Everyone has those days where they just don’t feel like being at work. It’s hard to concentrate in your work environment, and you can think of a dozen other activities you’d rather be doing. While this is perfectly natural, problems start to arise if your employees are constantly disengaged and unproductive. So, how can you encourage your staff to work hard and stay consistently motivated?
The good news is, it’s not hard or costly to motivate your employees. Consult the list below for tips on how to make your work environment more motivating.
1. Give Your Employees Flexibility
One of the biggest discouragements in any work environment is micromanagement. When people feel pressured, they tend to shut down or overthink the situation. Let your employees decide when and where they’ll get the work done. For some, this may mean working late or on the weekends.
If you allow your employees to work from home, search for “serviced offices near me” to find a central location everyone can meet to collaborate when necessary. This coming together will be a strong motivator when deadlines are looming.
2. Recognize Hard Work and Good Results
One of the biggest motivators in any industry is recognition. When you recognize someone’s hard work and good results, you’re automatically motivating them and everyone else to do better. As a result, employee satisfaction, productivity, and retention increase as well. It’s a win-win for everyone.
Keep in mind that it’s not enough to simply give bonuses once a year as a reward for good work. Your staff needs praise often, and they need to know they are a valued part of the team and not just a number.
3. Set Easy-to-Reach Goals
It can be easy to lose interest when a project drags on, so set small, achievable goals for your team. Reaching these goals will motivate them to keep going, especially when you take a moment to celebrate the small victories.
4. Foster Positivity
Happy employees are productive employees, so it pays to foster an environment of positivity. Negative emotions do have their place as they can sometimes encourage positive change, but overall, positivity leads to happiness, and happy employees get the job done.
5. Stay Healthy and Fueled
It’s a fact that many employees are so busy throughout the day that they barely have time to eat lunch. This is neither healthy nor helpful as a hangry employee is generally going to be tired and unfocused.
Allow time for your staff to take a lunch break and keep healthy snacks at the ready for those mid-afternoon slumps. The expense of providing these things will likely be offset by your team’s increased productivity.
If you employ remote workers, you can help motivate them by providing stipends they can use on food delivery. Alternatively, consider having care packages delivered to their door, complete with healthy snacks and other essentials for successfully working from home.
6. Take Breaks
Sitting in one place for too long or looking at the same problem for hours isn’t physically or mentally healthy. You need to get up, move about, and step away from your work every couple of hours to reset and rejuvenate. Taking short breaks from your work environment like this can really help your staff approach work with renewed motivation. If you’re reading this article, you obviously care about your employees and want them to be happy. Thankfully, it doesn’t cost a lot to motivate your staff. The tips above are a great place to start, with each one designed to help you inspire your team to be happy and productive at work.