stay motivated.

3. Relatedness: "the activity connects you in some way to the other people." Unemployment and job-search are isolating activities. Self-directed work in a onestop can continue that feeling of being on one's own. Tools to combat this by providing interconnectedness include case management (with a consistent relationship between staff and customer) and group activities: workshops, networking, training, etc. Jobseekers who are part of a group will push each other to work harder and can create rewarding relationships that bring another motivation to continue in the group.

Another interesting item from self-determination theory is the idea that outside influences can undermine intrinsic motivation. Incentives and support services need to be carefully distributed in order to hold their value as tools for jobseeking.

Also, a major point of the article is that a person is more likely to do something if they consider it fun than if they find it to be a chore (makes sense, doesn't it?). The challenge for employment specialists is to turn job search into something fun.