Workplace Motivation and Fun

How is the energy at your workplace? Are employee’s motivated? How about teamwork, are groups working together effectively? Keeping employees motivated during these challenging times can be a difficult task. Many organization development experts would likely agree that managing motivation should come from strategic vision and not from a tactical approach.

A tactical approach is more of a “fighting fires” position; we throw something at the problem and see if it fixes it. This sometimes happens in the workplace through a Company picnic, a “fun” staff retreat, or even hired entertainment. While certainly there is a place for many of these activities and likely some benefits, this really only addresses the presenting problem.

A strategic approach would dig a little deeper to discover or analyze the root cause. Many people are quick to tell you that they believe motivation comes from within. If this is true, then each employee needs to discover their own individual motivators. Organizations should consider interventions that allow for individual values and motivators to be explored.