As a manager, nothing is more frustrating than going to work in the morning and addressing a team of people who, fundamentally, don’t want to be there. You feel like you’re pushing water uphill. No amount of motivational speaking or team meetings seem to work. The job just isn’t getting done.
The key here is to figure out why your team isn’t excited about what they’re doing. You want to know what it is that’s putting them off doing their best.
What Causes Lack Of Employee Motivation?
As you might expect, there is more than one factor that contributes to employee malaise.
The first is boredom. Team members may not be enjoying the work that they do for you, and this could be significantly impacting their levels of motivation.
They might also lack confidence in management decisions. You and your senior team may believe that you’re doing the right thing for the business, but colleagues may have a different idea. If they think that you’re running the brand into the ground, that’ll affect the quality of work they produce.
Lack of career progression is another issue. If colleagues don’t feel like they’re moving forwards, then that will naturally stifle their desire to pursue excellence. You’ll also get similar results if you fail to appreciate workers for the time and energy they put into their jobs. Don’t assume that their paycheck fully compensates them. It doesn’t. Most workers want more than that.
Lastly, your team could be down in the dumps because your working environment isn’t up to scratch. If you’re renting out cheap offices on the edge of town or operating in a dangerous environment, they may feel uninspired.
What To Do About Low Employee Motivation?
Fortunately, there are a host of things that you can do to improve employee motivation.
The first is to get to know your team better. Find out what it is that they want from their work and try to deliver it to them. By getting to know them more on a personal level, you build rapport and help bring them into your mode of thinking. After all, you’re passionate about your business, and that can be infectious.
The next step is to find ways of bringing your team together. Sometimes people feel demotivated if they are out on a limb, working by themselves. What you want is for everyone to feel like part of a cohesive whole. Outdoor team building activities can help with this. Not only do they get people out in the fresh air, but they also help colleagues get to know each other better while having fun. It’s a tried-and-tested combination, something that many firms use.
The third thing you can do is acknowledge the challenges that team members face. That doesn’t mean solving them for them – that’s not your job. It just means pointing out that there are difficulties in what they’re doing. This type of sympathy can go a long way in motivating people and showing them that you care.
