L3 FA CCA 2019 - 2020

IAE Valenciennes
M. Fortuna

Work
and motivation

By ADELE CAILLIAU & CRUCKE AGATHE

 Table of content

Table of content 1
Text 2
Vocabulary 3
Resume 4
Multiple Choice Question 5
Commentary 7
Introduction 7
I - Presentation : 7
1. Microsoft : 7
2. Motivation concepts : 9
II - Consequences : 10
1. The means implemented : 10
2. The observed results : 11
III - Our opinion : 12
1. Benefits 12
2. Limits 12
Conclusion 13
Webography 14
Translators 14
 Text
Microsoft Japan tested a four-day work week and productivity jumped by 40%

The experiment for the month of August led to more efficient meetings and happier
workers who took less time off.

Microsoft tested out a four-day work week in its Japan offices and found as a result
employees were not only happier – but significantly more productive.
For the month of August, Microsoft Japan experimented with a new project called Work-
Life Choice Challenge Summer 2019, giving its entire 2,300-person workforce five Fridays
off in a row without decreasing pay.
The shortened weeks led to more efficient meetings, happier workers and boosted
productivity by a staggering 40%, the company concluded at the end of the trial. As part of
the program, the company had also planned to subsidize family vacations for employees up
to ¥100,000 or $920.

“Work a short time, rest well and learn a lot,” Microsoft Japan president and CEO Takuya
Hirano said in a statement to Microsoft Japan’s website. “I want employees to think about
and experience how they can achieve the same results with 20% less working time.”
In addition to the increased productivity, employees took 25% less time off during the trial
and electricity use was down 23% in the office with the additional day off per week.
Employees printed 59% fewer pages of paper during the trial. The vast majority of
employees – 92% – said they liked the shorter week.
The experiment is not the first time long weekends have been experimented with in the
corporate world. In 2018, New Zealand trust management company Perpetual Guardian
trialled a four-day work week over two months for its 240 staff members. Employees
reported experiencing better work–life balance and improved focus in the office. Staff
stress levels decreased by 7%.

Workers have often said they could be more productive with less time in the office. A
survey of 1,500 workers and 600 human resources managers by HR consulting firm Robert
Half found 66% of workers said they wanted to work less than five days a week.
Another experiment published by the Harvard Business Review shows shorter work days, a
decrease from the average 8-hour work day to a 6-hour work day, increased productivity. A
2018 survey of 3,000 employees by the Workforce Institute at Kronos found more than
half of full-time workers thought they could do their job in five hours a day.

Microsoft Japan’s challenge was just a pilot project, the company told the Guardian in a
statement, and it’s unclear if these changes will be implemented in offices elsewhere or on
a longer term basis. It plans to implement another iteration of the challenge this winter.
“In the spirit of a growth mindset, we are always looking for new ways to innovate and
leverage our own technology to improve the experience for our employees around the
globe,” a Microsoft spokesman said.

Kari Paul Mon 4 Nov 2019 22.14 GMT.

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 Vocabulary

An action taken in order to achieve, to

Trial obtain, something without knowing the Essai
result.
Directing the course of events, guiding the
Led Mené
course of action.

Several things, actions, that follow one

Row Consécutif
another.

Something that surprises by its unexpected

Staggering Stupéfiant
nature.

Statement To tell something in a formal way. Déclaration

Know the public opinion at a given time, on

Survey Enquête
a subject.

Which lies between two extremes,

Average Moyenne
intermediary result.

Doing something new, renewing or repeat

Iteration Itération
an action.

Intellectual habits, beliefs, way of thinking,

Mindset Mentalité
of judging someone.

self-financing technique which consists in

Leverage Effet de levier
increasing the return on equity

People in charge of presenting opinions,

Spokesman Porte-parole
decisions to others.

Corporate a company, especially a large one Entreprise

subsidize Help someone or a community financially Subventionner

Implement Mobilize resources to achieve a goal Mettre en oeuvre

state of stability. The elements are in an

Balance Équilibre
equal position / proportion
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 Resume

The article was written by The Guardian on November, 4 2019. It deals with a
project of the great Microsoft firm about the working time of employees in Japan called «
Work-Life Choice Challenge Summer 2019 ». The project was applied in August 2019. It
consists in reducing working time from 5 days to 4 days, leaving Friday free for a 3-day
weekend. While earning the same salary.

The goal is to rest employees as much as possible to make them happier, without
any stress, and by this way they can focus on their work and the objectives to be achieved.

The results of this experiment are rather beneficial : productivity increased by

40%, meetings are more efficient, break times are rather shorter and the consumption of
charges such as electricity and printing paper is reduced due to the Friday closing.

Overall, workers are satisfied with this implementation : 66% are supportive. Some
believe they can offer the same work force in 6 hours as in 8 hours for example.

