12 Things That Supervisors Do That Kill Employee Motivation

For some supervisors, finding the key to employee motivation is like trying to find the Holy Grail. Keeping employees happy and engaged is not really a mystery if you look inward and assess your approach with employees.

This is not to say that in every instance where an employee lacks motivation it's because of something that you have done wrong. You can have the best work style, stellar benefits, and pay top salary in your industry and still have an employee who is not motivated. But one thing that supervisors often overlook is how their style of management can often be detrimental to their employees job satisfaction and affect their motivation.

Things that you do that can affect your employees' motivation include:

1. Regularly showing preferential treatment to some employees over others

2. Micro-manager; no faith in the employee's ability to perform the job

3. Supervisors who don't have an understanding the work that they do and the daily challenges that they face

4. Too administrative, (inability to perform the day to day aspects of the job(s) of the people that they supervise)

5. Lack of support; particularly when problems occur, (not watching their employees backs)

6. Not having direct access to you when needed

7. Lack of communication and feedback

8. Lack of acknowledgement or praise for special accomplishments on the job

9. Not working as hard as they do, (not in the office, always in meetings)

10. Not being an effective leader. This perception includes the supervisor that lets peers walk all over them to not dealing immediately with disruptive or difficult employees

11. Not showing your "human" side

12. Not listening/Talking over them/Ignoring them

Some things that you can do to motivate employees:

1. Meet on a regular basis with your employees to learn what concerns and challenges they may be facing. Ask questions about the work that they do. Understanding their work benefits both you and your employee.

2. Make employees aware that you are available for questions and guidance by giving your employees the ok to make appointments on your calendar to talk, or just walk in to your office.

3. Praise your employees when they do great work, overcome a challenge, or solve a workplace issue.

4. Help them get what they need to do their jobs efficiently. This may mean additional peer to peer training, or something simple like more computer memory.

5. Don't let workplace issues escalate as it affects even those employees who are not directly involved.

6. Help employees to understand how their work interconnects with your work, (as well as others), but sharing updates as appropriate on workplace initiatives.

7. When appropriate, help your employee navigate through tough issues with an unreasonable manager or client. There are times when it is beneficial for a manager to step in to help resolve issues; especially when the issues involve someone in a senior role.

There are so many factors that contribute to low staff motivation. Whether it's your management style or other factors, it's important to assess the situation and then take action.