Effects of demotivation on employee performance in an

organization. A case study of Reach One Touch One

Ministries (ROTOM).
Introduction:
The study will be focusing on de-motivation factors affecting employee performance negatively.
Motivation of employees in an organization is paramount in improving organization
effectiveness and efficiency of an organization. Motivation is defined as all internal and
external driving forces that makes the individual to perform an activity, what determines
the limits and forms of activity and which give it its activities oriented towards achieving
certain goals [Duică, 2008: 142].
Employee performance are job related activities expected of a worker and how well those
activities were executed. (http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/employee-
performance.html).
Reach One Touch One Ministries (ROTOM) is a not for profit organization supporting older
persons and those under their care in the districts of Mukono and Rukiga.

Background:
Reach One Touch One Ministries has been in operation for the last 15years, however during the
years the organization has faced numerous challenges related to low staff motivation which in
the end has resulted into low performance among employees. ROTOM currently has 42 staff and
It is estimated that out of the 42 about 5 for every 10 staff feel demotivated. It is against this
background that I would like to dig deep and find out what are some of the demotivating factors
leading low performance.
Problem Statement:
As we look at demotivation, there are different factors affecting it. According to the article “The
Dos and Don’ts of Managing People by Nikos Audriotis” he puts forward issues that affect
demotivation among employees in an organization.
He looks at poor management style especially being overly zealous about what each team
member is doing and when is a surefire to breed discontent, as it may be perceived as a lack of
trust in other people’s abilities. Employees are recruited on the basis of their skills and abilities,
so let them get on with the job and trust them to do it well. Related to this, it’s important to bear
in mind that autonomy is a crucial factor to produce motivated, engaged employees. If a manager
is figuratively breathing down a team member’s neck all day, every day, it’s obvious that that
spirit of independence isn’t going to happen, having rules that just don’t work: rules that are
illogical, unfair or unnecessarily harsh, they will breed discontent among employees, inconsistent
approach; employees feeling as if they are being treated inconsistently – for example, that one
person in the team seems to get preferential treatment, or tasks are unfairly distributed then
demotivation will plummet.
Treating everyone just the same just demotivates, treating everyone equally sounds great, but in
fact, in a corporate environment, it can be damaging to overall staff morale and motivation. If
your most outstanding, productive employees know that they will be treated exactly the same as
the least productive team member, what will happen to how they feel about work? Equally, it
means that those low performers will feel no incentive to improve. Result: demotivation all
round. Ignoring achievements; One thing that can lead to a distinct lack of employee motivation
is the absence of praise, or simple recognition of a job well done, shying away from being a
leader and not being the example. There is always a ‘do as I say, do not do as I do’ approach:
making employees appear at times to be afraid of their own shadows. Either direction will have a
significant and adverse effect on motivation.
Further, the greatest of motivating and demotivating factors is how you communicate with your
employees. There really is nothing more damaging to employee morale than the feeling that they
are being kept out of the loop on important information and decisions and treating your team as
employees not people.
According to surveys done in ROTOM, It is estimated that out of the 42 about 5 out of every 10
staff feel demotivated.
This is a concern among many organizations that the above key factors are causing demotivated
staff leading to low performance and failure to meet intended organization goals.