7 Reasons Your Workforce Is Not Motivated

One of the biggest issues employers face today is how to motivate their workforce. Highly engaged employees have more motivation to be proactive and to achieve their goals, allowing the organization to maximize productivity. They’re more likely to stay with the company, thus reducing turnover and its associated costs.

However, many workplaces struggle with keeping employees motivated and engaged. Let’s take a look at seven of the reasons your employees may not be motivated:

1. They feel undervalued and/or underappreciated. It’s all too easy to take for granted that employees will continue to produce good work—but keeping them motivated requires recognizing their efforts and showing appreciation through more than just a paycheck.
2. They’re not given responsibilities that showcase their abilities. When employees feel like they are not able to do their best work or to utilize their skills, they’re likely to feel dissatisfied with the job. They may feel that their duties are below their capabilities, which quickly creates frustration.
3. The workload is not distributed equitably. If some employees feel that their workload is too much—especially if it seems to be far more than their coworkers—that can lead to resentment. Bear in mind that not all employees who are feeling resentful will ask for help; employers must be aware and pay attention without expecting employees to be the ones to raise the red flag when they’re given too much to do.
4. It appears as though management is unfair, plays favorites, or ignores problems. This can easily occur if employees are not being treated consistently. This can happen quite easily, even when individual managers are consistent within their own team. For example, if different managers or different departments have big discrepancies in how they enforce policies, it can lead to the appearance that some groups get more benefits than others. It’s easy to see how this can lead to frustration.
5. The goal posts are constantly shifting. One major complaint of many frustrated employees is when the work goals seem to change too often. It’s one thing if the whole business is facing a shift, but it’s another story altogether if the organization or management continually shifts what is valued and rewarded. It can make efforts to excel feel pointless. Here’s an example: Let’s say an employee goes to the manager asking for a raise and the manager explains that he or she needs to improve their profit levels to get a raise. The next year, the employee works diligently to raise profitability the required amount, and again asks for a raise. This time, the manager says that the employee needs to get his team’s profitability to increase as well—and no raise is granted, even though this was not the original requirement. When the goals keep changing, employees lose the motivation to try and meet them.
6. There may be distractions at home. If an employee is facing difficulties at home, this can affect his or her ability to be fully engaged and motivated at work.
7. They don’t feel the employer trusts them. This is a big issue and can be the root of many simpler problems. If an employee feels micromanaged or feels that the employer places too many restrictions or allows too little leeway or freedom to make decisions, he or she may feel as though the employer does not trust him or her. This can lead to decreased satisfaction and morale.

This list has just a few of the many reasons employees may not feel motivated or engaged. What signs of employee dissatisfaction have you found in your workplace, and what actions have you taken to address this tough topic?