Are you having a hard time being able to motivate your team? Have you ever noticed how a new employee’s enthusiasm eventually wears off?  According to a survey from Harvard Management Update, employees’ morale significantly drops off after their first six months on the job. For the most part, enthusiasm is determined by work environment, and it can be fostered or hindered by the manager. Employee motivation experts say the best way to keep employee enthusiasm moving forward is to don’t do anything that demotivates your employees.

Below are 10 demotivators.

1. Promise raises or promotions and not following though.  OOCH is all I have to say about ths one.

2. Criticism in public. Pointing out a worker’s mistake in front of others rarely yields a good response. Though some managers think this public approach keeps everyone else from making the same mistake—it usually just makes everyone feel bad.

3. Not explaining your actions or sharing company information.  . Explaining the big management decisions will help employees understand your perspective—and they’ll respect you for it. Likewise, sharing key company information such as revenue and profits validates staff contributions.

4. Implied threats. If an employee is producing sub-par work, it’s OK to let them know your expectations. But it’s not OK to threaten their job—especially if you’re threatening the entire team in a public setting. A “do this or else” attitude often has the opposite effect when it comes to motivation.

5. Not honoring creative thinking and problem solving. When employees take initiative to improve something—a company process or an individual task, for instance—don’t blow it off. Instead, take a good, hard look at their suggestion. If you ignore it, you risk losing that employee’s creativity in the future.

6. Not giving appreciation or praise. If employees feel like their hard work goes unnoticed, they’ll start to wonder why they’re working so hard in the first place. Be sure to offer praise, both privately and publicly. A “good job” email or a thank-you card makes a difference.

7.  Not following up. Have you ever solicited ideas, asked what employees think about an idea or policy, or asked your team to draft a documentl? If so, be sure to report back the results, even if the ideas or proposals don’t go anywhere. Asking employees for input without acknowledging it shows a lack of respect.

8.  Give unachievable goals or deadlines. Once employees realize they won’t be able to get something done, they’ll think, “What’s the point? I’m going to fail.” Provide goals and deadlines that are challenging, but not impossible.

9.  Favoring certain employees.  This will really break up a team fast.

10.  Micromanagement- Perhaps the worst demotivator is micromanaging. Employees need to feel trusted and valued to succeed—and micromanaging communicates the opposite.

What have you done to motivate your staff today?