Ten Ways to De-motivate Your Staff

Imagine that you have a wonderful staff that is self-motivated every day. They do great work, ask for challenging projects, and beg to be trained. It sounds like the perfect workplace, doesn’t it? You would think that most managers would savor the situation, but sadly, there are too many who sabotage their staffs with their own actions.

According to research conducted by ToxicBoss.com, 80% of the employees who quit their jobs do so because of problems with their bosses. Researchers Chandra Louise, PhD and Fred O. Smith, MD, cite that while employees may give the human resources staff other reasons for quitting, they tell their friends, “I’d still be there even for that pittance of a salary if it weren’t for that awful boss.”

The following list of ten de-motivating actions will clarify what these awful bosses do. The list is anchored in employees’ actual experiences in the workplace—experiences that they have never forgotten. If you manage with consistent use of all ten of these actions, you’ll eventually find yourself in a peaceful, quiet workplace. Why? You’ll be alone!

1. Embarrass employees in public.
Public humiliation is a classic habit of the authoritarian management style. Unfortunately, it is still commonly used, as employees’ stories attest. A manager observed one such instance during a particularly busy annual national conference. Her coworker, Dan, was a department director responsible for the section of the conference known for its innovative and controversial recommendations to the board. Dan worked all year to coach and groom young leaders to present their ideas in a manner that would honor the traditional, bureaucratic requirements of policy setting. However, during the actual presentation, one of the young leaders forgot the rules and used inciting language. As a result, the older members of the assembly became angry. Minutes later, Dan’s boss reprimanded him loudly and offensively in the hallway in front of both colleagues and association members. Suzanne was within earshot and never forgot her coworker’s humiliation.

2. Don’t follow up on employee ideas.
Employees thrive on providing ideas and feedback, but if mistrust is part of the set-up, they won’t commit to results. A manager in the advertising field shares his experience as part of a group of mid-level managers who were taken to lunch off site by the company directors. The managers were told in advance that, at the luncheon, they would have a part in planning initiatives for the future of the company. However, once there, they discovered that the directors had already put together a list of twenty initiatives and were asking them to volunteer to work on two or three of them. What really happened was the assignment of initiatives to unprepared, uninterested managers. The result, due to lack of interest, was that no actions were taken and the initiatives were never mentioned again.

3. Withhold praise.
A recent Gallup study asked employees to cite indicators of a good workplace; among the most frequently mentioned comments was, “I have received praise during the last seven days at work.” Giving employees sincere praise is a deceptively simple action that many managers are unable to perform.

Richard, a VP of Training and Development with a security services firm, recalls a manager who had few interpersonal skills, was a stickler for rules, and reserved opinions only for other supervisors. One day, though, without plan, the manager approached him saying, “How’s it going?” Waiting for the inevitable reprimand or rule, Richard was surprised by what he said next, “I just want to let you know you’re doing a great job.” Stunned, Richard was barely ready for what followed, “They told me to say that at supervisor school.” With that comment, he left. Richard never trusted anything he said after that moment.

Even when employees take the initiative, praise is impossible for some managers. A former Chicago television news producer recalls, “I had a news director who refused to acknowledge my winning an Emmy. I had to confront him about it, saying, ”Did you know I won an Emmy Saturday night?” His response was, “Oh, that’s nice when that happens,” and walked away. Withholding praise and walking away is a sure-fire method for discouragement.

4. Ignore employees’ professional growth.

When employees take steps for self-development, it’s important for managers to be their biggest cheerleaders. In this era of fewer qualified available workers, developing the existing workforce is one of the most immediate needs faced by training and human resource professionals. Research repeatedly shows that management reinforcement of training is what makes it stick; yet too often trainers have heard managers’ last minute excuses to not attend a training initiative. How many of you reading this article have been denied a professional development opportunity because your manager said, “It would take too much time away from work”? These are the words of a de-motivator.

5. Demand unrealistic rules of order.
Managers enforce rules and regulations. Poor managers enforce unrealistic rules that cause employees to feel like children. A senior editor with a national magazine recalls working for a manager who stormed out of her office one day to proclaim that thenceforth there was to be no laughter in the office. She said it was unprofessional.

