The Truth About Managing People, Third Edition

Truth 12. Why Many Workers Aren’t Motivated at Work Today

I often hear experienced managers complain that “people just aren’t motivated to work anymore.” If this is true, the fault is with managers and organizational practices, not the employees! When employees lack motivation, the problem almost always lies in one of five areas: selection, ambiguous goals, the performance appraisal system, the organization’s reward system, or in the manager’s inability to shape employee’s perception of the appraisal and reward systems.

The best way to understand employee motivation is to think of it as being dependent on three relationships. When all three of these relationships are strong, employees tend to be motivated. If any one or more of these relationships ...