Allen Woo explains how to motivate unmotivated employees

Satisfied and motivated employees are essential for the smooth running of a company. Motivating demotivated employees is not always an easy task. To achieve this, it is necessary to know what are the specific causes that act to demotivate them, as well as to know the measures that should be implemented and that are the most appropriate to correct this problem. In an effort to delve deeper into this topic, employee management expert Allen Woo explains how to be able to lift the spirits of those employees who usually do not feel comfortable with their work.

“Demotivation within a work team is a problem for a company. Having motivated workers is fundamental for productivity. If we have happy people in our company, they will work harder and better,” says Woo.

Lack of motivation within a work team is a problem for any company. Having motivated workers is fundamental to ensuring a company’s productivity. Unmotivated employees are less productive and, in addition, they tend to have a high turnover in the jobs they perform.

Because of this, motivating unmotivated employees is a fundamental job for any company, since it will be one more way to increase the degree of satisfaction of its workers and, in this way, to increase their productivity and also their profits.

An employee who does not enjoy his work tends to be less efficient and besides that, his or her bad disposition affects others. It generates a bad atmosphere and makes colleagues tired and sad. The best thing to do is to prevent these things.

Take measures beforehand so that no employee becomes demotivated. When there is no choice, Woo suggests some steps that are generally quite effective.

“An employee who does not enjoy his or her work tends to be less efficient. In addition, their bad disposition affects others as well, so they tend to end up generating a bad atmosphere in the office,” Woo explains. “The best thing to do is to prevent this situation. Taking measures in advance so that no employee becomes unmotivated with his or her job is the best recommendation to follow.”

The first thing to take into consideration is the reason for the employee’s discomfort and dissatisfaction. Knowing the origin of the discomfort is fundamental when it comes to motivating unmotivated employees.

The cause can come from the job itself or for an external reason. If it is a work-related reason, it is necessary to analyze what circumstances or people have caused it. If it is due to a personal circumstance, you should talk to the employee, look for possible solutions and facilitate the process as much as possible from the company’s capacity.

“Once the cause has been located, we must recover the employee,” suggests Woo. “We must think that each person brings something good to the group. Even if he or she is in a bad moment, if the unmotivated employee is good at something, we must offer support to get the initial motivation back.”

In this sense, some of the most important guidelines for re-motivating demotivated employees are based on valuing the employee by knowing his or her capabilities and training him or her in his or her field and in other areas where he or she can feel useful within the company. It is fundamental that the worker conceives his activity within the company as something useful and that is focused on the conclusion of determined objectives within the set.

“It is also extremely important to set an example. In addition to commanding, the boss must work side by side with the employee. In this sense, the boss should be perceived as a colleague, not as a distant person with whom communication is impossible,” suggests Woo.

It is very important for managers and directors to explain their decisions. This ensures that they are not misunderstood and that all the members of the different teams feel that they are an integral part of the group, and not simply pawns under the orders of their superiors.

It is not the same thing to carry out activity because “the higher-ups tell you to,” rather than because it is the best decision that could be made based on the people who have the most experience and responsibility.

Finally, a very effective key is to generate a good atmosphere in the workplace. Encouraging the creation of a good working environment is fundamental to motivating any employee in his or her job.

In this sense, it is essential to encourage fluid communication and the reconciliation of work and family life. This fosters the right synergies that, as a whole, will increase employee motivation and satisfaction, which will translate into greater productivity on their part.