Employees who are burned out
What or how do we motivate employees who are burned out and never apply for promotional opportunities?
Eva,
and along with this demonstrating that you are actually considering what they are saying, not just letting them talk.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
Yes I agree. Coaching does work even with experienced and high performing staff, however you also need to create the space for coaching. In the past I have assumed someone was open for coaching when in fact they weren't. Many times its simply a matter of asking if you may coach someone and from this request they are suddenly coach-able. I think this is especially true with older more experienced staff. Sometimes along with the request to coach someone I will remind them that even Olympic athletes have coaches.
Having a feeling of being heard, understood with compassion goes a long way to re-energizing faculty and staff. We often are so focused on what's directly ahead of us, that we lose sight of the personal challenges that our employees feel. The open door and an opportunity to vent goes a long way.
Sometimes, it is good to help that employee create a proper balance between work and home. This is missing in a lot of companies in today's business.
Eric,
yes, sometimes this can be the "shot in the arm" we need to reengage.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
Coaching also works as long as your manager is supportive.
Andrew,
very difficult question. First of all I would say to be careful assuming that because they don't apply for promotion they are burned out, some folks are happy where they are. The other thing to consider is asking them if they could change one thing that would make their work better or make them more satisfied at work, what would that be? Sometimes focusing on some small level of improvement encourages them to become more engaged overall.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
