Motivation within the workplace is perhaps one of the biggest influences for employees in terms of their work performance. A supportive work environment will mean that employees strive to do better and have more drive to perform well. However, if employees are working in a workplace that isn’t encouraging or motivating, then their work performance will suffer, causing problems for both the employee and their work. A motivating office will help your employees to get their work done and establish a healthy work-life balance.
Motivation is often defined as being the general desire for someone to do something. Motivation within the workplace is no different – it is the employee’s willingness or desire to do great work. This is something that all managers strive to achieve. Knowing how to motivate employees and your team is something that a lot of managers struggle with, often going one way or the other. Some are too motivating, causing employees to overwork, whereas others aren’t motivating enough, which then means employees take their eyes off the ball.
There are many different ways in which you can motivate your employees and team members. Some work better than others, but you need to take your employees into consideration before deciding which methods to use. With this in mind, here are some ways that you can increase and improve motivation in the office.
Define The Purpose Of Work
By defining the work expected of your employees, you help them to better understand their role. This then, in turn, helps them to recognise the impact that their work is having on both the company and client. By doing this, they are then more likely to focus and put extra effort into their work, knowing that they’re making a difference and this goes a long way when it comes to keeping employees motivated.
Avoid Micromanaging
If you want to improve motivation within your team, then you must avoid micromanaging. Instead, put trust and faith into your team and give them an assignment and a deadline to meet and let them run free. Give them the freedom to work when their motivation is at its highest and, not only will you see increased productivity, but happier employees.
Every employee is different – some are more productive in the morning, whereas others might find that afternoon is their more productive time. Try to allow your employees some freedom when they work and this will help to establish a framework for better motivation and workplace efficiency.
Be Clear About Your Expectations
When you want to improve motivation within the workplace, be very clear about what you want to be done and what you want to see achieved. Remember, a journey of a thousand miles begins with just a single step. Allow your team to focus on the first step and be clear about what that needs to be and how it is best completed.
Small clear and concise tasks soon add up and allow more tasks to be completed over time, as the work will begin to be streamlined. If employees are clear on what is expected of them and know exactly what they need to do, then they are much more likely to do a better job. This is especially important when they’re working from home.
Recognise Results and Good Work
There are many ways that you can recognise results and good work. Setting small intermittent goals gives you plenty of opportunity to recognise your team’s work and the results that they have achieved. You don’t need to give anything physical as a result, but give feedback and reasons as to why the results are important and what they have helped to achieve. When you show appreciation and provide particular reasons as to why a good job was achieved, your employees will feel even more motivated to achieve the results again.
When it comes to rewarding good work, this is an extra incentive for boosting motivation. Some employers choose to save these kinds of rewards for the end of the year, but you can choose to do it any time. You can choose to reward employees in any way you like, but don’t limit yourself to one form of reward. Get creative and think about what your team members like individually and come up with a reward that fits each employee.
Keep Your Team Fuelled
You want to keep your team healthy as well as motivated and in order to do so, you need to keep your team fuelled. Encouraging healthy eating, keeping hydrated and regular exercise can keep your team feeling well, which will then encourage them to stay motivated at work. Your team likely spends many hours in the office working on different projects, so try to keep them fuelled to get through the day.
Ensure there is a water cooler that they can use throughout the day, provide snacks such as fruit (or a biscuit selection to enjoy with a cup of tea) for them to snack on during the day or even order in lunch for the team on busier days. Try to keep energy levels high!
Encourage Regular Breaks
If your employees are entitled to regular breaks, then ensure that they take their breaks regularly! Breaks are important as it allows your employees to relax and refuel, but also feel motivated for the tasks they have ahead. Taking a break every hour allows your team members time to decompress and unwind, especially on those busier days. Even just brewing up for other members of the team gives them 5-10 minutes to step away from their desk. Not only does getting up and taking a break regularly help to keep your employees physically healthy, but also allows them to refocus.
A lot of people tend to get their best ideas whilst doing something mundane or repetitive, or when their brains are switched off and focusing on something else. Encouraging regular breaks also allows natural small talk and engagement between employees, which then helps to strengthen bonds and create inter-work friendships.
Have Fun!
Not every work project is going to be fun, not even every work day is going to be filled with laughter. But, this is to be expected and some projects are going to take a lot of focus from everyone on the team. What is important is that after those difficult projects or hard days, everyone gets together to unwind and have fun. Whether this is going out for a drink after work, taking part in a silly team building game, planning a nice lunch out or, for those particularly big projects, heading for a day activity, it’s important to allow your employees some time out to refresh and reconnect with one another.
Improving motivation is only good news for your business as, when employees feel motivated and want to reach their full potential, your business benefits and you’re left with a team of hard-working and ambitious employees.