Lack of motivation in the workplace is a problem that affects countless companies. The lack of goals, career plans, incentives, or challenges in day-to-day work can end up undermining the effectiveness and performance of the workforce and, as a result, the competitiveness of the company declines. Here are some of the strategies that top companies have implemented to improve employee motivation.

 

Teleworking or working without set hours

office work place in Beijing

There is a growing trend among companies, especially technology companies, to offer the possibility of teleworking one or two days a week. These initiatives aim to relax the usual rigid rules and promote employee autonomy in pursuit of self-management and responsibility for their area of work. Opinions are divided on this issue, as not everyone sees this alternative as a solution to the problem of lack of motivation.

Back in 2008,

Iberdrola tried introducing a reduced working day from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. for its 9,000 employees. Six years later, the director of human resources who had been in charge of the decision spoke of an increase in productivity, a 20% reduction in absenteeism, and a 15% reduction in workplace accidents. In short, this experiment had made employees happier and more motivated. The idea is to concentrate working hours as much as possible and avoid endless breakfasts, checking social media during working hours, wasting time unnecessarily, and focusing on what is important, as all the work has to be done in seven hours. You can read the full article at this link.

 

Rewarding performance achievements

Another factor that contributes to a lack of motivation is not receiving recognition from senior management when job performance has been excellent. To this we could add the lack of a career plan or the possibility of internal promotion. Some human resources departments are beginning to consider recognition or gamification strategies, through which objectives are defined for the workforce. Having clear objectives to meet can undoubtedly help us perform our tasks better, especially if we know that we are eligible for a reward (a trip, cash, a gift, or fresh fruit in the office, for example).

 

Toxic environments

 

When a high-performance team is formed, there is usually good harmony, which maintains a high level of excellence at work. Everyone is completely focused on their tasks and aligned in achieving common goals. There is no lack of motivation, because if one person fails, the others’ performance suffers. However, toxic teams do not function well. There is anger, resentment, and bad attitudes that end up undermining the work environment and leading to poor results. This is often the result of poor, overly controlling leadership that mistrusts its team and discriminates between team members. All of these attitudes can be remedied with reconciliation strategies, team building, coaching for managers or employees, or a clear internal communication policy.

 

Lack of talent retention policies

 

Fortunately, more and more companies are developing specific policies to support and retain talent. Many of their actions are aimed at balancing the heavy workload with an open, approachable, and inspiring company philosophy. And, of course, one of their main objectives is to have

highly motivated employees.

To achieve this, they generate, among other things:

 

Fresh fruit, the tip of the iceberg

 

It may seem like a passing fad, but offering fresh fruit to employees is undoubtedly one of the most visible strategies in companies that truly care about their staff. This is just the tip of the iceberg, because there is usually a much deeper approach to genuine employee care behind it. As professionals in fruit solutions for offices and workplaces, we are proud to be able to do our bit in this new business world.