Another employee describes a former boss in an executive search firm who was upset that employees took too long to come to his office and say, “Good morning.” He called a special staff meeting to explain that this was to be done the minute staff members walked in the door, before taking off their coats. This same boss also strongly discouraged co-workers from going to lunch together. Perhaps this boss was unaware that workplace friendships are a leading factor in keeping employees on the job.

6. Be vague and indirect.
Poor managers communicate with assumptions, generalities, lack of direction, and impatience. One manager recalls a director who gave projects without clearly specifying desired outcomes. When employees attempted to turn in results, she would say, “No that’s not it. I’ll know it when I see it.” She was unwilling to tell her staff what she wanted or even what she didn’t want. Needless to say, turnover was high in her area, and nobody mourned her final departure to another department.

Another manager recalls when a department director, who needed some numbers for the CEO, gave the assignment to a new hire with few instructions and a quick due date. Unfortunately, the numbers were held in a seldom-used database, and the new employee, who had never been trained in that database, was not able to get the numbers on time. He failed in the director’s eyes and, to this day, is flustered with even the simplest of inquiries.

A former news production assistant recalls a similar example working with a manager who wanted certain stories in a show, but gave no resource help. His response to her questions was, “Just do it.” How many employees can function well with instructions like that?

7. Show you don’t care.
The bulk of stories reported at sites like Toxic Boss describe uncaring bosses. One example is a tale from an employee who counseled his manager not to interfere with an intricate computer program during the time he would be out for nasal surgery. Unfortunately, the manager did not heed the advice, tampered with the data, and then called the employee in to fix it. The employee, still in outpatient recovery, drug-laden and eyes swollen, arrived at work to fix the program and fell asleep at his desk during the process. The manager saw this and chastised him on the spot for sleeping on the job.

In another heartrending story, an employee who had lost three friends to a devastating auto accident the night before, found out at work the next day that a fourth had also died. Grief stricken, the employee was dumbfounded when her manager scolded her for allowing grief to interfere with her work.

8. Be all-knowing all of the time.
Most managers get to where they are because they’ve demonstrated skill in their areas. Poor managers use that expertise to lord over employees and micromanage projects. Columnist Tom Shay writes that managers who micromanage are guilty of crimes such as:
Never saying to a customer, “I do know a lot about this service, but one of my employees knows more than I do. Let’s ask him about it.”

Taking every suggestion made by an employee and tweaking it so as to add a personal touch.
Allowing employees to have the office key and thus access to thousands of dollars of company-owned information and equipment, yet not allowing them to adjust the amount of an account without approval.
All-knowing managers are very busy managers; they have to be everywhere all the time to make sure their expertise is known.

9. Ignore individual differences.
Managers are coached to be fair and consistent, but, in reality, all employees are different. Poor managers put employees in one big box with little regard for individuals. Culturally and behaviorally, people are brought up with different values and methods of operating in the world of work. Too often, managers get caught up in the habit of rewarding individuals who are most like them and punishing those who are different.

10. Never say you’re sorry or wrong.
Being able to say you’re sorry or wrong is a mark of healthy self-esteem. It’s the first step to getting a problem situation back on track. In association management, which functions among volunteers, deadlines, policy changes, and member turnover, there is ample opportunity for miscommunications and frequent mistakes. There is also ample opportunity for apology and correction.

Try asking your employees, “What keeps you here?” Employees have reported that they like being asked the question. 50% of work-life satisfaction is determined by the relationship a worker has with a boss. The workplace climate at your office can be de-motivating or motivating. As a manager, which climate do your actions support?

Ten Motivating Musts

  1. Give constructive feedback in private.
  2. Follow up on employee ideas.
  3. Give frequent praise.
  4. Support employee development.
  5. Allow flexibility and realistic freedoms.
  6. Communicate directly and specifically.
  7. Demonstrate that you care.
  8. Allow employees to share and shine.
  9. Respect individual differences.
  10. Admit it when you’re wrong.