HR News >> Browse Articles >> Career Advancement
The Top 5 Myths About Motivating Employees
Article Submitted by:
Suzanne Bates
June 09, 2009
The Top 5 myths about motivating employees, according to Bates and "Motivate Like a CEO," are:
Myth #1: Money is the number one way to motivate employees. "Salaries and bonuses have been the staple of motivation. Most companies relied primarily, even completely, on monetary rewards," said Bates. "Money is only one of many factors in motivation. Yet companies have become lazy about motivating people instead of giving them what they really crave, which is recognition, praise, and the opportunity to learn."
Myth #2: If you want to motivate people, don’t let them in on the bad news. "This is a particularly damaging myth. Bad news always gets out to employees. They hate it when you hide bad news; they consider themselves partners in the company, and they long for a chance to contribute and make a difference, especially in tough times," said Bates. "The surest way to motivate people is to empower them even with terrible news, so they can come to terms with reality, think their way through the crisis, and contribute to creative solutions going forward," said Bates.
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