How To Improve Work Motivation For Employees At The Office

For some reason, your profits have been down. For some reason, your workplace feels different from how it used to. For some reason, you get the feeling that everyone in your office lacks the motivation to excel.

Every manager should be adept at monitoring his or her workforce for changes, especially negative ones, but only especially good managers are able to understand exactly why those changes are taking place. One of the worst maladies to befall a workplace is a deterioration of motivation ― but it is also one of the hardest problems to diagnose and fix. Sometimes, inspirational career quotes are just not enough. Here are five signs and solutions to help you combat low motivation in your office and become the best manager you can possibly be.

The 5 Symptoms

Not every workforce behaves the same: Some are casual while others are traditional; some are egalitarian while others are strictly tiered. At the best of times, managers can easily recognize when their employees are performing well. However, when motivation disappears from the office, nearly every workforce begins to look the same. Unified communications and collaboration begins to suffer. In particular, workers start to:

• Decrease productivity. Projects drag on for longer than they should; workers procrastinate and miss deadlines; less gets done every day. These are traits that the employee didn’t start with.
• Produce low-quality work. The few complete projects are riddled with errors; creativity and innovation vanish; customers complain frequently.
• Start conflict. Tensions from managers and between co-workers thicken; projects and relationships suffer. Tension is something that you want to avoid when hiring someone. It should be maintained throughout.
• Be absent. Workers call in sick more often; seats are often empty around the office; other workers must complete tasks that are not among their responsibilities.
• Leave. Workers do not provide notice of resignation; the rates of turnover rise steeply; costs of recruitment increase.

The 5 Remedies

Eventually, if left unchecked, a widespread lack of motivation causes organizations to crumble. Unenthused workers wreak havoc, scaring customers away with poor service and ruining the reputation of the business. Therefore, whenever one of these symptoms appears, wise words from Stephen Covey are not enough. Instead, you must act swiftly with the following treatments. Managers should:

• Listen. Workers prefer personal connections with superiors, and though you may feel the need to lecture all day, what they might need instead is a compassionate ear.
• Appreciate. Workers put in long hours at the office, when they could be spending their time and energy doing something they love with family and friends. You should recognize this sacrifice.
• Support. Plenty of workers have amazing ideas to improve the business, but they need support to explore their creativity. You should encourage them while supervising their efforts.
• Influence. Worker see, worker do: You should always lead by example, which may mean becoming extra motivated to help your subordinates.
• Give hope. When organizations aren’t loyal to their workers, workers have no reason to be loyal back, but by promoting from within and providing raises, you can give workers optimism. This is an attribute you should bring with you to job interviews. A hopeful organizations will accomplish more than the cynical one.

An Emergency Cure

When lack of motivation has grown too much before managers have intervened and reversed the damage, organizations must step in with emergency action. Like a crane moving a heavy vehicle in business, a motivational speaker has the knowledge, training, and experience to locate the precise reasons behind the workforce’s lack of motivation and resolve them without damage to the company as a whole.

However, not all professional speakers are equal, and you may need to do some searching to locate the speaker who has the tools necessary to reinvigorate your workforce. You can read more about the specific speakers available (as well as other corporate event planning tricks) on the Leading Authorities blog.

A Prevention Plan

Once you finally cure your business’s lack of motivation, you probably don’t ever want it to come back. Fortunately, business experts have developed a handful of preventative techniques that help organizations keep their workers focused and satisfied. In particular, companies should:

• Forget the money. Money and benefits constitute workers’ basic needs, but giving them more money and benefits doesn’t necessarily make them happier. Most workers need other incentives to stay motivated.
• Treat everyone fairly. Workers are finely attuned to justice in the workplace, and any whiff of unfairness in corporate policies or individual treatment will lead to dissatisfaction and minimal efforts.
• Be consistent. Similarly, managers, directors, and the company at large must be aligned in their goals for workers. Inconsistency is confusing, and confusion leads to stress and lack of motivation.

Personal Work Motivation

Sometimes, the issue is not your employees or colleagues. Sometimes, you are your own worst enemy. If you are struggling to find motivation for work, here are some tips to help you feel good again and work harder.

• Positively reinforce your good habits
• Take care of yourself both physically and emotionally
• Always think long-term

These three tricks will help you find motivation for work and personal responsibilities, as well. Reward yourself for getting things done, even if it is only a tiny task for an insurance agent. This will help you to feel motivated to do more. Be sure to take care of yourself physically and mentally. Take time off if you need it; make sure to get enough sleep and exercise. These habits, along with thinking long-term during times of difficulty, will help motivate you to work harder and perform better. Try using them now to give yourself a boost.

Build A Foundation of Confidence

Unmotivated employees in the workforce typically lack confidence. They do not believe that their effort actually matters. Moreover, they lack the confidence to accomplish their goals. Obviously, if managers set unrealistic goals, they will always have a low confidence issue. However, managers can impact work motivation by supporting the confidence of their employees. Everything stems from the believe in oneself. Managers must build a foundation of confidence to show that they believe in an individual, even though the individual might not believe in themselves.