Are your employees constantly checking the clock? Are they playing on their smart phone? Rolling their eyes when tasked with new projects? If so, you have unmotivated employees and the fault isn't theirs alone. In fact, company culture and management have more to do with unmotivated employees than meets the eye. Consider these six reasons your employees are unmotivated and learn how to increase motivation to get your business back on track.
There's No Camaraderie
Employees sometimes spend more time with their co-workers than they do with their family. Even if they've never visited each other's house, they know their friends, their pets, and their quirks. If your business doesn't foster an environment of camaraderie, it may be affecting employee motivation. Help employees feel bonded to their co-workers and their management team with company lunches, team-building exercises, and group activities. Foster that cohesive environment to engage employees and keep them motivated throughout the day.
You Have Trust Issues
A great manager can catalyze a department towards success or eliminate motivation altogether. Trust plays a huge role in improving motivation. A manager who micromanages or takes over tasks can shatter employee motivation and perceived competency. Take a look at your own management style to determine whether you're providing your employees with opportunities to succeed. Do you assign tasks and allow them to complete those tasks independently? Do you check in for status updates without reabsorbing the project? Embracing a management style that trusts but verifies is essential to cultivating a culture of motivation in your workplace.
They're Bored
Having the same duties day in and day out reduces satisfaction and depletes motivation. While some jobs, like assembly work, require a certain amount of repetition, managers who want to motivate their employees need to find ways to break up that monotony with new tasks and skills. Take a look at your workflow to determine where you can schedule cross-training or allow time for additional responsibilities. Engage employees by asking what would help their motivation and fit those interests into the job. Reduce the boredom of the workday to engage your employees.
They Have Nowhere to Go
Some employees are perfectly happy punching in and out each day with the same tasks and job duties, but most want a challenge. They want to work their way up in the company or parlay their skills into another field. They want to expand their education or take on more responsibility. If your employees have no way to grow in their position, you probably have a highly unmotivated workforce. Even if employees can't climb the corporate ladder, having opportunities for employees to take classes or go to conferences keeps them engaged and excited. Find opportunities to help your employees grow and watch that motivation improve.
There's No Feedback
Managers can create training opportunities and assign more exciting work but if those tasks aren't resulting in constructive feedback, they still won't help motivation. Employees need consistent feedback to maintain enthusiasm. A task that isn't acknowledged may as well not have happened. Managers need to build-in individual meetings with employees to discuss their job duties and how their work affects the rest of the company, positively and negatively. This feedback protocol is a simple way to increase employee motivation by giving them timely assessments of their job duties and goals.
A motivated workforce can take your company far and you can help that process along. Consider whether or not you are initiating feedback or providing employees with career growth opportunities then implement changes to correct that hindrance. Before you know it, you'll have a motivated and engaged workforce.
