How to prevent employees from lying down? Are rewards ineffective? Use this one trick to make employees say goodbye to "lying down"!

These days, it has become the norm for employees to "lay flat". Do you still expect them to stand up by relying on rewards? Wake up, brother, the reality is not that beautiful!

Why do employees "lie down"? Relying on benefits alone is not enough

I saw a point of view this morning that said using benefits to stimulate employee enthusiasm. It sounds really good, doesn’t it?

If the rewards are generous enough, employees will naturally work harder?

But sorry, I have to pour some cold water on you.

Someone once conducted an experiment.

It’s a very simple task, and whoever completes it will be rewarded with 500 yuan.

Sounds tempting, right?

The results of it?

A month later, only 20% of people took action.

What about the rest?

Either say "I'm too busy and don't have time" or just play dead.

They say they want to make money, but their actual actions are as slow as a snail.

Maybe you think the rewards are not enough?

How about a little more?

But the reality is that most tasks in grassroots positions are of that kind - trivial but necessary work.

To put it bluntly, no one wants to do it no matter how much money they are offered.

Not everyone is willing to work hard for money. Some people are born to "lie down as long as they can."

Stop believing in "incentives" and punish "lying flat" by first imposing "punishments"

I know that nowadays many bosses and HRs start to learn about "incentive policies" when they talk about management.

Various bonuses, year-end bonuses, commissions, dividends... there are a lot of options.

But are these really the right remedies?

For some highly motivated employees, maybe.

But for most grassroots employees?

Sorry, it didn't work.

why?

Because incentives are for those who "want better".

But among the 80% of employees in the company, the ones who really bother you are the people at the “lowest line”.

Those who cannot complete tasks, are often lazy, and do things perfunctorily.

You can't defeat them with just "awards".

Their thinking is simple: "If I can't get it, forget it. I won't lose anything anyway."

But if you say, "If you don't finish it, you will be fined 200."

They suddenly woke up: "Damn it, this matter can't be delayed."

Is that a bit like a procrastinator?

"If you don't do your homework today, you can still live tomorrow."

"If I don't write tomorrow, I can still live the day after tomorrow."

Until the teacher said: "If you don't hand it in, you will get 0 points."

He stayed up all night to catch up on his homework.

The core of grassroots management: rewards are the icing on the cake, while punishment is the root cause

Don't get me wrong, I'm not asking you to be a monster.

It doesn't mean you can deduct money or scold people if you disagree with something.

But you have to understand that the management logic of grassroots employees is different from what you imagine.

You think human nature is good, but the reality is that human nature is lazy.

Especially when the job is not something you love and you do it just to make a living.

At this time, it would be more helpful if you set clear standards and punishment mechanisms.

In one project, we tried to set up a clear “operation manual”.

For example, you must clock in at 8 a.m., and you will be fined 1 yuan if you are one minute late.

Each missed customer call will result in a 20 yuan fine.

Some people were dissatisfied at first, but gradually they got used to it.

Because the standards and boundaries are clear, no one dares to slack off.

Some people even feel relieved.

Because they know: "As long as I don't cross the line, I can do my job safely."

It's like traffic rules.

Order is not maintained by everyone's "moral consciousness", but by traffic lights and tickets.

Stop copying Fat Donglai. You are neither fat nor Donglai.

When many people hear the word "will be punished", they immediately cite the example of Pang Donglai.

“Fat Donglai doesn’t punish people, their base salary is high, and their employees feel happy .”

Brother, wake up.

Pangdonglai’s management logic is established under the premise of extremely high standards.

It’s not that he doesn’t punish employees, he just uses an extremely powerful system to make them operate “automatically”.

Every position has an extremely detailed SOP (Standard Operating Procedure), and employees who don't perform well will naturally be replaced.

Besides, they make hundreds of millions in profit every year. How can a small company like yours learn such “tolerant management”?

If you want to learn, first see if you have the system and profit.

Don’t think of yourself as a “saint boss” before you earn enough to pay your employees’ salaries.

How to formulate an "effective" punishment mechanism?科学design

Here comes the point: not all "punishments" are effective.

If you adopt a rough management style where you frequently scold employees and reduce their wages, your employees will leave sooner or later.

A truly effective punishment mechanism must meet several conditions:

1. Make the standards clear and not ambiguous

Tell employees: "You must do this, and if you don't do it, you will be punished."

For example: "Make 30 calls every day, and you will be fined 5 yuan for every call less."

The standards are specific and clear, leaving no room for ambiguity.

2. Punishment should be painful but not fatal

The penalty was so light that no one cared;

The punishment was too severe, so everyone quit immediately.

Finding the balance point of "painful but bearable" is the art of management.

3. Punishment must be carried out and cannot be discounted

If you say you will punish them today and then let them off the hook tomorrow, your employees will immediately see through you.

Once you let go, all punishment mechanisms will be invalid.

Remember: if the system is not implemented, it does not exist.

4. Awards should be given, but they should be rare and precise

Punishment sets the bottom line, while rewards set the top line.

The award is given to the 20% of people who are willing to work harder and do a better job.

It should be less, better, and "enviable".

In this way, employees will feel: "I can get promoted if I work hard, but I will suffer if I don't work hard."

This is an effective management loop.

Let’s talk about “incentive policy” again: Don’t rush to reward, lay a solid foundation first

Many companies nowadays readily imitate Google and ByteDance, offering things like flexible work arrangements, unlimited snacks, and office slides...

But if you look closely, behind all of this is extremely sophisticated KPI management, full data-driven, and extremely strong execution support.

For us small and medium-sized enterprises, there are people who take advantage of loopholes even when we punch in, so how can we talk about "self-management"?

Really, don’t rush to implement “humanistic management”.

You have to manage your laziness first.

First suppress those "slacking" behaviors, then talk about "motivating leaps forward."

Management is not about learning how to bake a cake first, but about learning how to bake rice first.

Don't think you can achieve everything in one go. The victory will come if you don't let your employees do nothing.

Punishment is the bottom line, reward is the high line, don't put the cart before the horse

Why do employees “lie down”?

It’s not because they don’t want to do it, but because they know that “they won’t die if they lie down.”

Therefore, you need to create an atmosphere where "lying down will kill you".

Of course, it is not to let employees live in fear every day, but to let them know that there is a price to pay for not working hard.

This cost must be clear, specific and perceptible.

Motivation is of course important, but that is another story.

Without the "foundation" of punishment, the "high-rise building" of incentives will only collapse.

The core of company management is not “how to make good employees better” but “how to prevent ordinary employees from lying down”.

This is the key to determining the lower limit of the enterprise.

Final Thoughts

• Rewards are not a panacea, especially for grassroots positions.
• The punishment mechanism can better curb the "lying flat" phenomenon.
• The premise for effective management is clear standards and strict implementation.
• Incentive policies should be precise and scarce as a tool to break through the ceiling.
• Don't blindly imitate big companies. The key is to start from laying a solid foundation.

Therefore, instead of thinking about how to encourage employees to stand up every day, it is better to find ways to prevent them from lying down.