Finding Motivation at Work
Posted September 9, 2021
Motivation at work will come and go. Knowing that our energy and emotions will not be consistent, how can we create a container/infrastructure so that overall output for work can still be achieved?
Let’s start with what is happening with motivation at work right now?
After the world was flipped upside down in 2020, 2021 is bringing more of the same. Even with the vaccine slowly rolling out, we are still dealing with a lot of stress and disruption. We know work has changed forever, yet there is a yearning for “getting back to normal.” The combination has employees in a constant or vacillating state of burnout and depletion.
When speaking with employees, we’re hearing things like:
I’m having a hard time staying focused during the day.
It’s difficult to work through the day-to-day tasks.
This is monotonous. My energy throughout the day is unpredictable and unmanageable.
All employee groups are coming at this through the lens of their own experiences. From parents, we’re seeing more and more women opting out of the workplace, which will have a long-term impact. Working families with school-aged children are underwater and afraid to say so, or incapable of generating solutions. The impact is felt by peers without children, in some cases creating a lack of tolerance and empathy.
At the same time, a new generation of employees are entering the workforce and are thrust into an entirely independent working environment. They’re struggling to connect within organizations and to thrive without the familiar structures they’re used to in academic environments. For businesses, this has a significant impact on potential productivity, quality, and financial success.
Now, we’re moving into a new era versus still being in a pandemic. True habit adoption happens in 90 days, but we’ve been in different cycles throughout this experience. First, there was a level of shock, then there was denial that this would continue for so long. Finally, we have a vaccine and for the most part more realistic expectations. People have a sense of clarity and can stabilize in this long-term normal.
We are now in a place of crystallizing new ways of living. In some ways, people are thriving. While this has been painful for a lot of people, many people have seized the moment. It can allow for more focus and a controlled environment. It can create more freedom for how to use your time.
Most people are experiencing a combination of stress/pain and opportunity/freedom. This is a complex situation, when people may be moving into high executive functioning or peak performance, as well as emotional/mental lows. Both of these situations can be happening simultaneously as well.
Building Healthy Work Habits
Not being in the office can take away clarity and trust in knowing what other people are doing. There is a lack of visibility, creating a situation for some to assume that people aren’t working and to have decreased trust. People can’t see what their co-workers are doing, so it’s easy to be more demanding and less understanding of someone else’s time. This can be more time demanded for meetings and less time for strategic work. This also takes away from the boundaries of taking lunch breaks and pauses, since people feel a need to always look like they are available and working. The pace of change resulting from the pandemic has increased most workloads. Change takes time, and a lot of energy, to integrate. When we are in periods of change, we see results come in slowly, with those who are leading change efforts depleting their energy levels quickly.
For organizations to combat these factors, there are multiple approaches they can take:
Flexibility
Employees are calling for more flexibility to be able to manage the new demands of life and work that they are facing. This is not a new trend, but it is one that has escalated. In fact, where possible, organizations need to attempt to provide extreme flexibility where possible - over hours, location of work and on active participation in meetings and other “live” company events.
Communications
Companies that operated remotely prior to the pandemic can teach us many lessons. These organizations have actively adopted asynchronous communications (happens at different times) over synchronous communication (happens at the same time). Organizations can start making this shift by leveraging technology, questioning the need for meetings, documenting everything and being clear about work hand offs from one person to another.
Open Conversations
Culture is often described as the way we do things around here. It isn’t enough to tell people that the organization values wellbeing. The self-care emphasis has to be built into work processes, including regular mental health checks, supportive habits and routines, and ongoing programming with leadership involvement.
micro-moments
With time being so scarce, people need small solutions that work. Adopting micro-moments as an organization will send a significant message. Micro-moments include meditations/quiet minutes, time for stretching, water breaks, and connecting with one another.
redefining community
Looking forward, even when a “return to office” is possible, it is more likely that businesses will operate in a hybrid virtual/office environment. People have different expectations of work. As this happens, the HR function needs to shift from a focus on the employee experience to a focus on the life experience of its employees. This will mean something different to every business, but requires a hard look at how the business can support employees with all aspects of wellness (emotional, physical, financial, etc) and provide resources accordingly.
As a result of our fast-paced lives, most people are operating on autopilot. They will only take action in a state of emergency. They are only getting things done when there is a sense of fear or urgency involved. Without the support, permission, and structure, these things will fall to the wayside.
This was the evolution of the nervous system. We’ve had a massive productivity shift in the last 20 years, since the recession and the internet boom. This causes us to stay in our sympathetic nervous system and to be desensitized and not attracted to healing and rest. This means there is a high level of resistance, even though we know it’s the right answer. Success is in the hands of people teams who can help encourage, embed, and operationalize these programs.
Executing Change
As you assess your organization’s ability to move in the desired direction, ask yourself:
What needs are not being met for your team and as a whole and for you?
Where do you need to outsource?
Who are the right vendors for those needs?
How much support do you need to get those met and is the vendor capable of providing that support?
Can you create a sustainable relationship even when things are in a greater state of urgency?
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References for Additional Information
"9 Trends That Will Shape Work in 2021 and Beyond", Harvard Business Review
"How to get re-engaged with work when morale is running low", Quartz at Work
"Why modern HR requires rethinking the old-school employee handbook", Fast Company
By Jessa Messina, YoJo and Sara Ramos, At The Start