Employee Motivation - Using Some Psychology Behind It
You are the leader of a team that consists of team members that are calling in sick often, arriving later to work, leaving work early, prolonging their breaks, taking more vacations, spending more time at the water cooler, and just not working.
Do you have a lazy team? Are you handing out boring tasks? What is the problem?
Your team is lacking motivation, and rather than trying to motivate them with an office party or bonuses for everyone that performs well, maybe you should first ask this important question.
What will motivate each individual team member?
Not every person is motivated in the same way. However, finding what motivates an employee can be complicated. You have to understand what they value based on their personality style.
The following is a guide to Workplace Motivators® that can help you understand your employee’s motivation and get them back to work!
- Individualistic/ Political – These employees want to take control of their future and the future of others. They desire to be in power. One of the best ways to motivate this person is by putting them in charge of a project. If you are not sure whether or not they can handle this power, start with a small project.
- Utilitarian/ Economic – These are the employees you can motivate with a bonus. Their desire is to reach a return on investment. A small pay raise or bonus for work well done could go a long ways with these employees.
- Theoretical – The motivation for this personality type is an appetite for knowledge. Provide opportunities for this type of employee to do working tasks that require them to learn new things.
- Aesthetic – The employee with aesthetic motivations is a bit more complicated to manage. This employee is motivated by form, balance, harmony, or a combination of all three. To find what motivates this person, find out their interests. For example, an employee may like sculptures, so talking with them about their interest or allowing them to display a sculpture in their office can help to motivate him or her.
- Social/ Altruistic – This employee is motivated by helping others. Giving them tasks that helps him or her to make a difference in someone’s life will keep them motivated.
- Traditional/ Regulatory – This type of employee is focused on a systematic way of living. It is important that their personal standards or rules are in alignment with that of the organization. This may be the most difficult type of employee to motivate because he or she believes that his or her personal system is the best way of doing things. Often the person’s religion is the basis for his or her's personal system. Motivate this person by putting them in a position that allows him or her to work according to their systems. However, if the person’s systems conflict with that of the organizations, he or she might not be suited for the organization.
When you understand the psychology of your employees, you can find what truly motivates them. Using the Workplace Motivators® will help you to do exactly that!
