How to Motivate Lazy or Disengaged Employees

Having an unmotivated or negative employee in the workplace creates a number of problems. The most obvious being their lack of productivity and thus the success of the company. Additionally they can harm customer relationships resulting in lost future business as well as influencing other employees, bringing the whole workforce down. With the increase in labour laws it is becoming more difficult to let go of these problem employees so how can you motivate them to be better? A simple method is to find what motivates them to perform outside of work and then linking this to their work, or employing this motivator in the workplace. For example they may spend hours poring over sports sites (often during work hours!), so how about giving them tickets to the game as a monthly incentive. You now give them an incentive to perform at work to achieve a goal that is important and motivates them.

We all respond to incentives, it is how we learn from an early age which behaviours are beneficial or harmful to us. In the workplace we are rewarded with wages for our work. While this is enough incentive for most to perform a good job, it does not work for everyone. Wages are paid periodically so some can become conditioned to receiving them, thus losing the link between their work and being paid. So some people, especially those with a lack of foresight, begin to just expect to be paid regardless of how well they perform at work. For companies that make monthly wage payments, the long period between working and receiving one’s reward further weakens the link between one’s job performance and payment for it. A lack of foresight also contributes to people not appreciating the money that they get. They may see it as just money, without making the additional association of what they could use that money for. For this reason giving non-monetary incentives such as sports tickets or restaurant vouchers can be more effective than cash.

So strengthening the link between work and rewards is one way to improve motivation. Another method is to appeal to what already motivates someone. Two big motivators are self-esteem and family. People want to be valued and to be seen as important, something that they receive from their friends and family, especially if one has children that rely on and look up to them. As in the above example you can use incentives such as family passes to theme parks or dinner vouchers to take out friends or partners. Another way to push self-esteem is through recognition in the workplace. In large corporations especially, people can feel unimportant and unnoticed. Having a regular recognition programme can alleviate this by showing employees they are valued. It can also motivate others to perform better to receive recognition; monthly trophies or plaques are an effective way to achieve this.

In summary, strengthening the link between work and wages, or strengthening the link between work and what one can buy with their wages can be a very effective motivator for bad employees. A second method is to create a link between work and other motivators. I have used self-esteem and a feeling of worth in this article as they are common to everyone. It can be worth the time to find out a little more about unmotivated employees and what motivates them in their personal life. If you bring those motivators into the workplace you will be surprised at how well they can perform if they really want to.