These days everyone is extremely busy in their daily lives and finding the balance of work, family time, and fun is a tough mission for many. Avoiding burnout fatigue is another issue we face with the constant full-speed-ahead lifestyle many AMTs live. Along with these challenges we all have a different way of motivating ourselves to do our jobs well, after all motivation is often seen as the single most important management challenge.
After speaking with many aircraft technicians throughout the industry it seems that there are some highly motivated mechanics and then some who simply grind it out each shift. Where do you fall? When asked what motivated them the techs we spoke to explained that their greatest motivation was the completion of a maintenance task that returned an aircraft to service sooner than expected. Another common response we got was, "keeping the boss happy." Influence from other coworkers is another great motivator according to the responses from a few techs. Making a friendly competition out of their maintenance tasks with fellow coworkers pushes them to complete the job with speed and thoroughness.
We did get a few responses that indicated money was their motivation but when queried further to understand how this really pushes them to perform it can be concluded that money does not seem to actually motivate most technicians, it is merely a reason to "clock-in."
Today as you lace up those boots and head off to the shop take a moment and decide, what will motivate you today? Without motivation are you performing to your best ability? Surely there is something that motivates you, think about it and you may be surprised to find your motivation is deeper than just completing the job or collecting a paycheck, it very well could be the satisfaction that you are some pilot's HERO.
As we celebrate AMT Day this May 24th take a moment to reflect upon your craft, the appreciation in your industry, and then decide: What really motivates you?
If you are finding that staying motivated on the job is a constant battle what do you do to get that extra 10 percent? We want to hear from you! What motivates you to go above and beyond in your daily routine? What motivates you on the job? What would you like to see from management in terms of motivation? Do you have any special motivators? Drop us a note with your thoughts at [email protected].
Until next time we'll see you online: forums.AMTonline.com
Thanks for reading!
Jon Jezo
