5 Signs Your Employees Need A Dose of Motivation

One of the foremost problems that every workplace deals with is stress. Stress is the ultimate killer of progress. Stress is what causes employees to work far less efficiently. Worst case scenario, stress may lead to employees leaving the workplace altogether. Stress often comes from a lack of proper motivation.

However, being able to give motivation is difficult without knowing the signs. Unmotivated workers might not be immediately stressed out. After all, it’s not like the movies where one sees employees with hands over their heads. A lack of motivation could be more subtle than that.

Today, we will be discussing the telltale signs of an unmotivated workplace.

The Signs of No Motivation

These are the most common signs that an employee is not performing at their best.

Isolation

Do you notice your employees are avoiding social events? Perhaps during lunch, they are eating alone. When company events are planned, they appear to take time off. Additionally, they may even tackle tasks at work all by themselves. This sort of isolation could be two things, of course.
First, it might just be a natural case of introversion. In such cases, it’s not inherently bad.

However, this is not always the case. If that employee was once extroverted, then this sudden isolation may be the result of stress. Unhappiness at the workplace often leads people to recuse themselves from others. Whether for their own emotional protection or to prevent others from being bothered by them. Poor work results from these lone activities are a sign of demotivation.

Strange Work Ethic

Alternatively, do you notice anything irregular about how your employee works? Are there things that they used to excel at that they now struggle with? Are they suddenly taking on longer hours not to perform more work, but to finish the work they had that day? Worse, do they even start working during break hours, ridding themselves of their period of relaxation?

These are important patterns to pay attention to. A sudden shift in work ethic means an employee is ineffectively trying “different” things. It’s often the unfortunate result of an employee suffering from stagnancy. That’s why it’s crucial to keep your employees engaged at work, as they may resort to impractical ways to curb their lack of motivation.

Lethargic

Are your employees suddenly working a lot slower than before? Tasks that would take a few hours now take a few days? Generally, do they seem completely tired when you check their desk? Are they often late to work and the earliest to leave? If so, your employee is definitely feeling lethargic about going to work every day.

Sometimes, these might just be a fluke. After all, everybody gets tired sometimes. It is when these things become consistent that it becomes a problem. Lethargic employees are difficult to spot, especially in larger workspaces, because while they do get the job done, it is often done so in an inefficient manner. Remain vigilant of lethargy in your workplace.

Sensitive

Do your employees seem constantly irritated? During breaks, are they averse to being talked to by certain employees? During work reviews, do they look far more anxious than they used to? A lack of motivation often leads employees to start questioning their own competency. In these cases, employees become more sensitive than they usually are. Sensitivity may be a result of a personal tragedy or depression.

Sensitive employees are a difficult situation. Your employees’ mental health is very important. However, a sensitive employee is much harder to give constructive criticism to. Even when you are genuinely attempting to help them, they may react poorly to criticism and start performing worse out of anxiety. Tread lightly when coaching your sensitive employees.

Unfocused

Do your employees start daydreaming a lot? Do they seem aloof during meetings? When submitting reports or projects, are there a lot of minor errors that weren’t there before? In these cases, an employee may be suffering from a lack of focus. They will suffer not just from concentration issues, but also potential short-term memory loss, which needless to say makes for an inefficient workplace.

Unfocused employees are one of the subtlest yet most dangerous signs of demotivation. Their lack of interest in working means they pay little attention to details. This lack of attention to detail could spell disaster for future projects. If they happen to miss one or two important details during a presentation, it cold spell said project’s doom. Keep employees focused on a goal.

How To Motivate Employees

Motivating employees is an underrated skill, but necessary for an efficient workplace.

Give Them Purpose

Motivation is lost when employees don’t feel like what they do matters. Always make sure that your team knows that their position is important. Validate their existence and give them tasks that make them feel like they are an important part of the project. Otherwise, they will continue doing the motions.

Raise Incentives

Even with purpose, it’s difficult for employees to be motivated if there is a lack of incentive. Salary raises are always a potential choice, but it’s a decision not taken lightly. To ease into the concept, give more incentives. For example, when a project undergoes a lot of progress, reward the team with a free dinner. Incentives give employees a reason to work harder.

Encourage Honesty

A lot of employees fear being reprimanded if they let their grievances known. In these cases, they will be anxious in the workplace. Workers can hardly be motivated in a workplace they do not trust. To motivate your employees better, tell them that they can be honest with you. Be serious about the claim too. If they are feeling genuine concern about something in the workplace, listen intently and provide solutions.

Give Time Off

Lastly, encourage time off. A lot of employees fear time off because of expectations. When they come back, they’ll be swamped by work. If they leave, they might feel that they are letting the team down. Tell unmotivated employees to take a break, and ensure that their responsibilities will be properly accounted for.

To learn more about the ins and outs of the workplace, check out our blog here.