Employees usually have no reservations about spending long hours at the office, but how much of this time goes towards the task at hand is a questionable matter. Employers aren’t concerned as much with the physical presence of their employees as they are with the quantity and quality of the work they do. So how can an employer push their employee to work productively without compromising their relationship?

Here are a few tips.

Make them feel accountable

If workers understand that their lackadaisical attitude at the workplace could compromise the standing of the company with its clients, it will serve as an indirect disciplinary measure which will reduce the risk of human error on their end and serve to improve their overall attitude towards their work.

Accountability also adds a touch of ownership to their work, it motivates employees to go the extra mile and contribute to the company without the added expense to the employer.

Managing without the extra hand holding

Employees come in all shapes and sizes, abilities and skills, possessing varying levels of social acuity. Some of them like to work alone, while others need collaboration with coworkers to achieve exceptional levels of productivity. Managers need to find what works best with each of their employees and let them decide their own path to the goal.

Most managers however are guilty of micromanaging every aspect of the staff who are assigned under them. This is extremely counterintuitive and serves as a ‘chokehold’ for the employees, making them feel claustrophobic over the yoke of control being exerted on them. It de-motivates them and reduces engagement levels at the workplace.

Listen to your employee

Managers have conditioned themselves over the years to filter out all the noise and complaints submitted to them by their employees. Their kneejerk reaction is to breathe down the necks of the disgruntled employees instead of sorting out their grievances. But this attitude will lead the company to nowhere and might be a slippery slope which could lead to closure of the business.

Managers however should do well to learn and clamp down on any grievances which may be facing their employees. Take care of a minor problem before it spirals into a disastrous outcome (such massive employee turnover).

Become their mentor

There is a world of difference between a mentor who invests their personal time in grooming the abilities of staff members and a manager who just wants to get the results. In large corporations which are characterized by a huge influx of interns and entry level employees, this attitude might just work.

But if the company is in its initial stages, every employee counts. They’re not just a cog in the wheel, they are the wheel itself. And in order to foster this talent and make it fruitful for your company, it requires the effort of a mentor, not a manager who dictates a task and expects it to be performed with finesse.

Create humor

Employees are always learning and taking cues from their managers. If managers play hardball, employees will display a monotonous, unproductive behavior. If managers show a jovial attitude, employees will follow suit and crack a joke here and there to lighten up the mood.

All of these serve to increase productivity, engagement and motivation at the workplace.