How to Fuel Employee Motivation in a Distributed Workplace

Jeff Freedman

Exec Team Coach, Strategic Change Leader, & Owner

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Introduction

In today's fiercely competitive business environment, any organization's success hinges on its workforce's motivation. The impact of motivated employees extends beyond delivering quality work; it influences long-term retention, discretionary effort, and customer satisfaction.

Achieving employee motivation is a nuanced and ongoing process, particularly in 2024, with expanding work locations (onsite, hybrid, remote). The era of relying on perks such as free coffee or branded mugs is long gone, if it ever truly existed. Motivating today’s workforce demands deliberate and sustained effort. To elevate engagement and productivity, leaders must grasp what motivates their employees and prioritize the key aspects on their minds.

In this article, we’ll explore the contrasting mindsets of employers and employees, the four crucial priorities shaping employee motivation, and actionable strategies for leaders aiming to boost motivation, productivity, and business success.

Differing Mindsets and Impacts on Motivation

Diverse mindsets significantly influence how work is approached and impact employee motivation. Senior leadership holds one perspective, while hybrid employees adopt another.

Senior leaders tend to focus on productivity, performance, innovation, and culture. As a result, they tend to have a hyper-focus on both the external environment (e.g. Fed interest rates, recession risk, the markets) and internal “tangibles” (e.g. costs, controls, metrics). Focus in these areas can lead to unintentional challenges:

• Lack of connection with the organization (aka, the pulse)
• A trust divide among employees
• Frontline managers feeling overwhelmed
• Hybrid employee skill gaps

Conversely, hybrid employees tend to be motivated by purpose, growth, belonging, and autonomy. As a result, hybrid employees often focus more on “intangibles” (e.g. their manager/ team, psychological safety, sense of trust). When hybrid employees feel disconnected from senior leaders on these topics, it can have unintended consequences:

• Low trust in leadership
• Mental health challenges
• A reluctance to work from the office

The distinct challenge lies in leadership's ability to understand and value the underlying mindset of hybrid employees and then take actionable steps that align their own priorities with those of their hybrid team members.

Four Key Employee-Centric Priorities

Recent surveys shed light on significant correlations between workplace dynamics and employee motivation. According to research conducted by Cushman & Wakefield between 2022 and 2023, involving over 11,000 participants, there was a notable 65% correlation between productivity and the ease of connecting with colleagues, referred to as Belonging.

Moreover, a November 2023 study by Flex Index and Boston Consulting Group analyzing 554 public companies revealed that companies providing employees with autonomy over their work location experienced remarkable revenue growth over the past three years, surpassing those lacking such flexibility by 16%.

Based on these results, four employee-centric priorities rise to the top that directly impact employee motivation:

1. Purpose

• How do I contribute?
• How do I fit into the larger vision?
• Do I admire my manager, teammates, and organization?

2. Growth

• How am I doing?
• How am I growing?
• What’s next for me?

3. Belonging

• Am I/ my teammates being seen and heard?
• How do I get/ stay connected?
• How do I take care of my well-being?

4. Autonomy

• Do I have a choice in my work (how, what, where)?

These priorities reflect key elements that directly influence employee motivation and engagement in the workplace.

2 Actions for Senior Leadership

To foster a higher commitment to the business's mission, leading to enhanced customer satisfaction and financial success, senior leadership can take two pivotal actions:

1. Review Organizational Core Values. Engage in candid discussions among the senior team regarding three fundamental principles:

   • Do we Trust our employees to perform optimally in their preferred manner?

   • Do we Respect and prioritize employee flexibility and choice as crucial factors in attracting and retaining talent?

   • Do we cultivate a culture where employees actively choose to be Accountable, focusing on outcomes, excellence, and compliance regardless of work location?

The objective is to align senior leadership, enabling clear and transparent communication regarding expectations, policies, manager behaviors, and their rationale, especially to hybrid employees.

2. Support Manager Development. Recognize the pivotal role of managers as the primary link to company culture and team performance. Support frontline managers by:

   • Providing guidance and coaching on how to manage hybrid employees in a proactive and intentional manner.

   • Train managers on how to build relationships and connect with team members when they are not together in person every day.

   • Create forums for managers to connect with other managers and learn how to be more effective in hybrid team management. Topics could include setting team culture, setting goals, and managing to outcomes.

   • Implementing a system for rewarding and reinforcing desired manager behaviors that lead to successful outcomes for hybrid teams.

By addressing these aspects, senior leadership can empower frontline managers to navigate the complexities of managing hybrid teams, fostering employee engagement, productivity, and organizational success.

3 Tips for Frontline Managers to Foster Employee Motivation

Managers who proactively engage with their employees and demonstrate they are paying attention to what motivates them typically deliver superior business results. It comes down to three very doable actions:

• Have regular and meaningful team and 1:1 conversations
• Listen to what is/ is not being said
• Take meaningful and appropriate action

The benefit is significant! In a study on employee engagement trends, Aon found that a 5% increase in engagement is linked to a 3% increase in revenue growth the following year!

Motivation Drives Breakthrough Business Results

In summary, boosting and sustaining motivation in hybrid work environments is rooted in understanding diverse mindsets and priorities. Senior leadership must recognize and address where they may see work differently from hybrid employees, clearly communicate expectations, and support frontline managers. Equally important is the active partnership between frontline managers and hybrid employees, fostering ongoing dialogue to enhance work dynamics based on individual priorities.

The outcome? Elevated motivation, increased productivity, heightened engagement, and improved retention in the hybrid workforce.

About the Author

Jeff Freedman
Executive Team Coach, Strategic Change Leader, and Organizational Effectiveness Consultant; Founder, ClearPath Alliance

Jeff Freedman, an Executive Team Coach, Strategic Change Leader, and Owner of ClearPath Alliance with 20+ years of experience, brings clarity of action to senior leadership teams during times of change. Jeff delivers coaching, mentoring, and motivation that unites leadership teams around clear priorities and compelling cross-functional goals. Outcomes include unleashing a team’s full potential, greater team accountability, and accelerating measurable breakthrough results—to grow business, capture new opportunities, improve productivity and profitability.