6 Guaranteed Ways to Demotivate Your Team This Year

Introduction

Ah, the New Year. A time of resolutions, renewed energy and enthusiasm. Unless you work in a place where your team has been thoroughly demotivated by their superiors. For those of you who have been tasked with keeping morale low this year, we’ve got six guaranteed ways to do just that.

#1 Make sure everyone is aware that their efforts don’t matter. 

Nothing says “you can’t make a difference”, like hearing it from the horse’s mouth. Tell everyone individually or in a group setting that no matter how hard they try, their efforts are pointless and will go unnoticed. That way, when someone does stay late to finish a project or complete an extra task, they won’t be surprised when it goes unrecognised because you already told them it would. It’s good to be consistent.

#2 Micromanage Everything

There are few things more soul-crushing than working under someone who micromanages every little thing you do. Ensure your team knows you don’t trust their judgement by constantly hovering over them and second-guessing their decisions. That way, they won’t have any room to take the initiative or feel like they have control over their own work. By hovering over them too closely, you can ensure that productivity slows to a crawl as everyone becomes increasingly anxious and frustrated with each tedious, passing day.

#3 Refuse to give feedback (or, even better, actively criticise) 

Make sure your team knows that not only are their efforts unappreciated but also that any mistakes will be met with criticism. They need to know you won’t be offering helpful advice on how to improve themselves or the situation going forward. If they say something wrong or make an error in judgement, feel free to tell them all about it in explicit detail. And don’t forget to make sure everyone else hears about it, too, so they can join in ridiculing their colleague.

#4 Set impossible standards for success…

…And stick with them no matter what happens (or doesn’t). Nothing kills motivation faster than having unrealistic expectations thrown at you with no hope of ever achieving them. Keep pushing your team towards goals that are out of reach so that everyone feels inadequate and defeated after each failed attempt at meeting them. Bonus points if you also refuse to provide assistance or resources needed for success.

#5 Don’t provide rewards. Ever.

If your employees expect recognition for their hard work done throughout the year, don’t give it. Instead, ensure everyone knows that despite their success or efforts, there will never be any rewards. Ultimately, keeping their job should be all the reward they need. Plus, knowing there’s nothing to look forward to is an easy way to keep morale low all year long.

#6 Don’t have an overall goal for your business

Why go to the effort of having an overall goal for your business when it’s so much easier to plough on without one? No goals mean no targets, and that means your staff can enjoy the tedious drudgery of work with no purpose or desired outcome. Nothing demotivates quite like a lack of direction, so why not try it for yourself and see how quickly morale plummets and spirits sag?

Summary 

So there you have it. Six surefire ways to avoid motivating your team this year. Remember these tips if you want your employees to remain uninspired and unmotivated throughout 2023. 

However, if you do actually want your team members to feel energised, inspired, and productive this year, then maybe consider investing in a business transformation programme like Success GPS.