{"id":330,"date":"2018-07-13T15:08:51","date_gmt":"2018-07-13T13:08:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dazzlepop.net\/site\/?p=330"},"modified":"2018-07-13T15:08:51","modified_gmt":"2018-07-13T13:08:51","slug":"5-ways-to-stay-motivated-at-work-when-you-feel-underappreciated","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dazzlepop.net\/site\/5-ways-to-stay-motivated-at-work-when-you-feel-underappreciated\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Ways to Stay Motivated at Work When You Feel Underappreciated"},"content":{"rendered":"
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BY\u00a0LARRY ALTON<\/a><\/span><\/div>\n
Updated February 28, 2018<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Some people are intrinsically motivated and have little difficulty pushing forward with difficult work\u2014regardless of whether or not they get recognition. But not everyone.Many people can’t stand being underappreciated when putting in hours of hard work.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Feeling underappreciated at work? If you want to turn that around and get more of the praise and acknowledgment you deserve, the one thing you can’t afford to do is let your\u00a0performance<\/a>\u00a0slip.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Maybe you need to feel success, validation, encouragement regularly in order to keep pushing forward. If so, it can be difficult to stay motivated at work when you feel underappreciated.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The Pitfalls of Underappreciation<\/h3>\n
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If you were to take two people and give one of them a $1,000 bonus for their hard work and another a five-minute talk on how much you appreciate their hard work and what they mean to the company, which individual do you think would walk away feeling more motivated to succeed?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Contrary to popular belief, it\u2019s not the one with the monetary reward. In almost every case, the person who is verbally told that they\u2019re\u00a0appreciated<\/a>\u00a0is going to be more motivated.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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This example speaks to dangers of having employees that feel underappreciated. The human need for appreciation and the power of making people feel valued in the workplace.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cFeeling genuinely appreciated lifts people up,\u201d\u00a0explains Tony Schwartz, president, and CEO of The Energy Project. \u201cAt the most basic level, it makes us feel safe, which is what frees us to do our best work. It\u2019s also energizing. When our value feels at risk, as it so often does, that worry becomes preoccupying, which drains and diverts our energy from creating value.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The problem is that many employees don\u2019t feel appreciated by their employers in today\u2019s business culture. As a result, motivation and productivity often lack. This creates a dangerous loop where a lack of appreciation leads to a lack of work and creates friction in the workplace.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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It\u2019s not just that a lack of appreciation impacts output, though \u2014 it actually causes physical harm in the form of stress and anxiety. According to a well-known study, employees who feel unfairly criticized by their bosses have a 30 percent higher rate of coronary disease than those who feel appreciated.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cIn the workplace itself, researcher Marcial Losada has found that among high-performing teams, the expression of positive feedback outweighs that of negative feedback by a ratio of 5.6 to 1,\u201d Schwartz continues. \u201cBy contrast, low-performing teams have a ratio of .36 to 1.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Next, you have to take a look at the concept of negativity bias. This bias, which is intrinsically built into the human brain, says that negative experiences are more easily remembered\/perceived than positive ones. Negative stimuli cause the brain\u2019s alarm bells to scream, whereas positive stimuli merely cause temporary satisfaction.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cThe alarm bell of your brain \u2014 the amygdala (you\u2019ve got two of these little almond-shaped regions, one on either side of your head) \u2014 uses about two-thirds of its neurons to look for bad news: it\u2019s primed to go negative,\u201d\u00a0says Rick Hanson, Ph.D. \u201cOnce it sounds the alarm, negative events and experiences get quickly stored in memory \u2014 in contrast to positive events and experiences, which usually need to be held in awareness for a dozen or more seconds to transfer from short-term memory buffers to long-term storage.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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When you couple the need for feeling appreciated with our innate proclivity towards negativity bias, it\u2019s easy to see why so many people struggle to be motivated at work. It\u2019s a serious problem that businesses\u2013on an individual and collective basis\u2013need to work through.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Ways to stay motivated\u00a0at work<\/a><\/h3>\n
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According to a Gallup Poll of American workers,\u00a065 percent of people report feeling a lack of appreciation at work. And that feeling leads to negativity, low morale, and decreased productivity.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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So, if you feel underappreciated, at least you aren\u2019t alone. But with that being said, here are some practical things you can do to avoid wallowing in despair and stay motivated.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Focus on Small Victories<\/h3>\n
