Employee Motivation and Productivity: How to Motivate Others to Do as Little as Possible

Employee motivation and productivity can be tricky. Have you ever managed people who you would describe as capable and talented, but they just “go through the motions” of showing up and doing the bare minimum? You might be asking yourself, “Where is your motivation?”

What may be happening in the above scenario is that these talented and capable people are motivated to show up at work and do as little as possible without getting fired!

The definition of motivation is: an internal drive that drives behavior. Therefore, to say that someone is “just not motivated” is simply not possible. Employee motivation begins with the understanding that within every human being there is an inner drive that drives behavior. In other words, everyone is motivated. Criminals are motivated just as much as you and I… just in a different direction to achieve different results. Each of us behaves the way he does because of an internal drive called “motivation.”

One question that might arise from the definition above is, “If motivation comes from within, does that mean employee motivation and productivity aren’t possible with some people?” That’s a great question. Let’s take a closer look at employee motivation and productivity and how we can get more out of people.

The first step is to understand that each of us has “wants” in key areas of life, such as finances, health, relationships, business/career, spiritual, and recreation. Our vision in those areas and our journey towards their fulfillment is what determines our motivation and productivity. When there is a “gap” between where we are and where we want to be, the inner drive “kicks in” to bridge the gap in some way.

Given the above, every interaction you have with people either motivates or demotivates them. Each interaction “raises a mirror”, where they see themselves in relation to where they want to be. Your words and actions have immediate meaning for people: their relationship with you brings them closer to or further away from their desired destination. If people see it as a barrier to getting more of what they want, they may “hold back” their productivity. For them, more effort is not worth enough; therefore, they may appear to be unmotivated.

Now we know better. They’re motivated…just in a different direction than you are. Sometimes it doesn’t take much to affect someone’s motivation and productivity.

A friend of mine is the number one salesperson for a company. He once told me that he had no motivation to win a sales contest that included a fully paid trip to Cancun for 10 days with his wife. Why?

His children were not included in the trip. If he and his wife went on vacation, he wanted his children with them. Since that was not the case, he got very creative with the order schedules, so he was able to come in second in the contest without losing commissions in the long run. Granted, the company’s quarterly bottom line would be lower, but this way my friend could get what he wanted: a family vacation on his terms.

Like my friend, we all have motivation towards what we want and away from what we don’t want.
If my friend’s manager had asked, “What would give you the most motivation to win this contest?”… I would have heard my friend say, “Just give me four days at Disney World with my wife and kids, and then go away.” “. Get out of my way and watch me win this.” A simple question would have made all the difference in my friend’s motivation to win, but his manager didn’t.

When you show an interest in what people want and help them get more of it, you ignite employee motivation and productivity in the direction you want.

Do you struggle with business productivity and employee motivation? Are you desperately trying to find a way to increase productivity and motivate some employees? Are you about to throw in the towel because you think motivation is not possible with some people? If so, consider that they may not be getting enough of what they want, and so they appear to be low on motivation.

How do you know what employees want? You must ask them. If your productivity and motivation are low because important things aren’t getting done, you may be able to increase productivity and turn things around by finding a way to make your job a vehicle for getting more of what you want.