Employee Motivation and The Economy

We all are familiar with the problems in our economy, which is also one of the major topics of the 2008 Presidential Election. Due to the problems with the economy, the credit crisis, financial institutions closing left and right, the downturn in the housing market, and our stock market being so vulnerable, people are getting more and more nervous as the weeks go on. We are all seeing the tightening of our budgets, trying to get out and stay out of debt, and some worrying about if they will have a job next week or a house to live in. Things are getting scary, but in this time, I think we are seeing changes in what actually motivates our employees.
We have seen the times where the things that motivate us to come to a job is the vacation time, company vehicles, employees allowances, and retirement packages. I think we are now seeing and heading more towards the time where people are becoming satisfied with just having the job that will pay the bills. It is more important to see that we can get insurance packages to support our families and having the essentials, not all of the luxaries. It is so important to just keep the job you have because our the scary possibility that there won't be anywhere else to go. I'm not exactly sure what the direct effects or differences in employee motivations that might come from the new President, but they will have an impact on the economy changing (hopefully for the better) which in turn will change the way we are looking at our jobs.
I am attaching a link to a website that describes ways a leader/manager can help in motivating their employees. They are the simple things such as your mood when you show up to work or giving feedback to your employees, that can help at any time, times of plenty or times of less.
http://humanresources.about.com/od/motivationsucces3/a/lead_motivation.htm
Enjoy! I hope everyone has a good day and remember not to take the little things for granted, try to focus on the things that we have, instead of the things we are lacking, and be grateful for them!

Google

Well the other day in class we had a guest speaker, who was great by the way. She was talking about different companies that are known for their high employee motivating environments. One that was mentioned was Google, which sparked my interest and reminded me of their great employee packages, so i'm going to let you all know about the environment at Google.

Google claims that they are not like conventional companies, the only thing that makes them like other companies is their focus on innovation and smart business practices. Even though they have branches all across the world, they still strive to keep the small company feel. "Googlers thrive in small, focused teams and high-energy environments, believe in the ability of technology to change the world, and are as passionate about their lives as they are about their work." Google provides tailored compensation packages, they can be comprised of salary, bonus, and equity components, and also the opportunities to further their financial situation.

Their work enviroment is also a huge deal, they have excellent food, nap time, child care areas, game rooms, massages, and still with a comfortable small company feel.

On their website they have the 10 Reasons to work at Google. So here they are:
10 Reasons to work at Google
1.Lend a Helping Hand
2.Life is Beautiful
3.Appreciation is the best motivation
4.Work and Play are not mutually exclusive
5.We love our employees, and want them to know that
6.Innovation is our bloodline
7.Good company everywhere you look
8.Uniting the world, one user at a time
9.Boldly go where no one has gone before
10. There is such thing as a free lunch after all
There are explanations for all of the reasons on the website.
Here is the link to find out more about this employee focuses company if you are interested:
http://www.google.com/support/jobs/bin/static.py?page=about.html