Five ways to motivate the bored employee

Doing the same work everyday can become a little monotonous. Boredom can take a toll on overall productivity. Employees need to be constantly motivated to do good work and enjoy their jobs.

Talk to the employee

Find out why they are feeling demotivated. Anand Kumar, an assistant manager at a Delhi-based FMCG company felt his boss was not treating him on par with his colleagues. One day, his boss invited him for tea in his cabin and they got talking. “I expressed my feelings and talked about an issue I was facing. He understood and I could see some positive changes in his behaviour from that day onwards,” he says.

Organise activities

Special activities may help in knocking off everyday boredom. At LG, for instance, there are regular quiz contests during lunch hours. Besides, ‘Best Workstation’ contests are organised every six months, says COO YV Verma.

Take them on weekend trips

Taking employees out of the office environment over a weekend or for a few days can work wonders. They connect with each other, bosses and subordinates better in an informal environment.

Find employees’ niche skills

Find out what the person is good at and help them achieve targets. Sometimes, an employee may have strength in an area of work, different from the job profile he is given. Recognising niche skills and what the person is good at will help him work better. “If they achieve the target, then recognise them, because what gets recognised gets done again and again,” says Pepsi-Co India ED, HR Pavan Bhatia.

Change the circumstances

Sometimes being in the same place in familiar circumstances leads to boredom. Moving employees to a new role, changing their boss, adding new skills, changing their location might help. “The change will lead to the employee stepping up to manage it,” Mr Bhatia adds.