Sooner or later, every business owner and manager is going to have to deal with an employee who is just getting a little too comfortable on the job. They slow down, are less productive, and not as good. You might notice that the quality of their work is decreasing, and it’s getting to a point where it can hurt your business.

Before you start yelling at your employee (or worse, fire them), it’s important to try a few key tricks to help them get back to being a high quality and productive worker. That said, here are 2 tips on how to stop an employee from slacking off at work.

Remember that Slacking Off is Part of Human Behavior

One of the most obvious and most ignored facts about employees is that they are human beings. They are not machines that you turn on and off. When a machine starts lagging, you know it needs fixing.

But when a human gets comfortable and starts lagging, that’s actually a healthy sign. It means they’re getting more comfortable in the workplace and, for better or for worse, feel it’s OK to move at a more natural pace.

Understanding that this pattern is basic human behavior can inform how you handle it. It means that the problem isn’t with them, but that there isn’t anything in their environment encouraging them to be better.

Coach Them

The best remedy is to encourage your employees to be better. Offer them incentives for keeping a consistent work output. Make sure that they have attainable goals with rewards that are worth working hard for.

This method of encouragement as opposed to instilling fear and threatening them is often more effective, and can encourage a tighter bond between the employee and yourself. Having a worker dedicated to being better and more efficient is much better for everyone in the long run, as opposed to having them work as fast as they can out of fear of losing their job.

Conclusion

We encourage ethical guidance because it works. Not only is it just the right thing to do, but studies show that having employees who are dedicated to their work and business work better than those who are viewed as disposable.

So next time you consider chastising your employee for slowing down, consider coaching them and finding ways to encourage an effective and determined atmosphere.