As an employer, you have a moral duty to encourage employee motivation within your workplace.
There are many benefits when you take these positive steps. In the end, employers gain a happier workforce - and an even healthier bottom-line.
But, if you ignore the importance of employee motivation, you could end up losing talented workers, work production, and business revenue.
In this guide, we'll look at what motivating employees means, what the benefits are, and how to implement this practice into your workplace.
What is employee motivation?
Employee motivation is the level of commitment, drive, or energy staff-members bring to their role at work.
Motivated employees create a positive atmosphere that can be infectious. Their attitude can inspire employees around them, who will take action to improve their own productivity.
Improving employee motivation is a daily task. Companies need to find ways to monitor and nurture this. From here, employers benefit from a happier workforce and successful business output.
Why is it important to motivate employees?
It's fairly easy to spot if employees have low motivation levels at work. You'll see it clearly through reduced productivity, poor output, and unachieved professional goals. Recovering from this can prove to be a difficult journey.
The overall company then suffers from wasted time and resources. It's also hard to contain this kind of negative attitude, and soon you'll see it affect other employees. They may end up having to pick up the slack or struggle to work alongside demotivated employees.
But a motivated employee will show great enthusiasm, pride, and aspiration. They'll outshine in completing tasks, team-building exercises, and contributing towards overall company success.
What are the benefits of employee motivation?
Having a motivated workforce has numerous benefits for employers. These aren't solely confined to the individual employee - your company also gains all kinds of positive outcomes.
Let's take a look at the benefits of employee motivation:
Higher employee productivity
It's not surprising that when you motivate your employees, it encourages them to work harder. A positive work attitude then leads to higher productivity, output, and revenue outcome.
However, it's important to ensure that their hard work and efforts are achieved in a healthy way. If this step is neglected, the employee may suffer from issues like work-related stress or unhealthy presenteeism levels.
Encourage innovative ideas
When employees are happier at work, it can encourage innovation and new ways of thinking.
Employees feel comfortable with venturing outside of the normal way of working. They'll feel able to voice their opinions, argue their points, and be open to new ideas of hitting their company's mission.
Lower employee absenteeism
Employees who feel valued and content at work are less likely to take a leave of absence.
That's because they're less likely to suffer from things like anxiety or depression linked to their work. Better levels of employee satisfaction can lower the overall rate of absenteeism in your company.
Increases employee retention
When employees feel highly motivated, they're less likely to think of leaving their job. This is clearly seen through an increased level of employee retention.
They’re more likely to stay employed with you for longer. And if they decide to go, they probably won't settle for anywhere that offers less benefits than their current place.
Greater employee engagement
Companies that motivate their staff benefit from greater levels of employee engagement and work-life balance.
Employees are able to aspire to work harder or learn more within their role. This in turn grows their skills and helps them on their career path. Soon, your company will become synonymous with growth opportunities and employee value.
What are the causes for unmotivated employees?
There's no denying the benefits of workplace motivation. However, employers must consider reducing the causes for demotivation.
Let's take a look at the causes for unmotivated employees:
Poor leadership
Generally, managers are selected based on their individual talents and achievements. But, some managers tend to have poor leadership and management skills.
There's a fine line between being a leader and being a dictator. If managers aren't able to lead or motivate their groups, it often leads to a breakdown in communication and poor team-spirit.
Difficult workloads and objectives
If you give your team-members the same task, they'll each deal with it in their own way. Some may be able to complete it with ease; others may struggle to even understand it.
When you create difficult workloads and unrealistic objectives, it can ruin overall employee motivation. They'll either finish them to unsatisfactory standards or not finish them at all. In the end, employers end up hindering their own business success and achievements.
Working in toxic environments
It can be hard to pinpoint exactly what (or who) is causing demotivation in your workplace. But if you don't identify the causes, it allows toxic work environments to fester.
Negative attitudes and working habits can seriously impact other team-members. It’s hard enough for employers to deal with one unmotivated employee. They’ll have to ensure any toxicity doesn’t stop other employees feeling motivated at work.
