The 7 Deadly Sins of Employee Motivation

Managers and employers all know the lifeblood of any organization is the people who work in it, regardless of the amount of time and money they spend attending to marketing, competitors, customer satisfaction and eagle eyeing the bottom line. When employees are motivated, they emit satisfaction and interest in their tasks, work flows well, production is maintained, and the work environment is pleasant and peaceful. When employees aren’t motivated, the whole operation takes on the quality and temperament of a toothache, and everything and everybody suffers.

Employee motivation can be a tricky thing to inspire. An interesting motivational speaker will help, as will some financial incentives, but much about the human working animal and how to keep his nose to the grindstone is elusive. De-motivation, however, is decidedly less complex. Should you want your employees and teams to lack the necessary inspiration to keep working hard and working well, here are a number of practices guaranteed to crush employee motivation.

Hire the Cheapest Workers​

One of the most important aspects to running a business and running it well is hiring the right people for the right jobs. When someone is internally motivated because they enjoy their work and feel suited for it, managers barely have to lift a finger. One way to ensure you are less likely to get the right person for the job is hire whoever will work for the least amount of pay. As long as that’s your priority, motivation will be lacking.

Make Sure the Work Doesn’t Challenge​

One of the best ways to ensure employee motivation stays low is to keep your employees’ work devoid of difficulty. Boredom, routine, work that can be performed while texting or applying nail polish — these types of situations lead to sluggish workers who will give you sluggish returns. When work is challenging but not too far out of an employee’s current skill sets and knowledge base, the desire to learn and contribute in a new way provides excellent motivation.

Use Fear​

When employees work out of a fear of losing their jobs, they exhibit less energy and desire to execute daily tasks. They fail to notice, let alone offer, suggestions that may improve workflow or the working environment. Fear and anxiety will also ensure that their memory skills are compromised. Create an environment of fear, and motivation will stay at basement levels.

Discourage Innovation​

One of the most effective ways to discourage desire and compel your more creative employees to seek greener pastures is to quell any interest in innovation. While some companies invite new ideas and invest in them in order to stay competitive, doing so will greatly increase the likelihood that you will have hard-working and productive employees.

Don’t Allow Cross-Training​

Good employees will often seek out ways to increase their knowledge of the work they do and the work that goes on around them. One way this can happen is through cross-training, where employees are encouraged and incentivized to learn jobs and tasks that are different from what they normally perform. In doing so, they provide a more work-diverse company, a stronger workforce, and they tend to enjoy their work more. Cross-training is a definite morale and motivation booster.

Reward — But Only Monetarily​

It may seem counter-intuitive, but money isn’t always the best motivator. It turns out that employees like verbal rewards, being recognized in front of their peers for a job well-done, being trusted with more challenging assignments, title upgrades and the like. If you want to keep motivation low, only give monetary incentives and rewards. Be tight-lipped with praise, and make sure everyone’s title never rises above “Intern.”

Don’t Have Fun​

When fun is a regular part of the work experience, it not only motivates your employees to want to come in to work, it also motivates them to value the people around them, which builds desire to contribute work benefiting the team. Humor and non-work-related interactions help people get to know each other as specific individuals, and these types of interactions build connections that drive mutual accountability and individual responsibility. It’s what motivates human beings to work for the good of their families, churches, platoons or tribe. If you want to keep a sense of connectedness out of your motivational landscape, be dour, and pay it forward as much as you can.

Motivating employees isn’t nearly as easy as de-motivating them, but it can be done. From proper incentives to challenging work, a well-motivated employee is just a few small adjustments away.

 

[LekshmiGPilllai]

Hi Kayla,
Thank you for such a refreshing and well-articulated post! The way you’ve flipped the narrative to list what not to do is both witty and eye-opening. It’s amazing how common some of these demotivating practices still are, especially the overreliance on monetary rewards and the fear-based management style.

I particularly liked your point about discouraging cross-training—often overlooked, but so crucial in creating a dynamic and resilient workforce. Also, the emphasis on fun at work is a great reminder that motivation is deeply tied to human connection and emotional well-being.

This post is a great guide for any organization genuinely aiming to build a motivated team. Looking forward to reading more of your insi
ghts!

 

[Priyani Gupta]

First and foremost, I’d like to extend genuine appreciation for your thought-provoking and bold article on the dynamics of employee motivation. It takes courage to dissect such a sensitive and layered topic with both wit and criticism, and you’ve done so in a manner that is as entertaining as it is insightful. Your use of irony, in listing strategies that “guarantee” demotivation, cleverly flips the script to highlight what organizations ought to be doing, not just what they ought to avoid.


Logically, your approach is grounded in fundamental truths of workplace psychology. Motivation, as you've rightly pointed out, isn't about grand gestures or just higher pay. It thrives in environments where people feel valued, challenged, and connected. Your critique of hiring “the cheapest workers” captures a practical reality that many organizations overlook in their cost-cutting frenzy. Hiring underqualified or disengaged employees to save money almost always costs more in the long term through poor productivity, higher turnover, and reduced morale. A business driven solely by the bottom line eventually sacrifices the very people who generate those numbers.


