Businesses keep their employees at their desks for anywhere between five to eight hours a day, and this time has to be compensated for. Money is not always enough when it comes to business, however. Employees need to be motivated to do their jobs to the best of their potential, and the methods for how to do this vary from workplace to workplace.
Industrial companies, whatever they are ultimately involved in, all need the proper motivation to help their employees give their best to their employers. Industrial relations is the specific way in which the management portion of the staff interact with the rest of the staff to improve motivation and internal relations. This school of thought suggests that in-person motivation is what works best, though of course there are a huge number of ways in which a company or business can motivate their employees. This article does not try to cover all the ways in which motivation can be passed down from employer to employee, but it does name some of the more common methods.
Relaxation
Relaxation is important for any workplace – being able to get away from it all and just spend some time off the clock is vital – but this is particularly the case in industrial work spaces. Industrial work spaces are often noisy and crowded, not to mention dirty. Being able to get away from that noise and dirt for breaks and lunches is imperative for good overall morale at the company, as it keeps people from burning out and being unable to cope. Generally, the noisier a workplace is, the more important it is to allow people space away from it.
Dust and Dirt
Many industrial workplaces can be dirty, so dirty that the lifting columns based on linear actuators which are used in standing desks, for example, can become clogged easily, rendering these desks inoperable. There are a number of ways that this can be fixed – either the company which runs the workplace can use regular maintenance to make sure that the linear actuators continue to work as planned, or they can have them in areas where the dust won’t get to them.
Pay Attention to Safety
Industrial work spaces are very dependent on safety, and the people who work in them are dependent on the leaders and managers to keep them safe from harm. Safety within the workplace is something which varies according to what work is being done, but it usually includes protective clothing and accessories for the workers, if they are working in hot conditions, or using tools and machines which vibrate continuously. Safety can also include having well mapped out evacuation plans for if and when things go wrong, such as fire escapes, water drills, and training in what to do in certain circumstances. A safe work space means that people will be more inclined to relax and enjoy their work, as they are being taken care of by the company and management, and can rely on other people to take actions which will contribute to workplace safety. A safe workforce is one which will be happier at their jobs, and which will do better work overall.
Lead by Example
Employees are much less likely to motivate themselves if they perceive themselves as cut off from the major power in the company. If you show yourself to be willing to put in the same amount of effort, work, and innovation as your employees (no matter what level they are), then they are likely to feel motivated to do the same thing. This is true of any employee – people like to feel acknowledged when they are working; part of that acknowledgement is the feeling that they aren’t just being left to do the work so somebody else can take the credit for themselves. Working alongside your workforce shows that you are willing to put yourself on their level – people are much more motivated to follow somebody who considers everybody to be an equal than somebody who shuts himself away. It also has the advantage that people know exact what is required of them from the company.
Conclusion
Not every motivational technique works for every workplace; you need to find what works for you and your employees. Do some research! Find out the motivational techniques which exist outside of this article, and try some of them out to see what works for your workplace. Motivation is important for the continued happiness of your employees, so it is important that you find something which works for everyone involved. Remember that motivation is something which can be seen from outside the company or business – if people seem happy to work at your company, then they will be more likely to seek a place there, assuming that they have the necessary skillset. Motivation matters, and it matters for more than you might think.
