Some believe that FEAR can be the best motivator. Is it really the best way to motivate your employees to do better? Studies show that workers who were subjected to fear motivation don’t really respond well in comparison with those who given rewards as a form of motivation. Employees who were given rewards and praise responded way better than those who were reprimanded.

In order to understand what can MOTIVATE people at work, it’s equally important to know how they can be demotivated too. Let’s take a look first on things that you might be guilty of doing to your employees.

9 possible reasons why your employees lose their drive to perform well

  1. They have nothing to strive for. This might not have any clear goals to hit. Having no goal will definitely lead to unmotivated employees.
  2. They no longer feel any excitement about the job. People should be naturally excited about the job that they do. It’s given that when you can simply ask them if they are rather doing something else or if there is something that you could for them to ignite their enthusiasm.
  3. No Career Direction. When you don’t set a definite path for your employees to take they will get lose and will not the drive to do things that are set out to do.
  4. The Company Culture itself. Top management should instill an environment that strives for greatness and continuous growth. it starts with the people who lead the organization and you will find that your employees will be doing the ideals that you are upholding, and if you fail to create a great culture as a result, your people will not be motivated to do more and will later do less and less
  5. Too much Negativity in their work environment. Negative feelings and attitude towards work can only lead to one thing- people no longer wanting to show up for work. There’s no room for negative comments and behavior in the workplace especially if the work can already be stressful.
  6. Insufficient Support from Management. It’s a good idea to have always be there for your employees. Let them know that you will be there when they need your help.
  7. No company values or guidelines to follow. When your employees do not have any rules to follow you can’t expect them to do good, so you need to have a few guidelines that will make sure they do the right thing and to keep them motivated.
  8. No Proper Reward System. It’s not a must to provide incentives to your people, but it is a good idea to give them something when they hit a goal or accomplish a difficult task because it keeps them doing what they do best.
  9. Unfulfilled Promises. When you fail to provide your promised incentive to your staff, it may be one of the reasons why they are not motivated to do the task or to perform for the company.

Now let’s take at look at some of ways on how effective leaders of organizations continue to motivate their people.

3 Proven Ways to motivate your people

  1. Give social rewards for accomplishments. It can be shown as a fun board announcement that everyone can see. For example, you can put up a bulletin board where you can add sales figures as they come if you are in sales. But you can also do a similar thing even if you are not in sales, simply input the number of accomplishments of the employee for the day, month or quarter so that everyone can see it and everyone wins because of the visual reward that you have on the chart or on the board that everyone could see.
  2. Give employees an empty or a semi-field progress report to look at everyday. Let them fill up the progress report at the end of the day in order for them to keep track of their task. They could check on their own what their status is and so they could make necessary adjustments on their thinking and actions which will help them reach or achieve their targets.
  3. Give employees instant rewards that they show off to their friends or co-workers. It could be a simple token or certificate that they could put on their desk, cubicle, or locker. Giving them instant rewards will boost their confidence and thus will be their fuel to do more of the task or thing that they need to be doing.
  4. Get rid of all the 9 possible reasons why their lose their drive to perform (as stated above).

Positive reinforcement works far better than letting your people fear the consequences if they do not do what is asked of them. So try to use the above-mentioned strategies to motivate your employees to do what needs to be done.

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