Different things motivate different folks. Some people are motivated to enhance their appearance while others are motivated by prestige or sexual conquest. Others are motivated by money. When it comes to work, many people are not motivated to do much of anything except show up and collect a paycheck. It is our job as managers to create an environment in which employees are inspired to do a better job and forge.

A recent Gallop Poll stated that about 20% of people queried described themselves as “actively disengaged” at work. Most of these people also said that they were not given the proper tools to do their job or that they were not given clear directions for completing the task. From this Poll, we see statistics that are astounding. These employees who are being described as “actively disengaged” are costing employers more than 300 billion dollars a year! This same Poll showed that these people are more likely to go hooky or to be late and are also described as less enthusiastic to their jobs.

A frequent mistake that employers make is levying too many regulations for employees to follow. This is highly de-motivating for the employee! They feel that they are not empowered to creatively carry out tasks for fear of breaking a rule.

Having employees feel that they are not trusted is another critical mistake that management makes. Creating rules and polices that question an employee’s trustworthiness is common practice in major businesses. An example includes allowing a certain number of days off when a family member dies. This assumes that if there were no limit on the number of days, the employee would take advantage of their time off.

The following are tips to create a work environment that fosters motivation.

Guidelines for an Enjoyable Work Environment

• Minimize rules and policies to the essential. Rules are there to protect your business and create structure; if a rule does not serve that purpose, then you will need to consider retiring that particular policy.

• After the rules are established, it is essential that all employees know what is expected of them. Ensure apt promulgation of all regulations.

• Establish a code of conduct. Implement a collaborative effort which involves all or most of the employees that work with you. A vision and mission statement keeps the ship sailing towards a common goal.
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First decide what you really want to do. What would make work worth working at and life worth living. Then figure out how to do it.

Most people look to what they know they CAN do as a guide to what they WILL do; I think to get anything important done in the world, you have to look towards what you WANT to do, and then figure out how to do it.

When most people think about what they are committed to, they consider where they can build a bridge to from where they already are. What would happen if you chose where you wanted to go without considering your current circumstances and then worried about how to build that bridge?

There is nothing wrong with being reasonable, except that “what is reasonable” is a poor guide to action when designing actions to push the future. Being reasonable will help you feel safe in the sense of knowing that your actions will turn out pretty much the way you expect them to. But it is dangerous in that same sense of producing predictable results; what is predictable has, by definition, been done before. And what has been done before is unlikely to make much of a difference in the future.

Paul Lemberg

Seven ways to be unreasonable.

“The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adopt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable man.” – George Bernard Shaw

“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over expecting different results.” – Rita Mae Brown

“So what else is new?” – Paul Lemberg

Being reasonable

My dictionary defines being reasonable as being rational. Rational, it says, means being reasonable. A vicious circle: I know I’m in trouble already. Going further, reasonable also means being governed by reason; which in turn means explanations, justifications, underlying facts, good judgment, normalcy, plus the capacity for logic and analytic thought. Further, being reasonable means being within the bounds of common sense, as in arriving home at a reasonable hour, and lastly it means not excessive or extreme.

I’m all for logic and analytic thought, but does following the dictum “be reasonable” sound like a good way to build a breakthrough business?

The very idea of “being reasonable,” prescribes something restrictive. It exhorts us to remain “within the box,” to do what sensible people would do: not to over commit ourselves, to be cautious, to avoid risks, to hold our trump cards.

What is the alternative?

To be unreasonable, of course. Being unreasonable, like it’s more cautious cousin, suggests multiple meanings. Here are seven applications of being unreasonable.
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Here’s how to gain the most from training events.

1) Know what you want

Before the workshop, set learning goals for yourself. What do you want to learn? How can this program help you? What would make you feel that your time was well spent?

2) Ask for what you want

As the program unfolds, ask questions that guide the presentation toward the information that you need. Also, seek out specific ideas that will help you.

3) Focus on your success

Rather than fight against new ideas, greet them as possibilities. If the ideas seem unworkable, seek out ways to modify them so that you can use them. Or find parts of them that you can use.

4) Encourage the speaker

Learning succeeds best when you become involved. Thus, ask questions, make comments, participate in the projects. Pay attention. Let the speaker know that you are interested. This encourages the speaker to do a better job.
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If you would like your business to employ highly motivated and high-energy level employees then investing in the workplace atmosphere and facilities will help and will reduce work-place stress significantly. Research confirms that if your employees are stressed then that will cost you even more money in missed workdays and increased on-the-job injuries over both the short term and the long term.

In addition to the negative repercussions of having stressed out employees, your business may be experiencing lower productivity and poor quality of output. It is both clear and obvious that some very cost effective strategies could minimize stress on the job and provide your employees with opportunities to reduce other stress related problems.

Below is a list of 6 ways in which you can help your company reduce stress for your employees while increasing the output of your business:

1. Provide an attractive and comfortable work environment whenever possible to reduce stress. Pleasant surroundings can do more for a person’s attitude then we often realize. Create a less formal atmosphere by adding plants or improved decoration, even if that is just in a rest room it will help.
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