Reason #1 They don’t see the meaning in their work.

( no career vision)

- the desire of making purposeful and significant contribution to the organisation
Viktor Frankl’s famous maxim said, “Those who have a ‘why’ to live, can bear
with almost any ‘how”. Knowing that your work makes a difference is essential to
feeling fired up about your job. In the 2019 CNBC/SurveyMonkey Workplace
Happiness poll, 35% of respondents said that “feeling that your work is
meaningful” is the number one factor in overall happiness on the job.
So if an employee feels like what they’re doing at work doesn’t matter, it’s only
natural to experience a lack of motivation at work.
If workers don't feel their job is important, they cannot connect it to a larger
purpose, especially those who don't know what their company's purpose is or how
it functions in day-to-day operations. Managers, more than anyone else, are the key
to helping employees make that crucial connection

Reason #2 They aren’t being challenged. (No development opportunities or

challenging goals)
- Human’s innate desire for knowledge
- The value of ongoing learning potential
 Stagnant, non-progressive and uninspired working environment -> motivation
levels will soon dwindle
Maybe your team members already understand how their work is tied to the
fulfillment of the company’s mission. But another trap lies in wait for any
employee—boredom and stagnation.
It’s not enough to have a sense of purpose and feel effective at a job. Humans
crave improvement. And the only way to get better is to rise up to a challenge.
Regular training and development opportunities can help boost employee
motivation and engagement. Most employees will value ongoing learning potential
and the sense that they’re expanding and improving their skills and knowledge. If a
workplace feels stagnant, non-progressive and uninspired – your employees’
motivation levels will soon dwindle
This is a concept within motivation theory that American psychologist Edwin
Locke spent decades researching and honing. His resulting goal-setting theory
proposed that one essential element of effective goal-setting is making the
objective challenging. Goals that are too easy don’t inspire maximum effort.
The key here is to strike the right balance: not so easy that it’s boring, but not so
difficult that the employee sees it as unattainable
Reason #3 They’re overwhelmed. (Unrealistic workload and low salary)
- Power distance -> lack of understanding between employers and employees,
difficulty in expressing thoughts and feelings to employers
- Low salary compared to the heavy workload
 Lack of time for other parts of personal life
 Job dissatisfaction and low level of motivation
Even when employees feel overwhelmed at work, they may not tell you. Much of
the time, they’re eager to please their boss and don’t want to appear incompetent if
they admit they can’t accomplish something.
Reason #4 Their needs at work aren’t being met. (Job dissatisfaction)

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs is a motivation theory that posits there are five
levels of needs that must be met to reach one’s full potential:
Physiological
Safety
Love/belonging
Esteem
Self-actualization
Each need builds upon the one before it; so if, for example, an employee doesn’t
feel safe at work, they are not going to focus on self-actualization (reaching their
full potential). Therefore, a lack of motivation could stem from a basic need being
unmet.
 TRANSCRIPT (ĐỖ MINH ANH)
 Subjective reason
No career interest and career vision
- Viktor Frankl’s famous maxim said, “Those who have a ‘why’ to live, can bear
with almost any ‘how”. Knowing that your work makes a difference is
essential to feeling fired up about your job. In the 2019 CNBC/ Survey
Monkey Workplace Happiness poll, 35% of respondents said that “feeling that
your work is meaningful” is the number one factor in overall happiness on the
job.
- Do not understand the meaning of their work & company’s objectives
 Can not connect their own purpose with the whole organization’s purpose
 Lower sense of responsibility to make purposeful and significant
contribution to the organization
 Low motivation
 Objective reason
No development opportunities
- Maybe the employees already understand how their work is tied to the
fulfillment of the company’s mission. It’s not enough to have a sense of
purpose and feel effective at a job. Humans crave improvement.
 Regular training and development opportunities
- The value of ongoing learning potential and the sense that they’re expanding
and improving their skills and knowledge.
 Stagnant, non-progressive and uninspired working environment ->
motivation levels will soon dwindle
- However, goals that are too easy don’t inspire maximum effort.
 strike the right balance: not so easy that it’s boring, but not so difficult that
the employee sees it as unattainable
Too heavy workload and low salary
- Power distance -> lack of understanding between employers and employees,
difficulty in expressing thoughts and feelings to employers
 Even when employees feel overwhelmed at work, they may not tell their
boss. Much of the time, they’re eager to please their boss and don’t want to
appear incompetent if they admit they can’t accomplish something.
- Low salary compared to the heavy workload
 Lack of time for other parts of personal life
 Job dissatisfaction and low level of motivation
Job dissatisfaction: Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs -> applied in workplace
- Motivation is the result of a person's attempt at meeting five basic needs.
 Physiological: the most basic human needs -> need access to vital services and
opportunities while at work.
E.g: You need access to a restroom, a place to get drinking water, breaks to eat
meals and snacks, and a comfortable working environment.
 Safety: 2 aspects of safety in workplace
+ a safe workplace
+ feeling emotionally safe and supported
 Love/belonging: opportunities for relationship-building 
 Esteem: the feeling of growing, advancing and achieving results as well as
recognition of other people
 Self-actualization: the feeling of empowerment and trust, which encourages
growth and engagement ->maximizing an individual’s potential at work
 When these basic needs are not fulfilled, employees can not reach their full
potential at work.
 A lack of motivation could stem from a basic need being unmet.