How to Successfully Demotivate Employees and Drive Away the Best

There are various techniques you can use to demotivate employees. There are talented managers for whom this is innate and easy. Others require more time and effort. By following these guidelines, you will surely succeed. Not all people are the same or equally resilient, but if you are persistent enough, you will achieve your goal in 99 percent of cases. Some are excellent at demotivating, often without even realizing it. Moreover, they believe they are behaving in exactly the opposite way. Perhaps this text will enlighten them. I myself have only become aware of some things over time.

There is a danger that someone will notice such behavior and associate it with damage to the company in the form of poor performance, failure to achieve results, high turnover rates, and the associated additional costs, as well as the departure of the best… With a little discretion, blame-shifting techniques, especially if your superior does not pay attention to this topic or lacks sensitivity to it, you can avoid bad consequences for yourself or at least postpone them for a longer time.

There are many possibilities

The basic techniques (which often overlap) are: underestimation, micromanagement, criticism in front of larger groups, constant criticism, absence or poor reward systems, inability to implement positive changes, zero tolerance for mistakes, and vaguely defined tasks that you change on the go.

To demotivate those with the best results (combine with basic techniques), it works particularly well to: always burden the same individuals, give them boring tasks, reduce privileges, especially when there is no serious reason for it, take credit for what they have done, reward and promote those who do not deserve it, and procrastinate in making and implementing decisions.

Underestimation or devaluation has many variants and can be expressed in various ways. It is also contained in most other techniques. The basic principle is to show the person and others around them that they are not worth much in as many situations or at least in the important ones. Sometimes it is enough to wave your hand dismissively or roll your eyes. The higher you are positioned, the less you need; sometimes ignoring is sufficient. Everyone watches the bosses, especially the big ones, and they are eager to copy them. When you are the CEO, your words and actions carry special weight, so you can underestimate even casually; perhaps you do this without being aware of it.

Do not hesitate

Micromanagement is a common technique, a kind of underestimation (not only that) that is not so glaring. The more skilled and higher-paid the person you micromanage is, the better it is. Paying a professional a lot and then detailing what and how to do is an effective way to waste shareholders’ money. However, be careful that your superior does not ask when you will get to do your job (for which you are usually paid much more) if you are doing someone else’s. You can justify this with your sense of responsibility and the fact that people do their jobs poorly. If you know very little or nothing about a profession, specialists who have dedicated their lives to that topic will react particularly well to your suggestions or orders.

With one blow, you kill two birds: you underestimate both the person and the profession. Some areas are particularly suitable, for example, all types of design, but you should not hesitate even when it comes to completely exact matters. If you want to stay in a safe zone, correct unimportant details. Micromanagement is one of the techniques that many implement without being aware of it. There is a special psychological profile that leans towards it, but there are often those who are only intimately concerned about results, who take care of all the details, feel a great responsibility, and are sometimes proud of it. There is also another group, those who theoretically know everything about it, read books on micromanagement, but do not notice that they are implementing it themselves.

Someone will always help

Even employees who react well to criticism or are resistant to it do not like it when you give it in front of others. Criticize them often in front of as many people as possible, and most will falter, and you will surely find yourself in a group of colleagues who will help you with this. Constant criticism, even if not public, is an excellent demotivator. Combine it with the omission of praise and rewards. The basic thing is that you do not reward employees or reward them poorly, both financially and non-financially.

This is a particularly good approach to demotivating those with the best results. They are more irritated than others when things are done poorly and the inability to change that. When bad things are not fixed for a long time, responsible and ambitious individuals start to feel bad. It is convenient to announce positive changes, give them hope that they will happen, and then not do it. Repeat this several times, and some employees will start talking about it outside the company, preventing the arrival of new, quality, and ambitious personnel.

Defeat the stubborn

Where would we be if we tolerated mistakes? Constantly look for them and react to each one. Soon everyone will realize that it is better not to work, especially on something new or to suggest improvements. Do not listen to those who say that a good boss looks for well-done things to praise them. It is even better to give vague tasks. This allows people to waste time, ponder what you wanted, work and try, and you always have room to say that it is not good, that they do not understand what is needed, and make them do it again. Of course, if you do this in front of others, it is even more effective.

You can also let them work for a while and then slightly change the task. The more they do and spend time before changing direction, the better, as it is also more effective when you do this often.

Let’s return to the best. If someone carelessly shows that they know, can, and want, always give them all the difficult tasks. It can also be about a group of ambitious individuals. In general, it is important that the same people always do the demanding tasks. Do not burden those who do not want to work or do not want to learn something new; you will torture both yourself and them. There are stubborn individuals who obediently do everything for others for years, but with persistence, you will defeat and demotivate them too. For ambitious and creative individuals, boring tasks are an excellent choice. This is not difficult because work often consists of routine tasks. If something interesting comes up, definitely assign it to those who only like to do what they already know.

A brilliant demotivator

Reducing privileges is always an excellent demotivator. It is slightly weaker when they understand that the circumstances are such that it must be done, but if you do this when it is not necessary, then it is truly excellent. Enhance it with poor communication. When you reduce privileges without a good explanation, it also works excellently. Of the types of reductions, the best are large financial ones, followed by small savings on things that are important to employees but save the company little.

It does not matter who thought of or did what. What matters is who is their superior. Do not tell others who did what well; present it as your own merit. Subordinates will slowly lose their enthusiasm, and you will avoid a potentially uncomfortable situation where your superior thinks that someone else is worth something besides you.

When you have done a good job and have not praised and rewarded those who deserve it, you can deliver the final blow by promoting others. Choose those who do not do particularly well but are dear to you and always speak well of you, or those who got the job through connections and perform their tasks mediocrely or poorly.

Playing with deadlines

When a decision needs to be made, especially one that many people are waiting for to continue working, procrastinate. Your work and personal matters take priority. It does not matter that they may have been working for days and are now just waiting for confirmation to continue. They will not know whether to wait or start doing something else. The longer they wait, the greater the frustration, especially if you have told them that the matter is urgent. It also works well when you press them for deadlines after your procrastination. A similar variant is when you insist that something be finished quickly, and then do not use it or implement it with a significant delay. As can be seen, there are many ways, and not all are even listed. For example, do not under any circumstances explain your visions, inspire, or give additional meaning to working with some higher goal.

It seems to me that it is easier and requires less text when demotivating behaviors are presented in this form. Perhaps it is also better remembered. Many managers behave in one of the listed ways not because they are evil, but because they are not aware of it or do not notice the damage they are causing. I think I have criticized the most of what is described in meetings, in front of several colleagues. My excuse was that by failing to criticize, others would get the message that some behavior or performance is good or acceptable when it is not. Well, occasionally I have also micromanaged, but only things that I particularly love.

And be careful, if you act contrary to these tips, there is a high likelihood that you will have highly motivated, satisfied employees and an environment that is a good foundation for achieving goals and attaining top results.