Fears of job security
From time to time, employers may have to suspend, dismiss, or make an employee redundant. But whilst this usually involves the individual, these types of suspensions can create fears around job security.
Job security causes employees to feel demotivated to work. It may cause some to think about working elsewhere just to remain financially secure.
Lack of support
Without proper support, employees end up feeling isolated, lonely, and neglected at work. Often, they end up feeling unmotivated and suffer in silence.
This is especially apparent with employees who work remotely. Some of the causes come from bad communication skills, unsuitable work conditions, and lack of good management. In the end, this can affect their work life balance.
How to improve employee motivation in the workplace
Maintaining employee motivation should be one of your main company objectives.
Through daily efforts and genuine practices, you'll be able to grow organic motivation and commitment from your workforce. And over time, this is what shapes your company success.
Let's look at how to improve employee motivation in the workplace:
Present the importance of motivated employees
The first step to take is presenting the importance of employee motivation.
All staff-members should know what motivation means, why it's vital, and how to embrace it during work. Emphasise that it's the key element that will help drive company values and ethics.
Remind them that it’s a business conduct and requires a collective effort. But also ensure they understand how they can achieve individually. That way, employers can build intrinsic motivation which leads to overall company goals.
Ensure your managers lead by example
There's no point promoting the importance of workplace motivation if you don't channel this yourself. Managers should lead by example by using appropriate employee motivation techniques with their teams.
From the smallest tasks to ongoing projects, they should promote a positive and healthy level of motivation everyday. (Remember, job satisfaction doesn't happen overnight).
Reward employees for great work
A great motivator to offer your team-members are rewards for great work achievements.
Employers can use recognition platforms to hand out rewards at work. These will help employees understand what they need to do in order to gain rewards at work. Not only does it grow their self-esteem, it can also boost employee morale and higher job satisfaction.
Don't just express gratitude through words or by a pat on the back. Extrinsic rewards should motivate employees to work harder. Why not create an incentive program that offers pre-selected rewards (and not just money).
Provide employees with more autonomy
There's a fine balance when it comes to being motivated. Managers may think they're being aspirating, but they could actually demotivate employees for good.
A great way to manage this is by providing employees with more autonomy. When you allow creative freedom or privileges, it’s reflected in their motivation levels. For example, offering flexible working hours enables employees to maintain a good work-life balance.
Giving employees autonomy makes them appreciate your level of trust in them. It often encourages other team-members to work harder, in order to gain the same benefits.
Promote a healthy work environment
Employees often reflect the space they're working in. So, it's important to promote a healthy, happy, and safe work environment.
Remember, most employees will spend a significant amount of their time at work. So, if their workplace is unclean, uncomfortable, or lacks natural light, it reflects on their motivational level.
And it's not just about the physical space you need to think about. A work environment is reflective of its company cultures, traditions, and ethics.
Support employee wellbeing
The last step employers should take is to support employee wellbeing.
This isn't just a moral duty, it's also a legal one (under health and safety legislation). When an employee's wellbeing is cared for, it grows employee satisfaction, drive, and overall motivation.
Remember, employee wellbeing includes both physical and mental states. Support them both - that way, you'll be able to utilise employee engagement and motivation for the long haul.
How do you deal with unmotivated employees?
There is no ‘one-size fits all’ answer on how to deal with unmotivated employees. The best way to gauge this is by dealing with the matter directly. Employers should:
- Arrange a meeting for employee feedback.
- Try to establish why they are demotivated.
- Speak with the employee to identify what changes could improve the employee's motivation levels.
- Schedule a follow up meeting to see if the changes are effective.
Get expert advice on motivating employees with Peninsula
Keeping employees motivated is always beneficial for employers and their company. By keeping on top of this, you'll be able to promote a healthy work-life balance - resulting in increased productivity and revenue.
But, there are serious consequences if you neglect the importance of employee motivation. If you ignore them, you could end up losing talented workers, work production, and business revenue.
Peninsula offers expert advice on motivating employees. Our Employee Wellbeing Programme (EAP) provides tailored support and assistance to you and your workforce.
Get in touch today, or use our call back form to arrange a more convenient time. Call us on 0818 923 923
