How to motivate your weary workforce

It's been a year of layoffs and pay cuts in the IT workplace. No wonder your staff is just plain tired. But it's no time to let them sit back and put their feet up. It's time for the manager to keep morale up and help workers stay engaged.

Most workers are just happy to have a job at all, but then reality sets in, according to Bob Nelson, Ph.D, author of Keeping Up in a Down Economy: What the Best Companies Do to Get Results in Tough Times. But then the weariness sets up. Employees suddenly realize they are doing more and working longer hours without the hope of a raise or even the time to take earned vacation, he told computerworld.com.

And that's when productivity can suffer, many experts say.

So it's time for the manager to step in with some targeted ways to keep workers motivated. Among the suggestions:

> Help workers prioritize their workloads so they don't feel inundated with work.

> Have some fun. Throw a bowling party or a Super Bowl one.

> You can't afford big bonuses but you can give a $50 gift certificate to a team that finished a project under deadline.

> Give your workers a chance to learn about other sides of the business. Rotate workers who want to try something new.

> Offer flexible work arrangements, job sharing, telework, or other non-traditional ways to be employed.

> Encourage friendly competition so every team has a goal to make and a challenge from others to get there.

Nelson advises managers to motivate workers with personal conversations, letting them know just how important they are in the workplace.

"When you have something that needs to be done, and you [choose] the person who can do it best, tell him that," Nelson said. "Or you might say, 'I know you want to get into management and a key skill is interacting with customers, and this project will let you work on that,' so employees will know why you're picking them. Or it could be because it's the hot new system or because this is our key customer."

Whatever your solution, make sure you have one. Remember that your workers are not robots but people who still need motivation beyond getting a paycheck every week.

For more on motivating your workers:
- see this computerworld.com article