4 reasons for lost motivation

Our work productivity ebbs and flows – somedays we’re cruising through our to-do list, and others it feels like we’re stuck in mud. In times of low motivation, it’s important to identify the reason behind it and address it. And as a leader of an organization, it’s imperative that you help re-motivate your employees who are struggling.

Richard Clark, a professor of psychology and technology at the University of Southern California, and Bror Saxberg, vice president of learning science at the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, identified four reasons why employees lose motivation and how leaders can help overcome each. Here they are:

1. Values mismatch: Employees need to care about what they’re doing or they won’t feel urgency to complete the task. As a leader, find ways to connect what the individual values to the job, whether it’s through a skill that the employee takes pride in or finds interesting. Another might be stressing the importance of the task to the organization’s success, or how completing it will help the employee grow.

 

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