Demotivation blues

Regardless of whether we work or stay at home, there are occasions, when we feel low and down. We feel grouchy. We sound irritable to our own selves and to others. There is something that saps our enthusiasm. We, in the worst of circumstances, just want to snap at the most irrelevant provocation.

In most of such situations, we are unable to ascribe, the reasons of what is prompting such behavior. You get away thinking to yourself that may be I got up from the wrong side of the bed today or it’s just not my day. But, is that an acceptable and plausible reason. In my view, it’s not.

There has to be a latent reason sitting quietly inside us that may have been feeding itself over time and then all of a sudden came out of dormancy, manifesting in our actions as well as reactions.

We may have been hurt by either intentional or unintentional comments, observations, from people around us. It doesn’t hurt immediately. It rather starts like the early warning signs of a volcanic eruption. First there are some small emotional tremors, then entrenched resentment start heating up, triggering occasional tantrums before reaching a boil, and it climaxes in an -sometimes ugly- outburst or to be more precise spewing of the lava of anger in our give-and-takes. The hurtful comments take a terrible toll on the motivational spirit.

At the work place, all of us, sometime during the day, week, month or year, have experienced moments of despair, essentially meaning we get de-motivated. In the corporate setup, what is demotivation? It is about all things, where the immediate supervisor hinders colleagues’ good performance through deliberate and/or unintentional actions. I have seen the best of performers being de-energised by loose and below the belt comments from their supervisors.

Lack of enthusiasm starts to prevail in an uncongenial atmosphere at the organisation. At work place, where rumour mongering is rife, and at times, with tacit approval of senior management, who obviously for all the wrong reasons, turns a blind eye, to such atmosphere, adds insult to the injuries suffered from being de-motivated. Fake news is in the domain of political world, it has made a viciously victorious entry, in all spheres of society and so also it has made inroads in the corporate sector. Fake news and its spreading, within organisations, is a direct consequence of poor communications.

The wily ones take advantage of the gap that exists between truth and falsehood. The affected get de-motivated and since have no forum to voice their resentment, they imbibe it, allowing it to reside within and grow cancerously, to the detriment of the person and his organisation. In most organisations, because of no proper communication set up, the manager feels that somebody has to be ‘right’ and therefore concludes and decides that it has to be him.

Such managers, who without design assume this position, are the ones, who would put down colleagues with taunt, sarcasm, and one-off negative comments. Personally, I have heard managers making remarks like, ‘you are not good’ or “where can I find someone more capable than you’ or even worse like to a younger colleague, said a boss, pulling his Allegro ballpoint pen from his shirt’s top pocket, “you must use a cross pen – this is cheap”.

The poor internee came to my cabin and sobbed like a child, who obviously was hurt very deeply, by this public insult. Did the manager mean to insult him? I don’t think so. It was action relative to the mental make-up of this manager, who never thought that of-the-cuff insulting comments are damaging. Since I quote this incident, it is fair to also mention that when I drew his (manager's) attention, to what colossal damage he had caused, with this comment; he did not hesitate to go and apologise to this young internee! A perfect case of “unintentional demotivation”.

To my personal chagrin, I have seen senior executives who remark like, “Why can't you follow simple things? What is the rocket science, here?” This impudence doesn’t stop here … it extends and goes straight into the arena of arrogance, “never forget, who butters your toast". The recipient of such comments may continue to work, like the bulls plough fields, but his/her interest is waned and buried. Here again, the comments are made impulsively, without knowledge that they sap and demotivate the receiver.

“Bad” bosses are not only pain in the wrong place but they also eat into the levels of enthusiasm of colleagues, to ensure that they remain, at the lowest ebb. One such category is of those managers, who just love to micromanage things. They have scant respect for the concept of “delegation”. Even that which is delegated is quite often taken back through a justifiable concept of “continuous follow-up”. Many managers love to do their reports assignments!

Another factor of demotivation is monotony of work. Doing the same thing over and over again gets to be extremely boring. It actually leads to loneliness at work. A worker on any assembly line can be a ‘lonely worker’ – he is disinterested in what he does 24/7/365, but has little or no option to find an alternative job or assignment. Non-recognition of this basic human need for variety in life is the most un-intentional de-motivating factor that does not appear on the radar of the manager.

Personal attitude and behavior of the manager has tremendous bearing upon his team’s motivational levels. A manager may call a meeting at an appointed time but will make people wait. A rather sadistic attitude on his part. This is indulgence in the demonstration of the power of the office held.

These types of managers have no personal power and hence use the crutches of the power conferred by their office. If an employee is pressurized to do, what otherwise he wouldn’t, contribute to the weakening of his motivation. Before assigning a fresh task, intelligent managers, sell the idea, to the prospect(s) and that’s the only way to get a 100 percent, buy in.

Demotivation can be caused by lack of growth opportunities, job insecurity, lack of respect or lack of faith in the company’s long term sustainability. All these could be real or imaginary; but one must recognize that a few unintended de-motivators can unleash an avalanche of destruction, on the morale of the organization.

In situations, where individual performance is not recognised, there is great likelihood that the performance of the entire team would come down crashing. Failure to be recognised, or receiving no appreciation for good performance, is a major demotivation. I have witnessed ‘silent demotivation’ taking place where one or some employees are not trusted with challenging work, like others are, albeit having the same level of experience and intellect. I asked a young colleague of mine, “What demotivates you?” He replied looking straight into my eyes, “When you stop at my desk, while going to the washroom and say, hey! You produce excellent analytics”. I sank. I believed I was motivating! I learnt recognition cannot be hurled in the corridors. It has to be at the right place.

Another mighty demotivation is to have a disengaged and demotivated boss. Being in the driving seat, leaders presume they motivate, while most followers think, they demotivate, both intentionally and unintentionally. And then there are external factors that dampen and depress internal motivation.

The many other factors and aspects of demotivation relate to humiliation, ignorance, rejection, isolation, and the search for scapegoats, for the managerial failure.

Egoism of the manager, reflected through inflexibility and immaturity of reactions, goes to depress all and sundry in the organisation. A regular and continuous disapproval to all new initiatives, by the boss, is a lethal demotivating element.

If a manager cannot offer motivation, at least the demotivating factors and aspects in his or others personality, should be curbed.

Motivational posters on the walls of the office do not declare you a ‘winner’ is not only experience but also the lesson learnt.

The writer is a freelance columnist