HR News >> Browse Articles >> Career Advancement
The Top 5 Myths About Motivating Employees
Suzanne Bates
June 09, 2009
While motivating employees is a key factor in an economic recovery, many companies are failing to keep their workers fully engaged in their jobs because they share some common myths and beliefs, according to Suzanne Bates, author of "Motivate Like a CEO: Communicate Your Strategic Vision and Inspire People to Act!" (McGraw-Hill 2009).
Employers must re-examine their beliefs about employee engagement if they hope to accelerate their business recovery and retain their top talent, said Bates, president and CEO of Bates Communications (www.bates-communications.com).
In a typical workplace, only 29 percent of employees are actively motivated and engaged in their jobs, while 71 percent are unmotivated and disengaged - either not engaged at all (54 percent) or are actively disengaged (17 percent) - according to the Gallup Management Journal’s Employee Engagement Index.
"While there has been a slight uptick in employee motivation in recent surveys, this may be only temporary because it's based on survival. As the pendulum swings back, employers should watch out - because employees will look at their jobs and their companies differently," said Bates.
"The Top 5 Myths About Motivating Employees" are at work even during an economic boom. However, in a serious recession, everything changes, and employers' misperceptions can be damaging. "If employers don't re-examine their human resource practices and beliefs about motivation," said Bates, "they risk damaging morale, losing top talent, and lengthening their recovery time."
AncaSuciu
4 months ago
20 comments
Great article. If employees are not engaged and are not satisfied with their job, they will start wasting company's time and resources. here is an interesting article about the reasons employees waste time at work.
http://blog.cyclope-series.com/2009/07/why-do-employees-waste-time-...
ysaumitra
4 months ago
126 comments
A good one. Unfortunately very few people have inclination to learn. I have seen most of the time organizations giving lip service to employee engagement. They will give you the impression that they care so much about there employee but on the real sense they just do a cosmetic change. The truth still is , it's those organizations who truly motivates there employees are the winner in the long run.
shwe
4 months ago
48 comments
Thats good article
niamaritz
4 months ago
8 comments
Did you know that recruitment research shows that only about 15% of people / staff feel responsible for their jobs and that they are expected to be accountable and truly have a say in the what they put out?
ravindran
4 months ago
158 comments
Great Article! Thanks for sharing karthika.
hawkeye
4 months ago
424 comments
I enjoyed this article a lot. Myth #3 gave me food for thought as it showed how important it is to give each other engagement which is a bonus when faced with the challenge of motivating someone who does not feel connected with what is being done on a daily basis.
Gordon_Hobbs
5 months ago
4 comments
This is a very good article, and always timely. Ref Myth #1, I have heard many times, from field supervisors to top management, the statement "just get them a few more dollars and they will be happy." While this may initially be true for a few, it soon wears off and they may be back to unmotivated status. When you don't share bad news, rumors still get started among the troops. Not only do they hate the fact you won't share with them, if all they have are rumors the rumors may be even more sinister than the bad news. The more folks you have in an organization, the more divergent are the personalities and the motivational actions should be as diverse. Don't be afraid to try different methods to motivate, above all be honest with members of your organization. Integrity should be number one on your list of values.
johnlweitzel
5 months ago
22 comments
that is why i am looking elsewhere
J2Roman
5 months ago
2 comments
Thanks for the 411
dmiller
5 months ago
72 comments
Good article. Motivation is an underrated business impact.
Adwant
5 months ago
19456 comments
Great Info..Thank You...
Derik_Mocke
5 months ago
6 comments
Great article Suzanne. It highlights again how important employee engagement is and that it has to happen regularly!
Derik Mocke
www.sustainable-employee-motivation.com