Motivation is a really interesting phenomenon. It is the basis for any sort of activity – creative or otherwise. It is the difference between a productive employee and one who is barely working. Motivation is really fragile – it can be broken in the blink of an eye but luckily, it can also easily be restored (or at least a part of it) in the matter of minutes. It was boils down to how well you understand people.

Frequently, if you show people some understanding and pay some attention to them as human beings, even if they are your employees then you may see that their productivity levels will rise. It’s not really all about money, it’s also about attitude, treatment and approach. Generally, the more freedom you give your employees, the more productive they will be. Of course, not everybody is cut out for this sort of responsibility. Some people, when given more autonomy will perform poorer due to inability to manage their time. Others will show a huge increase in the productivity. The fact that you have given them freedom is enough that they would want to return the favour with some fine work. They will spend more time reviewing their own work, making sure everything is well-done not because they are afraid of punishment, but because deep inside they really want to show the appreciation toward the fact that you have trusted them.

Sadly, trust isn’t something too common these days. Even if you do your best to earn it, most of the time you fail.  For example, I’ve worked on my current position for a few months now and, as far as I know, I haven’t given my boss any reason to doubt – I always try to do everything by the book, just the way I’m asked to do it; I try doing everything on time; I try doing it well; I try being a good employee, overall. Yet, my boss still doesn’t trust me. I don’t like this feeling but there is nothing really I can do – I’ve done everything I could already. I guess that the only thing left is giving it some more time. At least he always gives me time off if I need it (which is an added bonus). Anyway, my main point is that people today don’t trust other people so giving employees more freedom isn’t something many would risk doing, even though those who have shown great success. Sometimes the fact that somebody trusts you enough not to keep in you one place is enough to motivate to work harder and have a better performance. In the end, I guess it’s really about management and responsibility and letting people use their potential.