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Dima Akel

March 12th, 2020

Why a bad experience will lead to great things

5 comments | 5 shares

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

Dima Akel

March 12th, 2020

Why a bad experience will lead to great things

5 comments | 5 shares

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

Former MSc student, Dima Akel, shares her dissertation research on why negative matters within the workplace. Continue reading to learn more.

Yes, you read that right. Your negative experience matters, we’re talking about your employment here. 

Terrible and demanding boss? Robot-like expected productivity? Factory like atmosphere? 

Yes. All that matters. I am here to explain why.

The great times of my dissertation research whilst at LSE have indeed led to my enlightenment in the study of Human Resource Management and Organisational Behaviour.

So much so, that I’ve decided to shine it upon you too. 

My research

Many educators and professionals stress the importance of motivation whether intrinsic or extrinsic in the pursuit of a career, task accomplishment or any personal goal. 

Let’s talk career wise:

  • We need to know what we want.
  • Where we want it.
  • Then work just as hard when we gain it.

My research tackled recruitment, onboarding and – your word of the day – motivation.

Individuals all over the world think that getting a job is like the 1, 2, 3 traditional process where the 9-5 comes along naturally and you are good at what you do because you were prepared for it.

A majority of the research participants experienced a career shift and newfound passion as a result of their negative experience.

Unfortunately, reality disagrees with this international employment assumption. When looking in depth at North America, the Middle East and Europe, it was discovered that motivation always exists even in unbearable working conditions, and it will only grow stronger as a result of the negative. 

A majority of the research participants experienced a career shift and newfound passion as a result of their negative experience. 

This speaks volumes in support of the theory on motivation and needs of Lee and Raschke which explains humans have five kinds of needs identified as:

  1. physiological
  2. security
  3. social
  4. self-esteem
  5. self-actuality

It is human nature to seek, create social networks, understand and stand up for their work and beliefs. 

The outcome

The outcome of my research provides major support for this theory considering the experiences of the international participants. It supports the negative by providing a logic for why it is so important to occur. You inevitably need to go through the bad, so that you can grow and have meaningful substance added to your career. 

You inevitably need to go through the bad, so that you can grow and have meaningful substance added to your career.

The evidence

Table 2

Evidence of Employee Recruitment, Motivation with No Onboarding Processes

 

Processes

Evidence

Getting Hired “I was… headhunted by the executive of the organisation… He called me… I went in for an interview… I was offered the position within two days.”
No Preparation “there’s always a discrepancy between the formal expectations for the job, like in the contract and what happens in reality…
“… I just signed a contract… but the job duties were never actually part of the contract and this is an issue that is in Pakistan.”
Still, Motivation “I’ve always been extremely motivated… but I think retail is what it is. This… high levels of pressure and the intellectual stimulation isn’t great… of course… you’re the source of your motivation.”

 

Table 3

Evidence of Motivation with No Employee Recruitment and No Onboarding Processes

Processes Evidence 
Chaos of Getting Hired “She asked me to do a presentation… I went to the class… there was… staff which I didn’t know that he had come in… I finished. He said… that was your recruitment.”
Figure it out  “I was not happy doing that because that’s not what I was there to do… I was managing a team of like 15 people and that was not in my job description either. I didn’t want to do that… my skills weren’t well tailored to it…”
“I really don’t remember what they’re telling me… they just kept referring to their presentation and saying just do what you did in there that one day… that was pressure because… I was afraid I wasn’t going to be able to repeat it again…”
Coping with The Chaos “… but the idea is that you’re learning a lot in the process… the job at the law firm was probably where I was able to realize my full potential despite the negative things about it like the lack of contract. They were just two partners… so one of them would just give me a… case… to just draft on my own… he said that will not read it… he will just file it in court… I had to deliver 110% and so it… kind of forced me to do my best.”
“I went beyond what can do done. Every year I tried to do a show at the university. It was not asked of me. I took the initiative, but it could not be a substitute for writing exams, grading them… that was very challenging… I knew the consequences… the responsibility… which would mean that I would have to put in so many extra hours aside from the hours of teaching and I would have to come in on days that were not scheduled for teaching to meet with the students… I was very very motivated…”

 


Learn more about our MSc Human Resources and Organisations programme

About the author

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Dima Akel

Alumna MSc Human Resources and Organisations (Organisational Behaviour) programme 2018/19

Posted In: In the classroom | The Student Lens

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