We all know the power of positive words. Whenever we feel low, our eyes start searching for that very person who always keeps us motivated, someone who is very close and knows the ins and outs of our life very well. In workplace, especially if you are a leader, you ought to imbibe positivity in your employees in order to maintain a healthy work culture. There will be several moments when the inner voice of your employees will shout and say ‘quit’ but it is the leader’s responsibility to help keep things going smoothly. Even some small phrases of encouragement like “I know you can do it” or “You can’t quit, you are a winner” can work wonders.
So how does encouragement play such a crucial part? Here are 5 reasons how:
1. People start sensing that they are important
Recognition is one of the most important things. When you are encouraging your employee, you happen to talk and discuss stuffs with them personally. This gives them a sense of importance along with motivation. When you recognize their weak area and tell them that they can do well by working on it, they tend to work harder so that they can get the appraisal for their work. Also, if they have done a work nicely and you praise them, they feel that their presence is being noticed in the organization. This gives an extra boost to their productivity.
Don’t be ungenerous while encouraging because you have nothing to lose. Some pieces of advice and the work is done, this is how simple it is. But yes, you need to be very particular while handling your employees because each of them is different and each of them can be motivated in a distinct way.
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2. It inspires the employees in tough times
If your organization is in a highly competitive market and strives to do well, there is no limitation on the amount of work that is required to be done. This can often become scary. Few words of encouragement during tough times works better than hours of appraisal after a good work is done. So, it is very crucial to understand the psychology of your employees and clear away the fog by guiding them along the right path.
Moreover, encouragement doesn’t necessarily mean good words at difficult times. Good work can sometimes be rewarded with a small salary hike, a bonus or even giving assignments that an employee wants for himself/herself.
3. Encouragement builds employee loyalty
When your employees understand that you care truly, they become loyal to you, your leadership and their work. They become loyal because they feel a sense of responsibility that they are subjected to and ultimately work harder to make the organization bigger in every way they possibly can. A trust starts building up and integrity is observed in everything they do. We all believe in what we trust and hence loyalty plays a very crucial role in shaping employees’ behavior.
4. Encouraging good habit
Positive words and a little bit of upliftment occasionally can help your employees to stick to their daily good habits from day one. The advantages are twofold here. Not only your employee remains motivated but other employees also try to maintain a good behavior in order to get appraisal. This makes the overall surrounding disciplined. Just praising timely arrival or timely completion of a particular assignment can give a good boost to your employees. And if this encouragement is presented with a small bonus or a small lunch/dinner, things can work magically in future. Your efforts may decrease exponentially as they start doing things themselves because you have given them a positive reason to work.
5. Helps new employees to fit in
When a new employee joins a company, it is the anxiety and fear that comes together which is quite obvious. We all are nervous while doing things for the first time. Questions like, “Am I doing as expected?”, “What are the ways /I should work?” etc. starts revolving in his/her mind. Positive reinforcement during orientation or joining or training can boost the confidence of your employee to perform and succeed better. He can also feel free to express his concerns and ask questions to his leader which will help to make the bond stronger.
While motivating your employees has positive implications, you should keep in mind that you don’t do anything extra and end up praising ordinary behavior. This will mask the real motivations and all the advantages will start losing its importance. So, be specific about the activities of your employees that you are praising them for. Also try to limit it to a number of people. There is no need to display the great work that is being done by your employee in front of the whole staff repeatedly because that can make him/her unnecessarily narcissistic.