You also nailed an important but often neglected point — the impact of fear-based management. While some traditional leaders still believe that fear instills discipline, the reality is that it erodes creativity, kills ownership, and fosters a toxic workplace. Fear may force compliance, but never commitment. In an age where innovation is currency, fear is an outdated and damaging motivational tool.


Equally, your mention of “discouraging innovation” and “denying cross-training” presents a subtle but damning indictment of rigid hierarchical systems. In fast-evolving industries, refusing to adapt and empower employees is akin to corporate suicide. When people are allowed to grow horizontally through cross-functional roles, their motivation skyrockets — not just because of the new skills they acquire, but because they feel trusted and relevant.


From a practical standpoint, I appreciate your emphasis on non-monetary rewards. This is an area that even modern employers struggle to understand. A pat on the back, an unexpected “thank you,” or the public acknowledgment of a job well done can, in many cases, motivate more effectively than a bonus. These human touches create a sense of belonging, which is a powerful psychological driver in any social setting, especially the workplace.


Now, onto the controversial note — and this is where your piece truly shines. By presenting demotivating tactics as advice, you've cleverly challenged the reader to reflect, rather than defend. This satirical method may raise eyebrows among traditionalists who resist change, but it forces an honest reckoning with how organizations treat their people. Some may argue that your tone oversimplifies complex HR challenges, but sometimes, simplification is the only way to cut through the noise and expose fundamental flaws.


In sum, your article is not just a critique — it is a mirror. And while some reflections may be uncomfortable to look at, they are necessary for progress. Thank you for provoking thought through reason, humor, and just the right touch of controversy.

 

[Dhruv Bindhani]

This article, likely from around 2011 (given the style and the "Watch" timestamp often accompanying older forum-like content, though no explicit date is given this time), humorously, yet insightfully, describes how to demotivate employees, thereby offering a reverse-engineered guide to fostering a negative work environment. The underlying message is that avoiding these practices will naturally lead to higher employee motivation.

The central premise is that while employee motivation can be complex, de-motivation is "decidedly less complex." The article presents several "guaranteed" practices to crush employee motivation.

Here are the practices to avoid if you want motivated employees:

1. Hire the Cheapest Workers:
   
   • Demotivating Effect: Prioritizing low pay over finding the "right people for the right jobs" means you're less likely to hire individuals who are internally motivated or suited for the work.
   • Positive Counterpart: Invest in hiring talent who are genuinely interested and skilled, as they require less external motivation.
2. Make Sure the Work Doesn't Challenge:
   
   • Demotivating Effect: Assigning work that is "devoid of difficulty," routine, or boring leads to "sluggish workers" and "sluggish returns."
   • Positive Counterpart: Provide work that is challenging but within an employee's reach, allowing for learning and new contributions. This intrinsically motivates them.
3. Use Fear:
   
   • Demotivating Effect: Employees working out of fear of losing their jobs exhibit less energy, desire, and are less likely to offer suggestions for improvement. Fear also compromises cognitive abilities like "memory skills."
   • Positive Counterpart: Foster a secure and supportive environment where employees feel safe to take initiative and make mistakes.
4. Discourage Innovation:
   
   • Demotivating Effect: Quelling interest in new ideas or innovation drives creative employees to seek opportunities elsewhere ("greener pastures").
   • Positive Counterpart: Invite and invest in new ideas to stay competitive and significantly increase employee engagement and productivity.
5. Don't Allow Cross-Training:
   
   • Demotivating Effect: Preventing employees from learning new jobs and tasks (cross-training) stifles their desire to grow and makes the workforce less adaptable.
   • Positive Counterpart: Encourage and incentivize cross-training. This creates a "work-diverse company," a "stronger workforce," increases job enjoyment, and boosts morale and motivation.
6. Reward — But Only Monetarily:
   
   • Demotivating Effect: Relying solely on monetary incentives and being "tight-lipped with praise" fails to motivate, as money isn't always the best motivator. Not recognizing achievements or opportunities for growth (like title upgrades) keeps motivation low.
   • Positive Counterpart: Recognize employees through verbal praise, public acknowledgment, challenging assignments, and career progression (e.g., promotions, title upgrades). These non-monetary rewards are often more impactful for long-term motivation.
7. Don't Have Fun:
   
   • Demotivating Effect: A dour work environment lacking fun or non-work-related interactions demotivates employees, hinders bonding, and reduces mutual accountability.
   • Positive Counterpart: Integrate fun, humor, and opportunities for social interaction into the work experience. This motivates employees to enjoy work, value colleagues, and feel a sense of connection and responsibility towards the team, similar to how individuals are motivated to contribute to their "families, churches, platoons or tribe."

Conclusion:

The article concludes that while motivating employees requires effort, de-motivating them is much easier. By understanding and avoiding these detrimental practices, managers can make "small adjustments" that lead to a "well-motivated employee."