What Is Motivation?
The most natural definitions of motivation I have found so far in my research are these. I think they are the most relevant and simplified explanations of motivation in one’s life and work:
“Motivation is the process that initiates, guides, and maintains goal-oriented behaviors. It causes you to act, whether it is getting a glass of water to reduce thirst or reading a book to gain knowledge.”
Jeffrey S Nevid
“Motivation involves the biological, emotional, social, and cognitive forces that activate behavior. In everyday usage, the term “motivation” is frequently used to describe why a person does something. It is the driving force behind human actions.”
Jeffrey S Nevid
Now we know what is motivation. But the question remains how to overcome a lack of motivation? Especially at the workplace. Keep reading, and I will explain it in detail. Moreover, I will give you some tips and recommendations as a takeaway.
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Lack Of Motivation At Work
Lack of motivation to do anything at work is a phase for many people. So many employees become victims of this lack of motivation daily. The good news is most of them overcome it on their own. Some need a little help like counseling or external factors to overcome the lack of motivation at the workplace.
“A book is your best companion if you get your hands on the right one.”
For this vital issue, I found a beneficial book:
Herzberg examines thirty years of motivational research in job-related areas. When first published, ‘The Motivation to Work’ challenged the received wisdom by showing that worker fulfillment came from achievement and growth within the job itself.
Why is motivation important?
Fundamentally, motivation is the union of internal and external constituents that raise desire and response in people. Your motivation stimulates you to get out of bed, carry out chores and meet deadlines at work daily. Motivation in the workplace forces you to win at your office.
Public and social service motivates people to serve society. Some are emboldened to shine in their distinct domain. Somehow people find their purpose in life by using their salary to keep their loved ones happy and well.
Types of Motivation help employees at the workplace
Incentive motivation
People who are incentive motivated work best when they know they will be compensated appropriately. Examples of incentive motivation in the workplace include:
- A monthly reward is granted to the worker who spent the most hours working;
- Giving additional cash to the agent with the highest number of sales.
Achievement motivation
In the workplace, an achievement-motivated employee needs to forecast future recognition to endure being involved during a process or project. Examples of achievement-motivation in the workplace include:
- Ensuring public acknowledgment of workers who outperform;
- Testifying statement of all team members who commit to a project.
Competence motivation
Employees who are competently motivated to seek out excuses to learn in the workplace and take the initiative to get a new skill set. Examples of competence motivation in the workplace include:
- Continuing education programs;
- Skill-based training sessions;
- Hosting a professional development workshop.
Affiliation motivation
You can use affiliation motivation to promote personal relationships, either among coworkers or with customers. Company culture can inspire employees to succeed as a team instead of as individuals. Examples of affiliation motivation in the workplace include:
- Organizing team-building exercises that encourage the workers to build trust;
- Promoting employees to connect outside of work;
- Supportive collaboration and interaction between different team.
Influence Of Demotivation
Human life is influenced by numerous things. Social, emotional, physical, mental, and relationship aspects are the primary sources of happiness, sadness, anger, and many other emotions. All of these features, when hit negatively, could break people psychologically.
Sometimes it results in loss of interest, demotivation, lack of energy, and motivation. It also causes no pleasure in a monotonous life and no drive to achieve something. It affects the personal and working level and damages both sides equally if not cured.
Personal Life
Lack of motivation damages the personal life so badly that sometimes it costs them their relations. People get tired of demotivated people who do not have goals in life, thus losing their charm. Lack of motivation to do anything in life eventually convinces you not to put their 100 percent in their relationships and household.
Work Connection
Lack of motivation to do anything is like a parasite that houses in your head and tells you to put down everything. Do nothing, procrastinate all day, feel disinterested and ignore the targets. Even peers at the workplace feel the demotivation and negativity of the employees experiencing it.
Lack of motivation affects work and productivity?
Lack of motivation could cause really very bad effects on the productivity of an employee at the workplace. Lack of energy and encouragement makes you sluggish, and you find no happiness in working to achieve the targets or a set goal at the end of the day. Lack of motivation produces negative energy that casts a spell on others in the surroundings as well.
The whole environment of the workplace could be turmoil due to some demotivated souls. So, it is our social responsibility to help those people to overcome the lack of motivation at work. It will, in return, benefit us and others who are directly affected through unmotivated behavior.
How can I be motivated at work?
Many things could help you transform yourself in search of motivation. Still, I find these two the most enormous over the employees at the workplace. Staying motivated is easy for people who already use their innate drive to keep up the excellent work.
But for those who are at the relatively low point of their lives. They can take great advantage by implementing these two main types of motivation. Positive and negative motivation has tremendous effects on employees at work to improve their motivation level.
Positive motivation helps you focus on positive consequences resulting from finishing a task or reaching a particular goal. When you are positively motivated, you will think optimistically. Your approach will be positive, but the goal would be the same. For example:
- Completing this task at work will help me to earn a promotion;
- Applying for a new position will open up new opportunities to change careers.
On the other hand, negative motivation focuses on unfavorable outcomes that might occur if you do not do what has to be done or make a mistake. You take it as a negative motivation in which you will fear the result and try to avoid it through negative motivation. Following statements are the examples of comments you can think or make when you have a negative reason:
- If I don’t complete the task, my partners will be disappointed with me;
- If I don’t get this job offer, I will miss a tremendous opportunity to be in a career in the future.
Negative motivation can cause exhaustion and is not typically effective for long-term career growth. When you’re continuously thinking about adverse consequences that may result in an action, you often start to avoid the tasks associated with it eventually. While both types of motivation dramatically drive you to accomplish duties, positive motivation is exciting and inspirational.
Tips
Experiencing fluctuations in motivation and willpower is expected whether you are at the workplace or home. Sometimes you feel low and clueless, about what to do. And sometimes, you feel the fire in your belly and strive to reach your goals, come what may. Being unsure about plans or how to achieve them is pretty standard, and you could easily overcome it by following some tips and tricks.
- Stick to one goal or have as many as you want but try to adjust them accordingly. You must focus on things that really matter to you and make them your priority;
- If your goal is too big, like you have a long-term plan, then you should break it up into smaller objectives and make progress step by step;
- Practice something that boosts your morale like music, social work, outings, long drives, etc;
- Recall your strength and the things you achieved in the past through it;
- Find your pitfalls, insecurities, and fears and try making improvements in those areas so that you feel more skilled and capable.
Takeaway
Next time you feel a lack of energy and motivation, look at the people who do not have the resources and opportunities you have in life to achieve your goals. So why waste it in the first place. Although motivation is an intrinsic drive, you can do many things that could affect you externally to make yourself immune to the situation and gradually drag yourself out of the negativity.
It is not that easy, but eventually, you could find a way to drive yourself on the path to success again. There are times when you may feel extremely low but think of the last time you got yourself out of it and caught up with the rush again. Do let me know in the comments section below how you overcome your lack of motivation at work.
Moreover, if you find something positive and helpful in this blog. Do not forget to read the book I recommended above. Good luck and take care of yourself.
