Organizations are increasingly transcending country borders and physical space limitations. What are some effective strategies to motivate dispersed team members in a virtual setting? What are some emerging trends that deal with this challenge in your field? Provide an example.

200 to 300 words with a reference_Response to Felicia Statement below (2.2 July 26, 2021)

Companies are constantly thinking about ways to motivate and keep employees engaged outside the office. Many have thought that if the work is meaningful and ties to the individual’s beliefs and values, the company will be successful. While this may be true in some cases, others believe it’s the relationships that have been formed and work flexibility that allows for my personal growth to be specific factors. Employee experiences such as meaningful work may mean more to them. Meaningful work is defined as work experienced as particularly significant and holding a positive meaning for an individual (Van Wingerden & Van der Stoep, 2018). In my particular field of Child Nutrition, we physically have to be in the buildings to prepare and serve meals. We have had to think outside the box with the pandemic consuming the entire world by limiting gatherings and disrupting everything we believed in. It was challenging to keep employees motivated because the constant fear that you may lose your job was an everyday reality for most. Our staff constantly saw restaurants and businesses lay off or close altogether. Communication was the key; our most effective way to stay in contact with one another was zoom and conference calls. While it was unconventional, still preparing meals and distributing them to the students was our primary goal. The ability to explain information and offer forums for discussions was paramount for our success. We conveyed the meal selections and provided times and routes for distribution to work as a unit cohesively.

We relied on our colleagues to lead the way; they could direct some who were technology challenged into the 21st century. The top seven critical concepts were: Active engagement with the learning material, real-world issues, simulation and modeling, discussion and debate boards, working groups, coaching, and formative assessment (Lynch, 2017). These 7 steps allowed our department to constantly stay in contact with each other and stay abreast of incoming changes. We were also able to hear from a more diverse group of people instead of the same ones speaking out. The discussion boards explored new ideas and gave us different goals to pursue. Since we are in the process of returning to normalcy, these are things that will continue to help us grow and work together as a team.

Reference:

Lynch, M. (Mar 04, 2017). 7 Ways Technology is Impacting Modern Education. https://www.thetechedocate.org/7-ways-technology-impacting-modern-education/

Van Wingerden, J. & Van der Stoep, J. (13 June, 2018). The Motivational Potential of Meaningful Work: Relationships With Strength Use, Work Engagement, and Performance. https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0197599