No matter how good a manager you are, human resources are everything. If your employees are lazy, failing to meet deadlines, and boisterously discussing world news instead of work, it’s time to change something. Don’t rush to fire lazy employees – think about what you can do to motivate them to perform their duties.
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Why are employees lazy to work?
We can name several reasons why employees are unwilling to do their job. A good half of it is the manager’s own fault. It is easy to blame the employees, but hand on heart, admit it: there is no such thing as a perfect manager. Many of us have our weaknesses, which negatively affect the entire team’s work. For example, conflicts in a team may affect teamwork too. Our friends from https://cmaconsulting.com.au prepared a solid article on how to manage conflicts.
So, why do employees screw up?
Human Character. Some employees want to do nothing and get a big paycheck. This is a widespread type of people, which is growing in numbers. They can be motivated by money, but not for long. The problem is that they sincerely believe that they deserve more, and they do you a favor by the very fact of their employment. It is better to get rid of them instantly;
Laziness. There are people who don’t want to be good at work. They will just wait for the boss or colleagues to do their job. Or redo the mess they’ve done.
They don’t understand the tasks and responsibilities, so they work with their hands down. If the employee does not have an intelligible job description, his duties are too vague or even unsolvable – of course, the desire to work disappears. Clearly define what you want from each employee, for what purpose, and within what time frame.
The unhealthy atmosphere: employees weave intrigues, snitch on each other, bosses encourage favorites, and humiliate disobediently. If any employee’s success can be turned into a failure – even the best employees will lose heart. In this case, you must rally the team and motivate everyone.
Types of Personnel Motivation
Material rewards
The easiest type of motivation: no need to delve into psychology to understand the needs of each employee – just give more money. Usually, it works: no one has yet refused the money. But there are nuances: there is a special kind of people for whom a human attitude or work for the sake of the Big Idea is more critical.
Outlook
If you have far-reaching plans for an employee, tell him so. Many leaders are looking to make a career and move up the ladder – if they are sure they will be promoted, they can easily do without a pay raise or bonus. Your job is to keep your word: deception and dashed hopes will not be forgiven. Your niche market is not big, and destructive rumors can spread quickly.
Encouragement
Here we get to those for whom human relationships are more important than a paycheck. These are primarily women who go to work mainly because of a sound psychological climate, pleasant colleagues, and a cordial atmosphere.
- Appreciation.
- Opportunity for supervisor and subordinate to communicate.
- Right to have a voice for everyone.
- Flexible schedule.
Unusual Ways
- Taking temperament into account. Melancholics work differently from choleric, and phlegmatics are different from sanguines. Determining the type is simple: if you do not want to understand the personality of a subordinate in detail, perform a psychological test.
- Playing on ambition. This method was invented by Walt Disney, and has now been picked up by many executives. The most unpopular was the hotel laundry department: people did not want to work there – not prestigious. Disney renamed laundries to textile services: it sounded different and equalized the employees with other departments. This method is popular these days: a cleaner is proudly called the household manager, laundress – laundry operator, and so on.
3. Internal rewards system – not from the heads, but from their own colleagues. The bottom line is simple: create a corporate program in which everyone in the public domain leaves feedback, gratitude, or complaints about the work of their colleagues. Now it is even easier to do this: in any messenger, special corporate chat room, or business app.
