How to Motivate Workers in Tough Times: 6 Ideas

It’s no secret that the past few years have been difficult for employees and employers alike. Navigating the stresses of a pandemic, global political events, and economic uncertainty can negatively impact motivation in the workplace, especially for frontline workers. However, during challenging times, knowing how to motivate workers is very important for frontline leaders.

But even in challenging times, we can take advantage of proven measures to increase employee engagement. And when employees feel motivated to perform at their best, the benefits can be huge.

Why Does Worker Motivation Matter? 

Motivated workers feel more productive and experience higher satisfaction levels in their work lives, but the benefits of having a motivated workforce extend to the organizations as well.

Teams with highly engaged employees experience 21% more profit, 59% less turnover, and 41% fewer absences. Higher productivity, lower turnover rates, and more present workers mean that leaders can spend more time on the work that truly matters.

6 Ways to Motivate Employees in Challenging Times

Managers often wonder how to motivate workers without money. The truth is that employees rate many factors as significantly more important to their workplace satisfaction than compensation. Identifying these factors can help businesses boost employee motivation in creative and engaging ways. 

1. Help Your Employees Feel Heard

Employees want to feel that their problems are being seen and understood by management. This is always true, but it becomes even more essential in challenging times. Employees may be dealing with negative life events, difficult emotions, and anxieties that impact their performance in the workplace. 

Supervisors should make sure that employees have an avenue to share their thoughts and feelings. This could include a question box, open office hours, or one-on-one chats with a manager. 

Employee relationship management software like Secchi can help streamline these communication channels, making them more accessible and easy to use. 

2. Keep Communication Open

Workers want to be heard, but they also want to hear from their management. Don’t be shy about proactively reaching out to employees to provide team or company-wide updates. Consistent and transparent communication from management reduces employee anxiety and workplace friction that may arise from too many unknowns. 

On both sides of the manager-employee relationship, ensuring clear and accessible lines of communication boosts team motivation and engagement. Good communication pays off: 49% of employees report that workplace communication impacts their productivity. 

3. Celebrate Employee Achievements 

In difficult times, positive reinforcement can go a long way. 

Don’t just save the celebrations for huge milestones. To foster a spirit of motivation, you should recognize and reward employees for their everyday accomplishments. 

These meaningful moments may seem small, but they truly matter to your team and business. 

Many businesses don’t think they know how to motivate frontline employees, but it doesn’t need to be difficult. 

Employee relationship management software like Secchi makes it simple to recognize employees at the touch of a button. Managers can easily track employee performance and send personal text messages to celebrate achievements. 

4. Make Work More Fun with Gamification

When times are tough, the last thing that workers want is to spend most of their day on tasks that lower their mood and energy even further. 

There are different ways to motivate employees, but many are dated and ineffective in today’s fast-paced workplace. In turn, gamification is a new approach that helps organizations build team spirit and increase motivation. 

Gamification introduces game elements to non-game contexts, making repetitive tasks and everyday responsibilities more engaging. It integrates gamified tools like leaderboards, badges, and points to motivate and reward employees and build a more positive company culture. 

Engaging hourly employees is easier with Secchi, an employee relationship management solution with robust gamification features. It allows you to meaningfully recognize employees, make accountability more fun, and drive positive change across your organization.

5. Build Pathways for Growth

If employees can’t see a future within their company, they are less motivated to work harder. No one wants to feel stagnated in their careers. Organizations must create clear pathways to identify potential leaders and help them succeed. 

Managers can support these efforts by tracking data-driven performance indicators, providing consistent feedback, and clarifying career pathways in their communications with frontline employees.  

By fostering a culture of continuous excellence, businesses can keep top performers motivated and invested in their work. Studies show that employees with access to professional development opportunities are 15% more engaged and have 24% higher retention.

6. Model a Healthy Work-Life Balance

Fostering a good work-life balance helps prevent burnout and increase retention. It’s especially important in the frontline work environment, where many workers struggle with chronic stress, mental health issues, and burnout. 

Difficult times increase the risk of employee burnout, which includes feelings of disengagement and lack of motivation at work. A 2023 study by Future Forum found that over 40% of workers report being burnt out. That percentage is the highest reported since Future Forum began collecting data in 2021.

During tough times, employees look to management for guidance on how they should respond. Supervisors can lead by example by maintaining healthy work schedules. They can also share openly about ways to take care of themselves outside work hours and stay motivated during the workday. 

Improve Worker Motivation with Secchi

Secchi is an employee relationship management solution to positively motivate employees, enhance their sense of achievement, and drive productivity – even in tough times. Request a demo to learn how Secchi can transform your workplace culture.