You don't have to be motivated to work here, but it helps!

According to the CIPD report http://www.cipd.co.uk/hr-resources/research/megatrends-trends-shaping-work-lives.aspx (July 2013), job turnover has slowed significantly over the past 15 years. This means that, in general, people are choosing to stay in their current roles rather than make voluntary exits (ie resignations and retirement). Economic conditions are likely to have been a major reason for the particularly significant fall in turnover since 2008 with people sitting tight, particularly if they have tenure over two years and the rights that go along with that.

On the surface it might appear to be nothing but good news for an organisation that much-valued members of staff are choosing to stay. However, for this to be a wholly positive trend, people need to be staying put for the right reasons. Companies risk their work forces containing “corporate prisoners” (Chiumento) who are “trapped” in their jobs, feeling dissatisfied or disengaged but too afraid of the uncertain economic conditions to move. This may well be linked to the drop in motivation we are seeing amongst the employees of many organisations; this will depress company productivity just at a time when most companies need to be more productive and agile.

It’s pretty clear that there has been a rise in corporate prisoners since the credit crunch. However, the downward trend predates the recession, so this is not the complete answer. Other factors are potentially more positive - improved pension rights for instance. But even these factors may result in people feeling they would be financially disadvantaged if they moved on, despite no longer being engaged or motivated by their work.

So, when an increasing number of people feel they are treading water in their career, how can managers help them to remain motivated and engaged? Generally the answer is not in addressing ‘hygiene factors’ such as pay, but focusing on intrinsic motivators. 

Enter the expert and great Manager. Too often we put leadership on a pedestal and think of management as its rather boring cousin. Leaders stand on hilltops, eyes fixed on a bright horizon while managers are dutifully toiling their way up the hill, eyes fixed just a few feet ahead. However, when it comes to motivating and engaging individuals in the work force, a great manager will do the job far better than a great leader. Leadership is about painting an attractive vision and inspiring people to buy into it and work towards it. At heart it is a one-to-many activity that focuses on what we can have in common – our belief in a desired future.

Management is the powerful counterpoint to this. At heart it is a one-to-one activity, with the manager crafting the job to the individual so that their unique strengths, life circumstances and motivators are accounted for and leveraged. There is art to this that we all too often overlook. A great manager relates to each person they manage differently – the opposite of ‘one size fits all’. They will know a good deal about what makes their people tick, what their strengths and motivators are. They are probably not too hard on them for not being perfect, and either overlook allowable shortcomings or design the person’s work so that these don’t trip them up.

Not all managers are as great at doing this as they would like, or as their organisations demand them to be. They need help identifying the unique strengths of their people and learning how to flex their style to meet each person’s needs. Here tools like the MBTI^® instrument can give managers a leg-up in appreciating how different their staff are from each other, taking advantage of these differences and knowing how to modify their behaviour when they want and need. Whenever there are people doing great managerial work, it is likely that staff will be helped to find new challenges within their jobs that will keep them truly motivated and engaged no matter how long they stay in the organisation.