Starting a new job often begins with a blissful honeymoon phase, in which someone’s best work is consistently produced. Inevitably, this comes to an end sooner or later, when the flaws of the job gradually start to reveal themselves, and it’s natural that an employee’s passion may fade away once they’re comfortable.

When business owners fail to recognise that the flames of passion need to be reignited, they are likely to see an overwhelmed, bored and exhausted workforce, which inevitably invites the possibility of increased employee turnover. Since it’s no secret how expensive it is to find, hire and onboard a new member of staff, it makes a good deal of sense for managers and owners to understand how to spot the signs of passion fatigue and ultimately how to keep the embers glowing.

5 Tell-Tale Signs of Passion Fatigue

Fear of Failure – If your employees are more preoccupied with the consequences of making a mistake as opposed to taking a risk and learning from it, there’s a problem. It’s important to embrace failure as a means of learning, almost to the point of celebrating it.

Withheld Information – If you find that a small group of high-ranking employees are the only one’s privy to essential department information, such as financials, objectives, and performance evaluations, you should be concerned. This information should be available to all so that everyone is entirely aware of the company direction. 

Restricted Communication – If you begin to notice that your employees are communicating exclusively through email, even when a phone call or face-to-face meeting is more convenient, this can often spell trouble. It may mean that your employees just aren’t willing to go that extra mile to speak to a client or colleague.

Lack of Collaboration – Pay close attention to how your employees interact with each other. An employee going through the motions will usually not be interested in going out of their way to help their colleagues. 

Think About Your Own Behaviour – If your employee begins to miss deadlines, your first thought will be to dole out the consequences. And it’s entirely right to hold your employees accountable. However, before you go crashing in, consider if your actions may have contributed to these delays. Consider if your communication could be more explicit, or whether you could have delegated the project sooner. Your own processes can also contribute to passion fatigue in your employees.

Here are the 7 Ways to Rekindle the Passion

If you’ve noticed one or more of the above, then it’s time to put some plans together to help employees realise why they were so passionate in the first place. No one likes to feel negatively towards something; especially when it’s something you’re expected to do on a daily basis, so it’s up to you to help your employees reconnect and reengage.

1. Encourage Social Interaction

Human beings are social creatures by nature, which means that employees are far more likely to work harder and go that extra mile for a company that takes an interest in their personal life. In fact, according to accessperks.com, almost 40% of employees feel a greater sense of belonging when colleagues regularly ask how they’re getting on, both in a personal and professional sense.

2. Provide Opportunities for Creativity

The biggest hurdle towards achieving employee engagement is often a lacklustre strategy and conflicting priorities when it comes to training and development. You can prevent this by presenting employees with an opportunity to think outside the box and by offering rewards and recognition for doing so. 

We’re all wired with a need to learn new skills; by tapping into this instinct you can help your employees feel wanted and valued again. This could be anything from encouraging them to read a book you’ve recommended, volunteer for new projects, take an online course, or simply empowering them to ask more questions of superiors to improve their day-to-day work.

3. Celebrate the Wins Together

Whether you commit to celebrating a significant achievement, hosting monthly lunches or promising to celebrate employee birthdays or other personal engagements, these events should be aimed at giving your employees a chance to interact in a more relaxed setting. They also present a fantastic opportunity to increase engagement. A study undertaken by the McKinsey Global Institute found that productivity improves by 20-25% within organisations that have well-connected employees.

4. Recognition

Have you ever taken the time to show your employees how their work contributes to the continued success of the business? Do you make a point of telling your employees when KPIs are reached, and goals are achieved? Will you offer an incentive to ensure that company goals are hit faster? According to smarp.com, 37% of employees consider recognition the most important of their job, so you need to ask yourself, do you recognise team and individual success?

5. Make Every Voice Heard

Asking your employees for feedback and following through with their ideas is one of the easiest ways to revitalise your workforce. If your employees feel confident enough to voice an opinion, then it’s up to you to follow through where possible. According to Salesforce, employees who feel their voice is heard are 4.6 times more likely to feel confident enough to perform their very best work.

6. Offer Praise

We’ve covered the fact that employees like to be recognised for doing a great job; however, it’s also important to praise employees for the contributions that may otherwise have gone unnoticed. Whereas recognition means making a big deal of the wins, offering praise is more of a personal touch for the everyday actions, such as dealing with a problematic customer particularly well or suggesting a colour for a new piece of design work. By complementing good work, employees will be far more motivated to achieve these positive affirmations in the future.

7. Supportive Teams

Building talented teams within different departments means you should encourage the prospective managers of those teams to run a department built on honest discussions, its goals and the hurdles it faces. It’s only through honest discussion that your teams will be able to assess their strengths and weaknesses. This can encourage creativity, remove stumbling blocks and create new avenues for further growth and success.