An unmotivated team is a force to be reckoned with. As well as an individual’s productivity, the whole team can start to suffer, creating a hostile atmosphere. Plus, it increases issues with punctuality, absences, and a lack of focus, as well as increased stress on your other team members who try to pick up the slack. Over time, this can lead to a real divide in your team, and employees will start to feel under-appreciated and overworked. 

Want to know how to ensure your team stays unmotivated in the new year? Then we’re here with our 10 top tips to encourage a lack of motivation and team spirit in 2022! 

 

How to reduce employee motivation 

 

1. Don’t get to know your team

Totally avoid building any relationships with your team, both as individuals and as a team. Having a close and supportive relationship with your employees will keep them feeling valued and motivated, so avoid this. 

2. Lack of clarity and transparency 

You know that saying, employees don’t leave jobs, they leave managers? This tends to be down to a lack of transparency, respect, and support between employees. A manager impacts a considerable part of an employee’s role, so to ensure that your team is unmotivated, avoid being clear or transparent with your team. Ignore your teams’ suggestions or say that you’ll do something and then don’t. That’ll keep them unmotivated. 

3. Don’t encourage your team to do better or to have goals

Goals should be linked to time, measurability and realistic. But to encourage a lack of productivity and poor motivation, you should not demonstrate how your teams’ roles contribute to the bigger picture. 

4. Don’t offer any feedback

And when they do complete any goals, don’t check in with them or offer any constructive feedback. Plus, make the process of goal setting, performance reviews and feedback complicated, formal, and unclear. Don’t make it clear or easy for your team to boost their skills and get promoted. 

5. Ignore good work

That team member who frequently goes the extra mile, performs above expectations, and reflects your company values? Yeah, totally ignore their excellent work and wait for their goodwill to burn out. Oh! Also, never say thank you for their work. Let them know that it’s their job and that’s what you expect from them. That’ll keep them unmotivated and unproductive. 

6. Don’t acknowledge any challenges or difficulties

Project dragging on, short-staffed or resources tight? Don’t say anything; just leave your team to muddle through. It’s easy for employees to get demoralised when they feel stuck or don’t have the right tools for the job, so let this happen and you’ll have an unhappy team in no time! 

7. Encourage sterile workspaces

Workplaces with small touches like nice furniture, plants or artwork that brighten up the place or even a fully stocked kitchen are small tokens of appreciation that keep your employees wanting to show up every day to do their best work. So, scrap all of that. No team tea and coffee, no plants, no personal items allowed on desks. Keep the workspace sterile to encourage your team to dread coming to work. 

8. No promotions, no progression

Most employees will want the opportunity to progress in their roles, but if there’s a lack of progression available, they’ll be likely to lose motivation and interest in their current position and look for a new job. 

9. A strict working arrangement

If you’re in the office 8-6, then your team should be too, right? They’ll have to find other options for their care or out-of-work responsibilities. Don’t offer any flexibility, and you’ll lose your teams’ motivation. 

10. Underpay, over-demand

Fair compensation, benefits and expectations keep employees engaged and happy to work. Instead, have your team members doing the work of two or three people and don’t pay them the salary to reflect it. You’ll lose their motivation in no time! 

So, there you have it, our top 10 tips to lose your teams’ motivation, interest, and productivity! 

Obviously, we’re joking, and we do not recommend that you treat your team in this way at all. Your team is one of the most critical aspects of your company, and you rely on them to do the best for your customers. So, ensuring they’re motivated, happy and productive at work is vital for your company. 

The famous Simon Sinek quote is relevant here: happy employees ensure happy customers.

What causes your employees to lose motivation?

A lack of motivation isn’t always solely to do with staff’s working environment, however, it's often caused by issues at work such as: 

• A lack of confidence in management
• Boredom at work 
• An unmanageable workload
• Hostile working environment
• Lack of career progression or promotion
• Feeling overworked and under-appreciated
• Issues outside of work such as financial concerns, bereavement or illness in the family

How to recognise a lack of motivation in your team

By having a solid relationship with your team, both as individuals and as a whole, you’ll be able to notice some of the tell-tale signs of demotivation, such as: 

• Frequently being late to work, or taking ages to get going once they get to work 
• Change in mood, or being distant from their colleagues
• Calling in sick more often
• Lack of focus, or struggling to get through work as quickly 
• Inappropriate or negative comments 
• Lack of input into team meetings
• They just seem constantly tired or checked out 

So, how to motivate your staff instead?

Do the exact opposite to our ten tips above. Encourage a strong relationship with your team, get to know them all personally, as well as the way they work together. Ensure they feel heard, respected, and like their contribution matters – because it does, your business can’t run without your team. 

At Lokava, we work closely with businesses to improve efficiency by solving issues through innovative software solutions. If you’d like to know more about how we can help your organisation, why not book your free consultation call today?