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 Multiple Choice Question
1. What has Microsoft made possible for its employees ?
A) Work 4 more days per year
B) Have 5 extra Fridays off
C) Stop working during the experience

2. Motivation at work allows employees ?

A) Well-being
B) Better productivity
C) Reduce performance

3. Which company has been created by Paul Allen and Bill Gates ?
A) Bing
B) Microsoft
C) Nintendo

4. What is the name of new Microsoft project ?

A) Workforce 5 Fridays
B) Work Life Challenge Summer 2019
C) Happier workers

5. Microsoft is a company of ?
A) Computer science
B) Management consulting
C) Micro-computer

6. For microsoft they are the motivating factors ?

A) Decision-making power
B) Environment and organization office
C) The dissociation between private and professional life

7. Microsoft chose to change for its employees, in particular :

A) Quality of relationships and Remuneration
B) Working conditions and Benefits in kind
C) Working conditions and Remuneration

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8. Among these notions which are part of the management modes :
A) Coercive
B) Dictator
C) Delegate

9. What are the benefits of employee experience ?

A) They earn more money
B) Better reconciliation of personal and professional life
C) They can do more sport

10. How many employees were satisfied overall with the experience carried
out at Microsoft ?
A) 58%
B) 34%
C) 92%

11. Productivity at Microsoft with the motivation experience was :

A) Very positive
B) A disaster
C) Nothing has changed

12. To what is one of the positive economic impacts of Microsoft due ?

A) Coffee consumption
B) Toilet paper consumption
C) Electricity consumption

13. For what type of business would reducing the time be more beneficial ?
A) Factories
B) Companies with offices
C) Agriculture

14. Work arrangement for employees also has an impact on :

A) The environment
B) Employee satisfaction
C) Their family life

15. Some Statement is true :

A) When you are a manager you should not be too attentive to employees
B) A manager must know the ambitions of the collaborators
C) A manager must be athletic
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 Commentary

Introduction
Motivation is the engine that runs individuals to act and to make a project a reality,
so it is a motivating factor. Conversely, a disengaged and unmotivated employee is a brake
on the performance of the company.

This is why for several years companies have been more interested in the well-being
of their employees and have therefore implemented HR management policies to allow
employees to be "fulfilled" in the performance of their duties, and to find an operating
mode compatible between their professional life and their private life.

Microsoft is among the companies most concerned about the well-being of its employees.

I - Presentation :
1. Microsoft :

● Presentation :

It was created in 1975 by Bill Gates

and Paul Allen in New Mexico. Its office is
a garage located in Albuquerque. In 1979,
the company moved from its office to a
real location in Bellevue, Washington.

This company was born thanks to the two partners who are passionate about
computers and who have a strong interest in microcomputers.

They very quickly became aware that this technology is the future of
computing.

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 ● The concept of motivation at Microsoft :

The company implements a set of motivational factors, it involves :

- The environment and office organization,
- The management method applied,
- The adaptation of the company to the needs of the employees, they implement a
certain form of flexibility in working hours for example, in order to better
combine the private and professional life of employees. (e.g the four-day week).

For the Director of Human Resources in France, user-friendliness and

collaborative components generate profit, because they are essential for the
success of the company. If the company can make its employees happy, it can only
be beneficial in terms of productivity, development and growth for the group.

Managers at Microsoft are very invested in the animation of their team, they
have a real desire to create motivation among their employees, they invest
themselves professionally and personally in their missions.They have also
implemented an astonishing concept: the evaluation of managers, "Manager
feedback" a survey is set up, each employee can anonymously or not, evaluate the
management mode applied.

Microsoft's HR policy is based on the well-

being of employees, performance is based on the
objectives defined between the employee and his
manager during an annual development interview,
the latter makes it possible to express the
expectations of both parties and therefore to set up
an action plan. At the end of the year, a second
evaluation interview is carried out to assess the
progress of the year.

Involvement in the management of the teams has moreover enabled the

company to come second in the Great Place to Work ranking for several years.
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2. Motivation concepts :

● Motivation definition :

Motivation is defined as a « state of activation », it is a psychological process

that is triggered to meet a need, an objective to be satisfied.

Motivation at work is related to the satisfaction between what the subject

expects from work and what the work is likely to bring him.

Motivation at work is therefore the interest we take in the tasks entrusted to

us, our involvement, our perseverance. Within companies, it is the manager who is
in charge of motivating teams and thus promotes collective performance.

● Management :

Management helps to strengthen the motivation of teams. The management

style to be adopted depends on the professional framework, the work, the tasks, the
objectives to be achieved, and also on the climate of communication and the
working atmosphere within the team.

All of the management styles are all effective, but for this to be truly effective
it is imperative to adapt the management style according to the personalities of
employees and work situations. Effectively managing employees is not an obvious
thing to establish, you have to be able to communicate verbally, non-verbally or
through management actions. Motivating teams therefore requires time and above
all the desire to better understand the elements that motivate employees.

Here are some examples of management styles :

- Bossy / Coercive : The leader gives precise instructions and instructions,
organizes, plans and controls.
- Participatory : The manager is a partner, decisions are made as a group, he
listens, speaks little, gives advice and works on an equal footing with the
employees.
- Delegate : His role is to empower, the employees decide, he stays in the
background but is available and responds to the employees requests.

