Motivation at work: why you should never lose it
In order to involve the staff, thereby making them more productive and motivated, it is essential to entrust them with interesting tasks whenever possible: if the greatest harm to a company’s production is caused by the idleness of one or more members of staff, hard work is certainly the most precious resource that companies can count on in order to develop, grow and proliferate within their respective market.
Usually, a hard-working employee:
- Actively participates in company business;
- Pursues pre-determined objectives and monitors progress made over time:
- Maintains appropriate behaviour in the workplace;
- Explores new opportunities to help other members of the team;
- Works to improve a range of skills to enhance performance;
- Respects timescales imposed by management.
The indifferent employee however:
- Complains constantly about the tasks to be completed;
- Always blames others even for his own mistakes;
- Arrives at work late and leaves early.
Hard-working employees are fundamental, especially for small and medium sized companies aiming for success in their market sector. This stems above all from the fact that these companies know that their real key to success is to maximise their employees’ performance as much as possible. In order to fully achieve this, they must focus everything on enhancing each role.
In addition, small to medium sized businesses wishing to involve their employees and consolidate their efforts must:
1- develop Team Building; through the creation of a close-knit staff, the adoption of appropriate recruitment practices and the selection of competent skilled candidates;
2- encourage desired behaviours among the team by stimulating those attitudes, which as well as being constructive, are also collaborative;
3- create a positive company culture, including an ethical working environment in which the employees and their bosses have responsibilities, are able to communicate with each other and help the company to grow;
4- are able to say thank you to those who strive each day towards maximising company performance.
Despite the above mentioned points, sometimes it can be difficult to involve employees because they themselves are de-motivated, isolated and not very productive. The first thing to do in such situations is to speak directly with the person in question in order to understand the causes of their behaviour. If there is the likelihood of improvement it is a good idea to embrace it, otherwise it is better to proceed with dismissal.
Translated by Joanne Beckwith
