H
Integrative Team Case Study:
A Juggling Act Part 1
October 9, 2011
Identification
Key Facts
Prior to becoming a parent Anna was a star performer, was promoted rapidly and received
significant pay increases
After she had her daughter, Anna moved to part-time to allow her the flexibility of
working and spending time with her daughter.
Annas motivation is now shared between being a mother and a star performer
Anna found that her work on an internal office project was unrewarding and she missed
the pressure and satisfaction of working on a client site.
Anna became part of the management team of a large, client based project with tight
deadlines and challenging work.
Anna is dissatisfied with her level of contribution when compared to other managers
since she misses out on key decisions and project progress
Her days at home are used to play catch up with the office, thus impeding on her quality
time with her daughter
Anna is feeling overwhelmed trying to find the right balance of work and home life.
Anna does not feel that there is anyone close to her who can relate to her situation and
offer support
Although her colleagues are supportive and outwardly sympathetic to her situation, they
may not really understand how she feels because they continue to add to her work load.
After a talk with her husband, Anna acknowledged that she is approaching burn out from
the stress of trying to be everything to everyone and agreed that she needs to take some
time and reevaluate her priorities
Symptoms
High stress levels impacting sleep, eating, patience levels and emotional stability
She feels overwhelmed in her inability to balance home and work.
Lack of enjoyment doing the project work that used to be enjoyable
Feelings of guilt both for not spending more time with her daughter and for not carrying
her weight on the project.
Feeling impatient during social interactions and rarely taking lunch breaks
Feeling in an unhealthy state, as was shown by the physical, emotional and spiritual tank
exercise she performed. She was running at empty or below empty in all categories
Problem Statement
Anna is at a very critical period in her life. Prior to starting a family, she was a highly motivated
self-leader and a star on the job. With her recent shift in priorities, her motivation to continue
as a top performer is conflicting with her motivation to be an involved parent. Although she
previously thought working part-time would be the ideal solution, she is now beginning to see
that being successful in both areas is more challenging than she originally expected. Anna has
reached a turning point in her life where she needs to reevaluate her priorities and find a way to
achieve work-life balance.
Analysis
Annas desire to be successful in every aspect of her life is fed from her self-concept. She finds
daily work challenges and working with driven to people be highly motivating and she sees
herself as a star at work. Based on her beliefs of what makes a good parent, she is also highly
motivated to be a devoted mother at home. The motivators are conflicting and she is feeling
pressured, guilty, unhappy and stressed,
The MARS model of individual behaviour and performance is a good illustration of Annas
current difficult situation. Her behaviour and performance is deteriorating as role perceptions
and situational factors clash with her motivators.
Motivation Anna much prefers the daily challenges of working on a client site over working
on internal office projects. She is motivated in her work by skill variety. She identifies herself
with the task and the significance of the work is much higher when working directly with clients.
Being out in the field also affords more autonomy and job feedback is more direct since Anna is
dealing directly with the client. These are all core components of the job characteristics model.
Ability Anna is well experienced in her role and has a great deal of ability in getting the job
done.
Role Perception In her job, she sees herself as a leader. The part time hours make her feel she
is not contributing enough and she is missing out on key decisions.
Situational Factors Annas desire to spend more of her time with family is conflicting with
her desire and motivation to perform on the job.
Four-Drive Theory, a motivation theory based on the innate drives to acquire, bond, learn and
defend incorporates both emotions and rationality. It also applies to Annas situation.
Drive to acquire: This includes enhancing ones self-concept through relative status and
recognition in society. After going to part time, Anna watched peers race past her on their way to
partnership. Anna was once among the foremost of the people in this race and her self-concept,
confidence and self-esteem are negatively affected. There is even a brief nod to equity theory in
this. Some of her peers are also parents but have chosen to hire nannies and continue to work
full time. This gives them the advantage at work and creates feelings of inequity in Anna.
Drive to Bond: Anna needs to develop the special bond of mother and daughter. Anna also
wants to nurture the relationships she worked hard to create with her employer, co-workers and
church group. She is now finding social interaction to be stressful because she feels under
constant pressure to get work done.
Drive to learn: Anna used to find new daily challenges to be stimulating and motivating. With
her current situations, she is finding them stressful and demotivating.
Drive to defend: Anna is clearly torn between the constraints of her work and motherhood.
Being a good mother is important to her but her employer, while outwardly sympathetic, does
not seem to understand how to help her and instead wants to add to her workload.