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 II - Consequences :
The success of the company depends on customer satisfaction, but above all on the
employees satisfaction who will allow performance. Motivate the workforce must be part
of the manager's daily goals.

We will see in what form Microsoft allowed the motivation of its employees during
its project.

1. The means implemented :

Microsoft tried an experiment in August, the "Work Life Choice Challenge Summer
2019" in Japan. In order to increase motivation, Microsoft has chosen to work on the
psychological and social aspect of its employees. They give them maximum rest in order to
obtain maximum satisfaction. The project then touches on different aspects of a rather
classic employment contract.

● Working conditions

During this project, they offered rather exceptional working conditions. Which is a
real source of motivation. According to Takuya Hirano's wishes, employees can stay 1
more day at home, without working, it is not even about teleworking but rather to focus on
personal activities, much more interesting occupations to do for the employee.

● Remuneration

They don’t affect remuneration, even if the employees work 4 days a week and no
longer 5.

To retain and commit employees, it is necessary to do more than just pay them
well. The salary plays an important role in the sustainability of motivation. Competition
puts pressure on managers : they have an interest in paying their employees well in order
to keep them.

Moreover, the higher the level of remuneration, the more this shows the
importance of the role that an employee leads within the company. This importance of the
role gives motivation.

Then, the social needs of employees must also be taken into account and
remuneration is at the forefront. The pecuniary aspect is significant for his own standard
of living and influences the choice of workers.
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2. The observed results :

The results of the experience are multiple and very beneficial, both for employees
and for the company.

● Satisfaction

By fulfilling psychological needs and thanks to the new weekly work schedule and
time spent at home, employees are happier and less stressed.

At Microsoft, 92% of people who have followed the experience say they are satisfied
and want to repeat the experience. Satisfaction will be felt on the company : it will lead to
positive growth. As the experience of the company Perpetual Guardian underlines, the
week of 4 working days per week allows a better reconciliation of personal and
professional life.

● Productivity

More concentration was observed among the employees.

Indeed, they say spending less time in the office allows them to be
more productive. This must surely be due to a mind more occupied
with diverse tasks, to allow to be the most applied in each task. Also,
having less time to do the same job can push tasks to be completed
as quickly as possible. With motivation, they do everything possible
to make tasks successful.

On the company side, if it don’t motivate its employee, he may be tempting to use
his working time to get lost in other personal things. This represents a waste of time and
resources.

Meetings are more effective. Break times taken have decreased by 25%. The
conclusion of this experiment is that by having 20% less working time, the same
productivity results can be obtained.

● Save money

Closing the business one more day in the week led to a lower consumption. In fact,
electricity consumption dropped by 23%. Employee document printing also fell 59%. This
saves money, helps lower annual expenses and has an impact on the bottom line.

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 III - Our opinion :

1. Benefits

The motivation to work is very important for the productivity and the
enthusiasm of the employees, indeed if the collaborators feel good at work and that
they like what they do they will do it better and will give themselves the means to
do even better .

An employee who doesn’t take pleasure in carrying out his work and who
sees his activity as a repetitive task and not very interesting is necessarily less
efficient than an employee who loves his job and who is motivated.

2. Limits

Motivational management can also have its limits, as this method requires a
particular involvement of the manager, who must listen to his employees and not
favour certain employees to the detriment of others. He must be impartial and fair.

Here, the example of the introduction of motivational

measures applies to Microsoft, which has increased its
productivity. In factories for example, if the working time is
reduced to 4 days, even with a higher rate due to
motivation, it would be difficult to produce the same
production capacity in 4 working days rather than in 5. The
solution is effective mainly for offices.

Historically, working time has been reformed several times, notably in

France. We are decreasing more and more the time worked per week. Employee
complaints may appear to be unreasonable and if they are continuous, how far will
the working time be reformed ? Dissatisfaction and complaints will always persist.
We must be vigilant about the installation of measures : they should be consistent
and beneficial for everyone : company or employee.

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 Conclusion

Microsoft has modified the terms of a traditional week at work for Japanese
people in August 2019. The company has reduced working time while allowing
the same remuneration. This has enabled workers to be more satisfied and
accomplished. They were more efficient during the project, improved their
productivity. The company has saved expense costs.

These same conditions cannot be applied to all forms of work. But by

establishing other rules, for example reward work which can be established
within factories, we always manage to allow motivation among employees, very
important for enabling performance.

Motivation has a direct impact on company performance.

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 Webography

Microsoft company :
https://www.andlil.com/societe-microsoft-corporation-139836.html

Interview DRH France Microsoft :

https://www.widoobiz.com/2012/03/19/drh-de-microsoft-france-comment-il-motive-ses-
salaries-a-se-lever-le-matin/

Motivational concepts :
https://www.cadredesante.com/spip/profession/management/Les-theories-de-la-
motivation

The means implemented :

https://kostango.com/pourquoi-la-motivation-des-salaries-est-importante/

Translators

Google Translate
https://translate.google.fr/
#view=home&op=translate&sl=fr&tl=en&text=google%20traduction

Linguee
https://www.linguee.fr

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