The definition of employee motivation is defined as a high level of energy, dedication,  and focus that employees bring to their jobs.

Wouldn’t it be ideal if all of your employees came to work every day clicking their heels and couldn’t wait to get down to work?

Think about how wonderful it would be if employees worked through their differences with co-workers, were pleasant when you asked them to work overtime or handle something that is ‘outside their job description’, and, well, you get the point.

The reality at most companies is that employee motivation is very different. What you want is to figure out a way to have employees adjust their attitude so life at your organization becomes closer to the picture I just painted.

Is there an intersection between attitude and employee motivation?

Do you have to have one before the other?  Let’s explore the topic a bit.

Altitude Determines Attitude

We have to remember that altitude determines attitude. If an employee is frustrated, low energy, worried, or has negative thinking, it’s difficult and perhaps impossible to get an attitude adjustment, at least by simply asking them to change.

There are so many factors that come into play with an employee’s attitude and you must first attempt to identify the cause.

However, before focusing on the cause, ask yourself a few questions.

Is this new behavior or has this been going on for a while? New behavior likely indicates there is a problem either at home or work rather than a sulky or reluctant employee.

Have you had a conversation with them already? The approach to the conversation will be different if this is the first conversation versus the second or third.

Has anything changed at work that might be impacting them? Downsizing, change in leadership, project changes…anything that could be part of the problem?

Are you noticing this employee motivation problem with one employee or many? If more than one, is it on a single team or on different teams?

Has this situation occurred in the past with this employee and rectified itself? What happened to cause the shift?

Once you have answered these questions you are prepared to take the next step and have the conversation.

The Right Conversation

You want to have a conversation that produces results. Those results could be to get them to change their attitude, understand the consequences if they don’t, learn what is causing the problem to see if there is anything you can do to help…determine the result you want before you begin the conversation.

Don’t let your own frustration or anger get in the way of having the ‘right’ conversation that will produce the results you want. Too often leaders are frustrated and wish they didn’t have to deal with this situation, and let their feeling and emotions get in the way of having a productive conversation.

Understandable, yes, but remember you want to get their behavior to change, and yelling at them or making them defensive isn’t likely to help.

Here are a few quick tips:

Be specific about what you observe. Don’t simply say “I feel like you have a bad attitude” or “I want all of our employees to be motivated and you aren’t”. Be very specific about what behavior you are observing and/or the results of this (i.e., projects delayed, other people complaining, lack of productivity…)

Ask them what is going on. Tell them you want to know what the problem is. Is there something at work that is negatively impacting them?

Personal problems? They may not want to share specifics of personal problems, but knowing they are struggling with personal challenges at least provides some insight and a place to begin a conversation.

Explain what you want different. Be specific as to what you want from them. Don’t simply say “I need you to change your attitude.” Explain what you need them to change. Is it a commitment to completing projects on time, a commitment to excellence in their work, how they are talking to their teammates?

What specifically do you want different?

Discuss options. If there are personal problems, perhaps they need some kind of outside assistance. Maybe they need some time off to handle or an adjustment to their schedule for a few weeks until things get handled.

Work-related difficulties may or may not have some fixes. Do what you can and remember you can’t solve all problems.

Get commitment and agreement. Get agreement from the employee on what they are going to do and a commitment to make the necessary adjustments.

Attitude versus Motivation

Often when there is a lack of employee motivation, we assume there is an attitude problem.

We think our first step is to get them to correct their attitude. It might be an attitude problem or it might be something else. Lack of employee motivation can be caused by a lack of proper training, an employee feeling like they don’t have the skills to do the job, they don’t understand what to do and are afraid to ask or even they are in the wrong job.

Before you jump to the conclusion that the lack of employee motivation you observe is attitude-based, talk to the employee.

However, if they have a negative attitude, they won’t be motivated to perform well. So after determining that the problem isn’t training or the wrong job or something else you can change, it’s time for the heart-to-heart talk.

Negative attitudes can become infectious quickly and can easily pull down others.

Don’t keep waiting, thinking it will get better. By the time you determine it isn’t getting better, you are likely to have more than one employee attitude problem to deal with.

Part of the problem with a negative attitude is that it’s difficult, maybe impossible to get consensus.  

Download our guide: Functioning Together:  Consensus and Team Building and get some tips on how to do both.