Simple ways to increase motivation in the workplace

Living with children

Taylor Kovar

Hey Taylor - Any ideas for workplace motivation? Really trying to avoid being the type of boss who everyone fears, but I’ve also got a few workers I feel like might be slacking.

Presley

Hey Presley - It’s a fine line between feeling overly authoritative and showing workers that you mean business It’s always good to avoid playing bad cop, so here are a few approaches that might help you out

Shake things up When workers start feeling stagnant, their work usually suffers You can combat this by giving people new assignments or just switching small things around, like where someone’s desk is It’s often as simple as getting a person’s brain reengaged For some, a little more responsibility might improve their overall efforts If you have a worker with a few jobs and no firm timetables, give him or her something that needs to be done on a weekly basis Assuming they want to keep their job, they’ll take on the new project and the added structure might help with the rest of their tasks

Walk in their shoes. Business owners are committed to doing everything right because all the mistakes end up on our desks one way or another As more procedures get added to the daily agenda, it can be easy to lose sight of what anything means to the workers tasked with carrying out these duties If you have someone importing details that seem insignificant, you need to think about how to either make that work feel more meaningful or decide if maybe it doesn’t need to be done Don’t assign jobs for the sake of making people work, but rather because accomplishing those things will help the company and everyone around The can make people feel l a team and not just an insignificant laborer, th you can expect their w Encourage productivity a post up on GoFarWithKovarcom highlights different rea substandard productivi y might be that your workers just need a nudge in the right direction, or perhaps you could buy some software that would help streamline projects and make things run more smoothly If everything feels tedious, people’s brains start to shut down and producing consistent, quality work becomes a near impossibility There are lots of simple steps and training methods that can help employees become more productive and happier with the work they’re doing

Think about what you want from these workers and how you're asking for it You might decide you need to change your tactic, or there might be a better way to motivate them As long as you’re thoughtful, fair, and not a crazy dictator, it should all work out Good luck, Presley!

Taylor Kovar, CEO of Kovar Capital Read more about Taylor at GoFarWithKovar com

Disclaimer: Information presented is for educational purposes only and is not an offer or solicitation for the sale or purchase of any specific securities, investments, or investment strategies

Investments involve risk and, unless otherwise stated, are not guaranteed Be sure to first consult with a qualified financial adviser and/or tax professional before implementing any strategy discussed herein To submit a question to be answered in this column, please send it via email to Question@GoFarWithKovar com, or via USPS to Taylor Kovar, 415 S 1st St, Suite 300, Lufkin, TX 75901

Q: We recently discovered that our 12-year-old has been visiting pornography sites of all sorts on the Internet When we caught him red-handed, he began crying and said he is addicted Apparently, a friend of his got him involved Our son has assured us it’s not going to happen again, but we really don’t know how to handle this Should we punish him? Take him to a therapist? Have our pastor talk with him? We’re hoping you have some advice We’re more worried and upset than we’ve ever been A: As a father and grandfather, I can certainly appreciate your worry and distress As you may know, the problem of pre-teen and teen boys visiting porn sites on the Internet is huge Visits to such online venues can lead to participation in chat rooms where teen boys (and girls) often end up being solicited by adults looking to exploit their naivete and need for attention

There is no easy answer to the question of how parents should deal with a situation of this sort Obviously, your son needs some reality education He needs to be frankly informed as to the potentially dangerous straits he put himself in He also needs to be told how pornography can adversely affect his attitude toward sexuality and females in particular It needs to be emphasized to him that truly healthy sexual relations take place only in committed, loving relationships. The best person to have this conversation with him is his father, but its effectiveness will depend largely on the quality of that relationship It goes without saying that the better the relationship, the more your son looks up to his father, the more of a positive impact this talk is going to have

I definitely do not recommend punishment It was surely punishment enough that you caught him Given that you probably intervened before the proverbial snowball had rolled very far downhill, I would be reluctant to use words like rebellious, defiant, disrespectful – words that describe behaviors deserving of punishment

If your pastor feels comfortable having a conversation with your son concerning this issue, and your son has a good relationship with him, that might be productive I would not, at this point, have your son talk to a person he doesn’t already know, trust, and feel comfortable with, even a therapist

There’s no way to ascertain whether your son is addicted to pornography or not Using that terminology may be an attempt on his part to throw you off As for his assurance that he’s not going to porn sites again, I am reminded of the old saw, “How do you keep them down on the farm once they’ve seen Paree?” You are going to have to be on guard to make sure that he does not experience this sort of temptation again

For the benefit of all my readers, these are my four top recommendations when it comes to boys and internet pornography: Do not allow children private access to the Internet Parents should be in a position, always, to provide direct Internet supervision to any child under age 18

Instead of giving children and teens “smart” phones that can access the Internet, give phones that make calls, receive calls, and text These are available through Wal-Mart and other box stores

Talk to your children about the very real threat of pedophilia and how to deal assertively with a sexual advance from an adult

Be informed and current concerning any sexualityeducation at your child’s school Such programs, however wellintentioned, involve the very real risk of stimulating sexual curiosity Personally, if I was raising children today, I would not entrust this education to anyone but myself

Family psychologist John Rosemond: johnrosemond com, parentguru com

John Rosemond has worked with families, children, and parents since 1971 in the field of family psychology In 1971, John earned his masters in psychology from Western Illinois University and was elected to the Phi Kappa Phi National Honor Society

Monday, July 15, 2019