How To Encourage Work Ethic in the Workplace As A Manager

Work ethic is one of the key attributes employers look for when hiring, but it’s something that can be showcased in an interview process and not show itself on the job.

While it’s clear to see those employees who lack work ethic and aren’t willing to improve, it’s essential as a manager to recognise that the environment you create and the way you manage have a significant impact on how strong your employees' work ethic is.

When most managers sense a lack of work ethic, they often resort to micromanagement, ensuring that each person is pulling their weight. However, if you want employees to have a work ethic where they truly take responsibility for their actions, it can't be forced; it must be encouraged.

What is Work Ethic and How Can You Spot It in Your Employees?

Work ethic is the attitude to perform your duties with a high standard, going above and beyond to contribute to the company. It's technically considered a soft skill and is crucial for employees working with accountability, responsibility, integrity, and discipline.

An employee with a good work ethic will always strive to do their best because they naturally consider the potential consequences of not doing so, as well as the respect they have for their role and what’s expected of them. Conversely, an employee with a poor work ethic is usually sloppy, demotivated, and often produces lower quality work. They may also have issues with time management, missing deadlines without concern.

As a manager, these attributes will eventually reveal themselves in each employee, allowing you to identify those who lack work ethic.

Encourage Self-Motivation and Dedication

A large reason for poor work ethic is simply because employees don't have a vision.

Without a vision, they can't thrive off self-motivation, which is crucial for individually working hard. As a manager, you can get caught up with managing tasks, delegating, and completing all the formalities of the job, forgetting to lead. Both management and leadership are important, but you need to do both to reap results from your employees.

A significant part of leadership is motivating, inspiring, and giving employees a vision that truly makes them want to succeed. If your employees are in an environment where progression is hard to reach and the atmosphere is overly authoritarian, they are likely to lack work ethic simply because they can't see a vision with the company.

As a leader, it’s your job to instill excitement in your employees, letting them know they have a future at the company, filled with great perks for their personal and professional growth. Work on the company culture and values to give people a purpose for why they come to work every day, showing them that they are a vital cog in the wheel. When employees feel like they are part of something bigger than themselves, they will be more committed, dedicated, and inclined to work hard.

Have Clear Progression Plans

Imagine working for months, only to receive no recognition? This may be the experience of many of your employees.

Without clear progression plans, employees have an aimless goal they are reaching for. They may know progression is there, but they have no idea how to reach it or how far away they are from achieving it.

This naturally leads to disengagement, causing employees to not put in their all. Why should they, if they aren’t going to get a promotion out of it? Over time, it can feel pointless. Give your employees the security of a clear plan they can rely on. Catch up in 121’s with them frequently about their progress, implementing a strong performance management strategy so success can be tracked easily. This leaves minimal room for ambiguity, providing employees insight into what they can do to move to the next level. Once you’ve done this, the overall work ethic of the team will improve because now they have something to work for.

Hold Employees Accountable to Each Other

Poor work ethic is essentially a rebellion against your team members. By making a conscious effort to not put in the effort, an employee is letting the team down.

It’s your job to communicate this.

Especially if your team needs to work together to get things done, or if there are team targets that need to be hit to earn incentives, you can’t afford for any employee to have a selfish approach to work. If you do, expect increased frustration and tension among team members because it will become obvious who isn't putting in the work.

Accountability is one of the best drivers for work ethic. If you can’t get employees to feel strongly about doing a good job for themselves, you can likely get them to feel strongly about doing a good job for their team. No one wants to be the one who lets the team down and according to Stanford University, teams that work well together are 50% more productive (Zight). Start with conducting team meetings where each employee discusses their results from the previous week and their plans for the current week. Encourage employees to share stats, talk through processes, and ask each other questions.

This not only gives employees the motivation to have enough to talk about in the meeting but also fosters a sense of teamwork where there’s an expectation for everyone to work hard for the benefit of each other.

Communicate Your Thoughts

If all else fails, don’t shy away from simply communicating what you’ve noticed about an employee’s performance. Ask direct questions about their work ethic and listen to their responses to gauge their genuine commitment to improvement. This is also an opportunity to discuss the expectations you have for them as an employee to make it particularly clear.

Often, the conversation alone can be enough to make an employee aware that their work isn’t satisfactory and that if it continues, there will be consequences.

- Written by Oliver Howson

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