Perspective The seven deadly demotivators

Demotivators dened
Why do employees who really want to feel enthusiastic and energetic about their work end up withholding effort, showing little initiative, arriving late, extending breaks, criticizing management, stealing and even taking part in violence, vandalism and sabotage? An important factor is the presence of demotivators in the workplace. Demotivators are those nagging, daily occurrences that frustrate employees and cause them to reduce, consciously or unconsciously, the amount of productive energy they use in their jobs. Demotivators are counterproductive practices that have crept into an organization and become part of its normal operations more as a result of neglect than design. Demotivators exist because they are allowed to and they remain because little has been done about them. Too many managers are isolated from the daily frustrations of the rank-and-le workforce and simply do not appreciate the seriousness of the demotivation problem. They underestimate the importance of what they consider to be minor irritations and fail to realize that a demotivator tends to affect people far out of proportion to its actual size. In time, demotivators can even harm employees health.

Abstract Your employees, if asked, will doubtless tell you that they really want to feel enthusiastic and to care about their work. But these same employees are often uninspired, show little initiative and simply play it safe. What can you do? The good news is that counterproductive practices that sap employees energy and undermine their morale can be conquered once they have been identied and management has made the decision to do something about them.

Competition for scarce resources

Every organization seems to have its own ways of demotivating employees. The following are some of the most potent demotivators common to most companies: Politics There is a political side to almost every organization. It involves competition for power, inuence, resources, favor and scarce promotions. It usually operates according to unwritten rules of success that send subtle, ambiguous and anxiety-producing messages to employees about politically correct behaviors such as whom to fear, whom to appease, whom to avoid and whom to blame. A few employees may pride themselves on their political savvy. But organizational politics leaves most people feeling helpless and demoralized. Politics thrives on subjectivity and secretiveness. Defeating it therefore demands that decision making be based on objective and 50

Management Development Review Volume 10 Number 1/2/3 1997 pp. 5052 MCB University Press ISSN 0962-2519

The seven deadly demotivators

Management Development Review Volume 10 Number 1/2/3 1997 5052

Author/s

well documented criteria. When unwritten rules for granting rewards and resources are eliminated, all employees will feel they have an equal chance to win. Frank discussion of past instances of politics, coupled with a commitment to avoid these practices in future, will send a powerful message throughout the company that dysfunctional politics in the workplace will no longer be rewarded.

make sure that the meeting ends on time, that its effectiveness is evaluated and that action points are promptly followed up.

Consistency between words and needs

Hypocrisy Many organizations say one thing but do another. For example, they may: encourage feedback, but not act on it; claim to trust their employees, but make them ask permission before they do anything; or cut spending on everything except the chief executives salary. Employees then feel angry, frustrated and betrayed. Firms should closely monitor the consistency between words and deeds. The company should be serious about what it says in its mission, values and employee handbook. Organizations should avoid using exaggerated claims, arrogant exhortations and hyperbole that invites hypocrisy.

Confusing messages
Unclear expectations Maximize production! Quality is job one! Give customers your complete attention! Reduce customer contact time! Without realizing it, management often sends a confusing array of messages to employees. After a while, workers realize that when everything is a priority, nothing is a priority. They can waste large amounts of energy working on the wrong tasks, accomplishing the wrong results, and becoming extremely frustrated in the process. Companies should regularly review all documentation from goals to publications to performance-appraisal criteria for internal consistency. A sample of employees should periodically be asked about their understanding of the organizations goals and priorities. If confusion emerges, rms should pinpoint the problem and correct it, so that what is communicated is more closely aligned with what is really wanted.

Planning and communicating change

Constant change Change can be highly motivating when it is results-oriented, well planned and well communicated. But constant change is disruptive. It leaves employees feeling like pawns, forced to go in whatever direction management decides is right at the moment. Some rms seem to become enamoured with one cureall after another. Other companies change excessively because of lack of direction or poor planning. Todays employees not only want to know what is happening, but also want to know why. When change is essential, the reasons should be clearly and promptly communicated to employees. Firms should respond openly and honestly to employees concerns by answering such questions as: Why is this change needed? and How is it going to affect us?

Making meetings more productive

Unproductive meetings Meetings are vital to corporate success. But nothing saps the spirit like watching, powerless, as a meeting wanders into oblivion. The following guidelines should help to ensure that employees look forward to meetings, rather than dread them: ensure that the meeting is essential and that the right people are invited to attend; develop a cadre of skilled meeting leaders; prepare a results-oriented agenda, focussing on a few key items, and distribute it to all participants before the meeting; expect participants to prepare for the meeting; use formats that encourage everyone to take part; 51

Satisfying employees information needs

Withholding information Lack of information is a major source of employee anxiety. What people do not know makes them nervous and is typically perceived as a threat. There is rarely any conspiracy to withhold information. It is just that few man-

The seven deadly demotivators

Management Development Review Volume 10 Number 1/2/3 1997 5052

Author/s

agers appreciate the extent of employees information needs. Some organizations share virtually all corporate information, including detailed nancial-performance data, with employees. If a rm has anything to hide from its business partners, perhaps it should ask why. Communication can take the form of, for example, frequent senior management visits to employees work areas, monthly or quarterly stateof-the-company reports and even e-mail discussions. Low-quality standards The quickest way to kill the human spirit is to ask someone to do mediocre work. Some organizations make decisions and design systems that rob employees of their right to pride in workmanship. Time and cost constraints, driven by short-term production goals, are major reasons for quality compromises. Employees should be involved in goalsetting and process improvement. When a quality problem does occur, rms should take a no-fault approach and ask: What is wrong with our systems that caused employees to do substandard work? The company should then empower a team to solve the problem. But nothing will send a more immediate and dramatic message about managements commitment to quality than refusing to produce poor-quality goods.

Identify the highest-priority demotivators. It is unrealistic to try to address all demotivators at once. They should be attacked one at a time. Employees should help to identify the highest-priority ones through surveys or focus groups. Identify demotivating practices. Firms should determine how specic demotivators manifest themselves. Dene desired practices. Companies should identify the practices that should be taking place instead of the demotivating ones. Eliminate support for demotivating practices. When rewards for a behavior are removed, the behavior will generally be extinguished. Provide support for desired practices. Two crucial support factors are training and example. Nobody expects demotivators to be eliminated completely or overnight. Some have been around for a long time and are too deeply entrenched. But when management states unambiguously that particular demotivating conditions are no longer acceptable and sets an appropriate example to that effect the rest of the company will usually get the message, and follow the lead. Reducing demotivators must be led from the top. One chief executive showed his personal commitment by publicly shredding his companys 22-inch policy manual and replacing it with a one-page statement of philosophy. But employee involvement is also vital. A broad-based team, representing all major areas and levels of the company, can play a key role in coordinating the effort.
This is a prcis of an article of the same title, which was originally published in Management Review, November 1995, pp. 56-60. The author was Dean R. Spitzer, president of Dean R. Spitzer and Associates Inc., Lakeland, Florida, USA.

Charting a better course

For better or for worse, senior management sets the climate in an organization. Once companies start focussing real attention on addressing the problem, demotivators promptly decrease. Firms should:

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