Motivation is something that everyone struggles with in some regard– motivation to workout, eat healthy, excel in work, or even get out of bed in the mornings. One thing is for certain: you’re not going to excel if you don’t feel motivated...especially in the workplace. What can you do to keep your employees and your team motivated at work?
The form of work where we see growth is shifting. Business owners are more often outsourcing or automating certain job tasks. 21st-century workers are more frequently required to have soft skills such as creativity, critical thinking, people skills, and problem-solving. While the work that we do is shifting, that means that our forms of motivation are shifting as well. Rewards programs will no longer do the trick.
People need to be motivated by the work that they are doing– a personal motivation that they find within themselves. Rewards like bonuses in your paycheck are a form of extrinsic motivation, and they are squashing motivation for creativity and personal growth. So how can we begin to find intrinsic motivation? If we can figure out how to support our business teams in this aspect, we will find ourselves with employees that are motivated to work purely for the sake of working. We do this through empowerment.
When I started working with my team at Rivvly, I was welcomed into a community of leaders that were constantly affirming my skills, encouraging me to try new things, and showing me that they believed in me. This instilled a newfound confidence in myself and my skills. I felt empowered and motivated to grow as a business woman, to work harder, and do better every single day because I knew that I could.
If our goal is to empower our employees, how do we ensure we are doing that? It’s important to make sure we are giving our employees dedicated time for personal growth and expressing creativity. Encourage them to start creating and working on a project they’re passionate about– because this is how they will fall in love with their work. When you truly love your work, that’s all the motivation that you will ever need.
Motivate your employees by being transparent with them. Every task– no matter how small– should have a meaningful purpose, and we need to make sure that those purposes are being expressed. Employees should know why they are performing a certain job function; keeping employees in the know-how provides much more motivation than performing tasks blindly.
Another way to empower others at work is to create challenges. It is through solving problems and overcoming obstacles that our creativity and critical thinking skills are truly able to flourish. Through overcoming challenges, we are also able to see ourselves achieve new heights that we never thought were possible. Once we’ve achieved those heights, it allows us the space to create new personal and professional goals.
Motivation in the workplace can come in many forms. Creating an encouraging environment, being transparent, and providing positive challenges to employees are all great ways to increase workplace empowerment. But if you truly want to know how to motivate your employees, ask them! Employees want to work for a company that cares. Your interest in their empowerment is the first big step in opening up a dialogue to increase motivation, productivity, and so much more!