BD tips and insights

By Alice Vuong

Quitters’ generation – 8 warning signs of demotivation

August 7, 2013 | Posted in: Business Development Skills

Staff retention is an emerging critical issue in a generation where the expected useful life of a job is under three years. Spotting warning signs of demotivation in your work group and addressing them early can not only help improve staff retention, but also boost morale and productivity. Spend 2 minutes evaluating your workplace against our checklist.

The most recent ABS report on labour mobility trends found the main reasons people voluntarily left their jobs were to obtain a better job or work conditions, just to have a change, or because of unsatisfactory work conditions.

In a transforming labour marketplace characterised increasingly by expectations of longer working hours and convergence of work and personal life, the labour force has equally increased their demands for better resources, better pay and more interesting work.

The uncertainties of unemployment no longer restrain staff who are dissatisfied with their work and the quitter is often met with heroic praise and admiration amongst colleagues and peers for taking that leap of faith.

Use our super quick checklist to help identify signs of demotivation in your work group.

Do staff:

  • seem bored and generally fatigued?
  • seem unwilling to pitch in and help co-workers?
  • spend a lot of time gossiping cynically and making sarcastic comments about the firm?
  • seem to give up quickly when engaged in a demanding or complex task and regularly seek help without ‘giving it a go’ themselves?
  • seem to not listen carefully when you give instructions, and spend inordinate amount of time doing simple tasks which you often have to follow up on?
  • often sit silently in meetings with management and become active in after-meeting discussions?

Is there:

  • an increase in lateness and absenteeism, especially among staff who formerly had exemplary work attendance records?
  • a noticeable reluctance and resentment by staff to take on increased responsibility beyond the ‘bare minimum’?

While every person in a work situation will experience such demotivation symptoms from time to time, if you find these indicators are evident in your work group, you may need some help reinvigorating the team.

For workshops, coaching, advice, and help, please get in touch.

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