As a manager or business owner, one of the most difficult jobs is keeping employees motivated. For you, motivation probably comes easily – you have a vested interest in the business doing well. Your employees don’t have as much at stake. That’s why you need to work hard to keep them motivated. Here’s how to do it.
Ensure a healthy work-life balance
If you’re the kind of person that’s addicted to the job, you aren’t the right person to decide on a healthy work-life balance. Many people think that 40 hours a week is too many. This is something you should consider when you are designing employee contracts. Employees will feel more motivated if they aren’t overworked and don’t resent the job. To ensure that, you need to provide plenty of vacation time and flexible working hours. You also need to make the decision between PTO vs vacation. The main thing is that employees feel like they have enough time to live their life outside of work.
Let motivation begin at the senior leadership level
Workplace culture comes from the top down. If employees see motivated leadership, they are far more likely to feel motivated themselves. It’s super important to lead by example, so this is the first step you should take. The senior staff members should be turning up earlier and striving to work harder than everyone else. If you’ve got your feet up on the desk, it’s not going to inspire your staff.
Work on workplace aesthetics
Workplace aesthetics are really important to motivation. Imagine setting your desk up in a grey, concrete parking garage and trying to be motivated. Now, imagine setting it up in a New York City skyscraper with panoramic views. The difference is huge. Try to create a comfortable and bright vibe in your office. Plenty of natural light and plants will help.
Create a supportive work environment
If your employees don’t feel supported, they won’t feel motivated. Nothing kills motivation like a bad environment at work. Ask them about their concerns, provide constructive feedback, and try to help them perform better. This level of support will inspire them to work harder.
Let there be respect and honesty
Respect and honesty are important in a workplace. However, you can’t just demand respect, and you need to be careful with honesty. In terms of respect, you need to lead from the front, fight for your employees, and succeed in your own job. If you tick these boxes, your employees will respect you. In terms of honesty, it’s important to know when to speak. If you go around saying exactly what you think of people unsolicited, it’s going to cause upset in your team. However, you should never lie to employees.
Give prominence to teamwork
Most people work better in a team. Sure, some lone wolves out there hate the idea of collaborating, but they are few and far between. Encourage teamwork and reward it when it goes well. Ask employees to collaborate and get involved yourself where possible. This will create a healthy and happy workplace culture.
Veeramachineni Lalitha
I am Finance Content Writer. I write Personal Finance, banking, investment, and insurance related content for top clients including Kotak Mahindra Bank, Edelweiss, ICICI BANK and IDFC FIRST Bank. My experience details : Linkedin