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We\u2019ve all had those days where nothing seems to go our way. The printer jams right before a big meeting. A client won\u2019t call you back. You spill coffee on your white shirt. Your boss recognizes someone else for something you actually did.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cOn days like this, it can sometimes help to look for small victories,\u201d marketer\u00a0Matt Keener advises. \u201cFor example, let\u2019s say you really need to get started on a big presentation. It\u2019s due by the close of business, but you just can\u2019t get moving on it. Rather than staring at a blank presentation deck for thirty minutes, put the project aside and find something \u2018bite-sized\u2019 to do.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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When you look for small victories, you force your brain to stop automatically focusing on negative stimuli. This counteracts the negativity bias and helps you be more aware of the positive things that are happening.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Motivate Yourself With Goals<\/h3>\n
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The wonderful thing about being human is that you have the capacity to set your own\u00a0goals<\/a>\u00a0and find joy in accomplishing them. In fact, you can foster self-appreciation.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Since you don\u2019t get a ton of positive feedback from your superiors, you may have to\u00a0set<\/a>\u00a0your own goals and track your progress.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cIf that motivation comes from seeing how your work makes a difference, create a visual representation of that,\u201d entrepreneur\u00a0John Boitnott suggests. \u201cIf you answer calls on a customer support line, keep charts of the number of tickets you close each week. If you process payments for your employer, track the improvements you\u2019ve made in getting suppliers paid from one month to the next.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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When you do this, you\u2019re able to create internal motivation. While this can\u2019t fully replace positive encouragement from superiors, it serves as a small consolation to keep you going during desolate times.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Exercise Before Work<\/h3>\n
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Sometimes the best source of motivation comes from outside the office. Specifically, there\u2019s a lot to be gained from working out in the morning before you go to work. Whether it\u2019s a CrossFit session at a nearby gym or a jog around the neighborhood, doing some\u00a0physical<\/a>\u00a0activity will help you feel better about who you are, which only reinforces mental fortitude.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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If you do choose to work out before work, make sure you create a tangible log of your progress. Ideally, you should keep this log in your office in a visible place. When you\u2019re feeling defeated and don\u2019t have any motivation, take a glance at the log and make a note of how well you\u2019re doing in this area. You should be able to transfer some of those positive feelings back into your work for the day.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Recognize the Significance of Your Work<\/h3>\n
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A lot of people feel underappreciated and lack motivation because they fail to see the significance of their work. While it\u2019s ultimately up to your boss to convey this significance, you may have to do your own reflection if you aren\u2019t getting any support in this area.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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At first, you may think a certain task is useless, but dig deep. You aren\u2019t just making a sales call. You\u2019re making a sales call in order to sell a product that will provide value for someone else\u2019s business. Should they purchase the product, it\u2019ll help them grow their business and support their family. It\u2019ll also add to your company\u2019s bottom line, which will lead to growth and new opportunities for you and your co-workers.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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See how thinking through something as simple as a sales call can help you fully appreciate the value of your work? It\u2019s something fairly easy that you can do with just about any task or objective.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Speak Up<\/h3>\n
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Sometimes the fact that you feel underappreciated goes totally unnoticed by your boss. They may be so busy that they don\u2019t realize you\u2019re feeling this way. If you suspect this may be the case,\u00a0 don\u2019t be afraid to speak up.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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You don\u2019t want to come across as a whiny child, so be strategic in how you approach the conversation. Explain that you sometimes feel you aren\u2019t living up to expectations and discuss some ways in which you can be motivated to continue being successful. If nothing else, this lets your boss know where you stand.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Discover and Encourage Self-Confidence<\/a><\/h3>\n
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As you can see, there are plenty of ways to encourage motivation, despite an overwhelming lack of appreciation in your current job. The key is to foster self-confidence, even when nobody else is giving you the encouragement you crave.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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It\u2019s also important that you do your part of building a\u00a0workplace culture<\/a>\u00a0that prioritizes appreciation. Even if you aren\u2019t in a managerial or leadership role, you can still do small things that make people feel valued.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Here are a few ideas:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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