How to Motivate People At Work

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How to Motivate People at Work

People come to work for many reasons, and understanding these reasons helps motivate them to work better.

There are two kinds of motivators: positive and negative.

Negative motivators include threats, sanctions, reprimands, and punishments. These methods should only be used as a last resort or in an emergency. Negative motivators create bad blood and are unsustainable.

Using positive motivation with employees is crucial because it significantly boosts productivity, job satisfaction, and morale. When employees feel valued and appreciated, they are more engaged, creative, and committed to their work. This supportive environment reduces stress and burnout, fosters a strong company culture, and enhances professional development. Ultimately, a positive and motivating workplace leads to lower turnover, higher customer satisfaction, and attracts top talent, providing a competitive edge for the organisation.

Positive motivation techiques include:

1. Money

Everyone values money because it provides choices.

2. Things equivalent to money

For example, vouchers or time off.

3. Recognition for achievements

People work for medals, awards, and certificates. For example, councils award organisations with bronze, silver, gold, and platinum awards, and companies strive to achieve these.

4. Job security

In an uncertain marketplace, job security is valuable. Most people will work to secure their position.

5. Verbal praise and appreciation

Thanks, praise, and appreciation are free to give and costly not to. Failure to appreciate people causes failure. Give appreciation for good work, and you will see more good work.

6. Investment in professional development

Invest in someone's professional development to motivate them. Tell them you are helping them actualise their full potential. This makes people feel appreciated and valued, and they will work harder.

7. Promise of possible promotion

Without giving cast iron guarantees, telling people their career is on an upward path inspires them to work harder.

Honesty in Motivation

For these methods to be effective, they must be done with complete honesty. Any dishonesty will cause failure. The moment a person is perceived as dishonest, that person loses the trust of others.

Personal Development Training

Our highly rated two-day Personal Development Course covers motivating both yourself and others.

About the Author: Chris Farmer

Chris Farmer is the founder of the Corporate Coach Group and has many years’ experience in training leaders and managers, in both the public and private sectors, to achieve their organisational goals, especially during tough economic times. He is also well aware of the disciplines and problems associated with running a business.

Over the years, Chris has designed and delivered thousands of training programmes and has coached and motivated many management teams, groups and individuals. His training programmes are both structured and clear, designed to help delegates organise their thinking and, wherever necessary, to improve their techniques and skills.

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Further Reading in Motivation

• How to Deal With a Manager Who Loves Pointing Out Your Mistakes
  It is a fact that nobody likes to be criticised. But some managers seem to criticise the small percentage of errors people make, without recognising that the majority of work is done well. This leads to employee demotivation.
  Read Article >
• How to Inspire Others
  Leaders create visions for the future and getting people to buy into a vision is vital for its success. Leaders must be able to effectively communicate and inspire others to believe in their plans. Here are five ways you can inspire others.
  Read Article >
• How to Change People's Bad Attitudes at Work
  Attitudes affect results because attitudes affect behaviour. People with positive attitudes will always get better results than those with negative attitudes. Learn how you can change people's bad attitudes.
  Read Article >
• How to be Happy and Successful
  In order to be happy and successful, you need balance in your life. Your life is made up of different parts, and each part has to be in a harmonious relationship with the others, otherwise your life will become unbalanced.
  Read Article >
• Six Scientifically Proven Ways to Motivate People at Work
  Keeping staff motivated is important to keeping your business efficient and productive and to avoid high staff turnover. Make your organisation a place where people want to work with these proven ways to motivate people.
  Read Article >

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