THUR TEMPO BY Gathecha Phyllis DEMOTIVATION (Article by Ben Nderitu) On a normal day, I would talk about motivation, but what is most prevalent is lack of it, fondly called demotivation. The first step in making the right moves in motivating your employees is to first understand and realize the source of their lack of motivation.. If you know why they lack motivation, rest assured that you can come up with the best solutions and keep the problem from coming back. Here are some of the most common sources of lack of motivation of employees adapted from an article by Kristie Hedgie January 2014 edition of Forbes Woman Magazine: 1. Micromanagement: Micromanagers may have good intentions – trying to get work done well – but they drive us crazy. Micromanagement saps the life out of us, causing apathy at work. 2. Lack of progress: As it turns out, money for nothing doesn’t feel so great. While it might seem that we work for our salary, studies show we want to feel that our work matters. Organizations should also be mindful of unnecessary rules that don’t actually benefit the company. (i.e. restrictive office hours, Internet usage, or vacation policies) When they start to feel controlling rather than efficient, employees bristle. 3. Job insecurity: When we’re on a sinking ship, we start preparing for the jump. Employees who work for unstable companies or in jobs deemed expendable will only invest enough to keep getting their paycheck while they look elsewhere. The rest of their energy will be spent sharing rumors with co-workers, updating their resumes and planning their next move. 4. No confidence in company leadership: We don’t have to love our leaders to be happy, but we can’t believe they’re incompetent. Once we lose faith in where our company is heading, then our loyalties fray and we cease to wholeheartedly follow. We can even get subversive. 5. Lack of recourse for poor performance: When we go to work, we like to be rewarded and recognized for our contributions. If this isn’t happening, or worse, people doing mediocre work are getting the same treatment as strong performers, it’s natural to just turn off and do your job on autopilot. Companies that don’t deal with performance issues bring down the average for everyone. 6. Poor communication: In the absence of information, rumors thrive. Employees end up guessing, confused, and frustrated. If there’s not an avenue to communicate back to leadership for clarification, it gets even worse. Having to spend large amounts of time getting the information we need to do our jobs is exhausting. Not only does a clear communication throughout the organization make for an efficient workplace, but it has a major impact on employee morale and confidence. 7. Contagion: Motivated employees who work with demotivated ones will end up being demotivated. This is because demotivation is contagious. What Managers Can Do? a) Listen and get involved: Listen to the said and the unsaid. Body language can speak volumes about the atmosphere in an organization, read it and do the needful, if it needs correction. b) Promote Teamwork: Teamwork is the way to go, pitting one against the other can only be counterproductive. c) Praise and Encourage: Simple praise and words of encouragement for a task well-done are always welcome. d) Give Information Freely: Let people know of your plans and change of plans, if any. e) Appreciate and Acknowledge: Appreciation of a task and acknowledgement of efforts put in are wonderful morale boosters. f) Show concern and extend help whenever possible: This makes life easier and better both for the employee and the organization. Everyone needs to be motivated or enthused in all aspects of life. Motivation is the key to a happy and productive organization. For an employee to work well, the essence of motivation lies in him putting in his entire effort into his work and, at times even to go beyond doing prescribed tasks.
Posted on: Thu, 01 May 2014 08:51:16 +0000