Motivation in the Workplace

Maintaining high motivation in the workplace is critical if you want to be successful in your career. It is easier to develop your self motivation for goals and projects of your own choosing; often motivation in the workplace is a little more difficult to maintain as it is often an extrinsic (external) motivator that drives people to work- primarily money.

Many people work jobs that they don't necessarily enjoy, but continue with them because of the money, health benefits, etc. that they get in exchange for their time and effort. It is not necessarily a bad thing, but it can become difficult to maintain a high level of motivation day in and day out when your job isn't something that you would normally choose to do if you didn't need the money.

Extrinsic motivation in the workplace will only go so far towards keeping you going. So how do you keep your work motivation high? Here are a few tips for increasing your motivation at work.

Create Personal Challenges

I once had a job that might be considered as extremely boring- basic data entry, entering information from forms into a computer. It required very little thought or skill. To avoid getting bored out of my mind, I created personal challenges to make the work interesting. I started tracking how long it would take me to enter the forms. Then I started making goals to cut down the time, finding ways to become more efficient and faster. And I would continually see if I could beat my personal records, while still maintaining high levels of accuracy. It made the job bearable, and as I got faster and more efficient, my performance was noticed and I eventually was promoted up to a more interesting position.

Creating a personal challenge switches your motivation from the external to the internal- you are no longer just doing the job for what you get from your employer, you are now pushing yourself to do better, to improve, or to excel. Once the shift has been made where you are internally motivated, it becomes easier to maintain and increase your work motivation.

Change Elements of your Job

We all have some degree of control over our jobs. While there are duties required of you, there is often room for you to make decisions on what to focus on, what to spend your time on, and special projects that you can take on. Take the time to become conscious of how you feel during the day, what activities to you enjoy the most, what you like the least.

It can even be helpful to keep notes, just update throughout the day how you are feeling about the various things you are doing. Once you have become aware of the things you like and the things you don't, start making an effort to increase the time that you spend on the enjoyable, and trying to minimize the time spent on the things you dislike. Talk to your boss about it and work with him/her to shift your priorities and efforts to work where you would have higher levels of motivation and potential for success.

Even if there is a high level of conformity and procedure required, or little room to change your job duties, there is usually room to add you own personal touches.There is usually room to add some level of creativity to your job, even if it's how you decorate your workspace, the music you listen to, or just your general attitude towards co-workers and customers. Learn to express yourself in your job, put your own spin on things. Personalizing your job can help to add to your overall motivation in the workplace.

Soclialize

Sometimes the people you work with can make your job enjoyable, even if the work itself is not all that interesting or desirable. Focusing on quality relationships with co-workers or customers can make your day go by more smoothly and increase your motivation to do well in the workplace.

Having friends at work can make the time go by faster, make the work more enjoyable, and can increase your overall satisfaction with your job. When you are on good terms with your co-workers, they are more likely to help you out when you need it, and can be there to celebrate your successes.

Find Another Job

Sometimes the grass really is greener on the other side. If your work motivation is lacking, and none of the above strategies seem applicable or possible, maybe it is time to explore other options.

Don't just jump into a similar job- take the time to really understand what it is about your current work that saps your motivation, and try to figure out what types of activities would create high motivation in the workplace for you. Really visualize what your ideal job would be like, what types of people you would want to interact with, and what things would be challenging yet satisfying. Then be patient, figure out what skills and experience you would need to get that job, and start taking the steps to get there.

Finding a job that closely matches your ideal may take some time, but when you get a job that really fits, your self motivation in the workplace will really skyrocket.

For some additional insight a look at these workplace habits that can help you to increase your motivation at work.

Learn how setting career goals can lead to greater satisfaction in your work.

If you want a change in your career, learn the steps to take to increase your career change motivation.

Understanding these employee motivation techniques can help increase productivity and satisfaction on the job.

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