Sociological characteristics of work motivation in the region in the 90ies: Novi Sad sample

Abstract

The intention of this paper is to point out: a) that anomie of values in the contemporary Serbian society influenced the relation of the people towards work, i.e. their experience of work, b) that the disturbed value system and poverty determine the characteristics of work motivation to the great extent, c) that work motivation of the workers of the enterprises of Novi Sad is influenced, besides already mentioned factor, by the way of organizing work in an enterprise, the value of non-working (and free) time and features of worker's personality (traditionalistic patterns of behavior and (non)independence). The workers of the enterprises of Novi Sad (industrially more developed region of Serbian society) experience the work they do mainly as means, the way to get the money. Strong influence to this understanding of work is exerted by poverty and 'limitations' in relations within the process of production itself. Namely, stiff and insufficiently flexible, oligarchic way of work organization, still present in Novi Sad enterprises, limit the expression of knowledge and abilities of workers and contributes to underestimation of work itself. 'Restraint' of workers as a consequence of ill-organized production process and traditionalistic patterns of behavior, led to reduction of various expectations to expectation of wage.

Keywords

• work
• motivation
• enterprise