Motivation on the Job ~ Part 2
As part of the ongoing series focusing on Motivation. This part we are going to concentrate on motivation on the job. Whether your personal scenario is that you are in business for yourself, you work for someone else or you are a Domestic Engineer. Staying motivated can be difficult if not outright challenging. There are two aspects to motivation and your workplace scenario. One is from the perspective of management and the other is from the viewpoint of the employee.
Specific Scenario
Have you identified your specific scenario yet? Most of what we will be sharing in this article you will be able to apply to your specific situation.
As a manager you are challenged with understanding the nature of what motivates your employees; as a small business owner you face the daily grind of staying motivated to continue working on tasks that you do not have a strong skill set yet they still need to be completed; as a Domestic Engineer your motivational challenge comes from balancing what your family needs are with your needs and prioritizing yourself first.
The workplace environment for most individuals who report to someone else are being asked to work in environments rich in collaboration and the amount of work employees have to do is constantly increasing especially during economically challenged situations (this is not solely for just employees but applicable to all types of careers).
Typical Day
Let’s take a look at what a typical day for a married with young children might look like for the average working individual:
5:30 am – getting up and getting yourself ready for work
6:30 am – getting the children up, dressed, feed and ready for childcare/school
7:30 am – getting yourselves out the door to drop off children and yourself to work
8:00 am – arriving at work
5:00 pm – leave work
5:30 pm – pickup children from childcare/after-school care
6:00 pm – arrive home, figure out dinner, helping older child with homework, helping younger child in the bathroom, hounding both to get cleaned up for dinner all the while you are answering telephone calls, text messages and/or email via smart phone and making dinner (yes even fast food requires you to do some prep work before just sitting down!)
6:20 pm – spouse arrives home and does their best to be helpful during the chaos and commotion. We will give your spouse the benefit of the doubt that their intention is to be helpful. And of course we also know that there isn’t always a spouse around to try and be helpful so the solo act can be even more stressful.
Do you have a pretty good visual of how you as an employee might be stressed out, unmotivated and tired at work every day? Now add in the stress of working in a team environment at work. Collaborating is not always easy – there are positives and negatives and if there is not a strong team environment then the stress associated with the team increases when there is a rise in communication errors, conflicts, feeling undervalued along with a multitude of other poor team dynamics that negatively affect your motivation levels.
Stress and Balance
How do you overcome the stress of the workplace, the work-life balance that is not in balance for yourself? Communication is one of the critical elements of keeping yourself and your stress level in-check. When you are motivated you will have a drive to succeed no matter what your scenario might be. Managers, team members, spouse, and networking members are not able to motivate you. But with good communication they can support and help create an environment which inspires your motivation. Your role in staying motivated in the workplace is to remain open minded and interactive with your team members to support a friendly and communicative atmosphere.
Your good communication begins with you. How you communicate, talk to yourself. Self-talk is critical to your motivation level both at home and at work. What kind of self-talk are you using when you hear your alarm every morning? Is it negative similar to “Ugh – the alarm already? I wonder how bad traffic is going to be today. Oh no, I forgot that Johnny has a soccer practice today after school.” Or is it positive “Can’t wait to listen to the rest of the audio book on my way to work – I find out if Bella chooses the vampire or the werewolf! I hope there is traffic.”
How you spin the situations in your life will either give you a sense of empowerment and motivation to step into action. Or it will drag you down and make decisions that are not supporting our goals. One of the main reasons you or your spouse work is for the simple reason of survival. Working provides an income and your income provides the financial means to pay for housing, food and clothing. These are basic needs that well, you and your family members need to have to survive. When your work or business is able to meet more of your needs and while also filling your desires or wants then your motivation increases accordingly and your desire to perform and do better also increases.
What are Your Needs?
Based on your specific scenario, what are your needs? How is your work environment (you or your spouse) meeting these needs? If your work is meeting your needs then how can you continue to improve to further enhance your motivation. And if it is not, then what is one action you can take to shift the situation or your perspective to increase the opportunities to have your needs met?
When we witness an individual doing everything within their power to attain their goals, and they face challenges without doubt or hesitation. We know we are looking at someone with an inspiration and desire to succeed. As we stated in the beginning, motivation is the fuel which empowers people to take action. Staying in action empowers people to create an appropriate level of motivation. If you or someone you know seems to lack motivation, than it would be a great idea to clearly decide or define the goals you would like to reach.
Motivation comes from your inner desire. Your inner desire comes from knowing clearly and truthfully what you want to achieve. If you are unsure of what you want, then it is worth the time to decide, define and articulate clearly what it is you do want. As you know, people who have a high level of motivation are those who achieve the greatest success.
Share in the SpringBoard group what other ways you have to add motivation to your daily life. We would love to hear it. .
Need support with your time and motivation? Reach out, I’m here to support you and your success.
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