Bookmark This Page

Delicious Google Bookmarks Stumbleupon Digg BlinkList Blogmarks Facebook Ma.gnolia Reddit Twitter Yahoo My Web Livejournal

Rules Smules: Minimizing Rules and Restrictions Can Make for a More Motivating Work Environment

People are motivated by a variety of things. A person's motivation can be as different or unique as they are. Some people are motivated to change their appearance while others are motivated by their own happiness or their family's happiness. Others are motivated by money. When it comes to work, many people are not motivated to do much of anything except show up and collect a paycheck. It is our job as managers to create an environment in which employees are motivated to do a better job and move forward.

A popular Gallop Poll stated that about 20% of people questioned described themselves as "actively disengaged" at work. Most of these people also said that they were not given the proper tools to do their job or that they were not given clear directions for completing the task. From this Poll, we are shown statistics that are amazing. These employees who are being described as "actively disengaged" are costing employers more than 300 billion dollars a year! This same Poll showed that these people are more likely to miss work or to be late and are also described as less loyal to their jobs.

One of the most common mistakes that employers make is creating too many rules and regulations for employees to follow. This is highly un-motivating for the employee! They feel that they are not being allowed to creatively carry out tasks for fear of constantly breaking a rule! Furthermore, their feelings were likely not considered when these rules were created in the first place. Feeling as though you are an active member of the team and that your feelings are considered when making decisions (even when they are not) is very motivating for an employee!

Making employees feel that they are not trusted is another major mistake that management often makes. Creating rules and polices that question an employee's trustworthiness is common practice in major businesses. For example only allowing a certain number of days off when a family member dies assuming that if there was no limit on the number of days, the employee would take advantage of their time off.

These are some tips for how to create a work environment in which employees do not feel like they are not trusted and that they can express themselves: An environment that fosters motivation in the workplace.

Guidelines for a Motivating Work Environment

1. Keep rules and policies to a minimum. Rules are there to protect your business and create organization, if a rule does not serve that purpose only, then you will need to consider retiring that particular policy.

2. After the rules are established, it is essential that all employees know what is expected of them. Make sure that the rules and/or policies are published and posted in a manner in which all employees are aware.

3. Create a code of conduct. Make this a collaborative effort which involves all or most of the employees that work with you. Use this to identify values that should be held on high in your organization.

4. Follow the rules. As a manager it is your job to be sure that not only the employees are following the rules, but that you are as well. All members of management should follow the rules that have been established. The employees should notice a sense of consistency from the management team rather than employees knowing which managers will let them "get away" with things while others will not.

5. Management should recognize and address inappropriate behaviors on an as-needed basis rather than picking and/or "waiting" for someone to mess up. Use counseling or a progressive discipline approach rather than a "you're in trouble" approach.

6. Clearly communicate work place expectations and guidelines for professional behavior.

7. Ask for employee feedback on rules and policies that are in use. Also ask for ideas about editing the policies. Sometimes your employees have great ideas; after all, they do the job everyday!

8. Be sure that these newfound ideas of consistency in enforcing policy don't come as a shock to employees. IF you have been letting employees "get away" with things in the past, you should meet with them and explain the policy as it is published and let them know about your change and the change that is expected in them.