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Latest reports in the first quarter of 2024, it ought to be noted that worker motivation and engagement dropped to only 30%, the lowest level in 11 years. The best decrease in motivation occurs among the younger generation and people working only remotely or only in the office.
Why is this happening? How can founders and senior management help employees stay motivated? Let’s attempt to figure it out.
First: why is interest among employees decreasing?
One necessary issue to contemplate is the generation gap. Today, Generation Z has a different way of considering towards building a profession than their predecessors. They care more about things like finding meaning in their work slightly than simply getting cash or climbing the profession ladder in the usual way. This will be confusing for managers who expect younger employees to want the same things they did when they began. However, these expectations often conflict with reality.
As the co-founder and COO of my company, I often see this when interviewing people in their 20s and 25s. For these young people, a sense of private success takes precedence over traditional markers of success. The change in attitude is likely influenced by macroeconomic aspects, reminiscent of monetary depreciation. Earning money doesn’t seem that necessary to young people considering its nature decreasing value.
So what can you do to combat this and keep people engaged in the workplace? Here are some ideas I like to recommend business leaders keep in mind.
1. Empower employees and support accountability
To start with a personal example, I suggest giving employees more control over their work environment and schedule. In my company, we have adopted a hybrid work model in which employees can select their preferred form of labor. This signifies that employees can select whether or not they wish to work from home or come to the office, and select the hours they work. This flexibility helps people work when they feel most efficient and promotes a culture of trust and self-responsibility.
This approach is often called the so-called ROWE (work environment focused solely on results). Instead of closely observing and controlling employees, we focus on the results they achieve. We trust our team to handle the workload and get things done. This way of working helps maintain work-life balance and makes people feel more responsible, productive and completely satisfied in their work.
2. Create a dynamic environment that encourages worker growth
Another issue is creating a dynamic environment where employees feel challenged and encouraged to develop. This means creating a diverse task pool that will avoid employees being stuck in the same routine every day. Of course, certain operational tasks are crucial for a business to run easily. However, it is equally necessary to supply employees with the opportunity to develop their skills and face latest challenges.
Managers play a key role in this approach because they are responsible for creating and controlling this pool of tasks. They must be certain that each team member has a set of tasks they are good at and tasks that will help them learn and develop. In this manner, managers can make work more interesting for their team and keep them motivated and engaged.
3. Use collaborative team activities to build a sense of community
Another tactic you may consider is to foster camaraderie and shared interests among team members. This will be achieved by organizing various activities and events that unite employees. Office tasks, sports challenges, meetings and holiday celebrations are great ways to cultivate a sense of community and belonging.
Shared experiences create opportunities for social interaction and promote teamwork, creativity and mutual support. The result is a positive work environment and stronger team relationships.
4. Accept cultural diversity and value individual work-life balance
Finally, being a company leader means listening to the diverse cultural mindsets and values inside your team, especially when operating internationally. Understanding and respecting cultural differences, especially in terms of concepts work-life balanceare crucial when attempting to create a supportive work environment.
My company’s team is distributed around the world, including the United States, Europe and Asia. With such a multicultural team, we recognize that approaches to work-life balance can vary significantly from region to region. Leaders must adopt a flexible and empathetic approach that respects employees’ individual values and boundaries.