3 ways to destroy employees’ motivation—and how to stop

But even so, many inadvertently cause workers to disengage. Are you guilty of any of these common motivation killers?

1. Pretending to listen

I’ve never met an employee who said, “I really love taking employee surveys,” or “My employer has a great employee survey process!” Yet people say they want to be heard. In theory, surveys should facilitate that.

What’s wrong?

Most employers don’t realize that when they ask for feedback, they’re starting a conversation. Like in any conversation, the employer should listen and engage in an information exchange. Instead of making employee feedback a springboard for dialogue, employers publish the findings in a report months later, or never speak of them.

When people invest time and effort in offering feedback and don’t hear back for months (if ever), they believe no one is listening. It’s disheartening to feel like no one hears you—especially after someone asked you to speak up.