When we talk about ways to foster gratitude and motivation in the workplace, we’ll often talk about manners. And these go beyond saying please and thank you. Manners are nothing more or less than how we treat the people around us — whether or not we make them feel like a valued and included part of the team, or whether we ignore their needs in favor of our own.
Gratitude and motivation in the workplace are permanently entwined with how we conduct ourselves around others. With the most thankful time of the year right around the corner, now’s the perfect time to boost your teams’ motivation by giving them reasons to be more grateful.
Remember the Value of Good Manners
Modern society uses our fast-paced lifestyles as an excuse to put good manners on the backburner. And this gives you a significant advantage: in a world that’s trying to leave please and thank you behind, these can be powerful tools in the workplace.
You’re never too busy to thank your team members properly for a job well done. It’s true that you’re the employer in this relationship, and that carries with it certain expectations, but the people who answer to you will see you in a new light if you take the time to address them and thank them as valued human beings.
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As the leader of your company, and perhaps even your industry, it’s your accomplishments that are the most visible to the public eye. Even as the teams under you work to meet and exceed expectations, they’ll often remain the unsung heroes. Taking just a moment in the course of each day to say a simple “Thank you” to the team members who make your business what it is can be a great way to inspire them to do their very best.
Get Employees Involved in the Decision-Making Process
There are few ways I know of that work better than this when it comes to fostering motivation in your team members. All kinds of companies and corporations claim their employees have a sense of ownership in the business. However, few seem to really know how to make employees feel like they’re a part of the process.
Something simple you can do is reach out to your team members on a regular basis for feedback on decisions you’ve already made and suggestions on ones you haven’t yet. This, perhaps more than anything, communicates that you value their time, their expertise and their worldview. It’s pretty easy to surround oneself with sycophants and yes-men (and women), but if you take the time to involve the people you work with in decisions that affect the company, you might discover just how valuable differing opinions can be.
Get Into the Spirit of Giving
Having said everything above, sometimes the quickest way to an employee’s heart is through their pocketbook—or their schedule.
I don’t mean to sound flippant about it, but let’s be honest with ourselves: people hold down jobs because they need to make a living. But life sometimes has ideas of its own, whether it’s high-pressure gift-giving seasons, or any number of other disruptions that get in the way of our jobs.
So here are two ideas to help your company get into the spirit of giving:
- Be generous with time off, particularly around the holidays. People want, and expect, to be able to visit their friends and loved ones, and rare is the company that lets this happen without a bunch of hassle. This year, though, companies like REI and Target are deciding to keep their doors closed on Black Friday, in an effort to help their employees remain home with their families.
- Be generous with bonuses. If your company has enjoyed success this calendar year, give your employees an opportunity to share in that success. A holiday bonus in each paycheck is a great way to raise morale around the peak seasons, or you can go a different route and let each employee choose an electronic gadget up to a certain value.
Learn to Value Laughter
There’s something healing about laughter. I mean that metaphorically and literally—scientists have long studied the positive effects that humor and laughter can have on the body. Because of this, laughter in the workplace is a wonderful thing for keeping morale high.
I don’t mean that you have to go out and take a course on improvisational comedy — humor comes most easily when you don’t force it. Rather, this is about having a sense of humor. It’s not about manufacturing laughter, but instead about recognizing humor and laughter for what it is: a signal of affection and trust between colleagues.
You’ve probably spent some time yourself in humorless workplaces. It might’ve been by choice, or because your supervisors associated laughter with being unproductive.
But let’s remember that encouraging laughter in the workplace can be a great way to help your employees open up around you, which in turn creates stronger bonds and helps build new relationships between team members. Laughter can also increase motivation, which helps to improve productivity.
If I’ve made this sound like a scientific process, know that it’s anything but. Encouraging laughter in the workplace is often just a matter of letting your employees be themselves.
What Kind of Leader Are You?
Research tells us that about 65% of employees would prefer a better boss over a raise. If you’re worried that your employees are in that silent majority, it might be time to rethink how you’re fostering motivation and gratitude.
