Love it or hate it, the world cup is everywhere, and England have got off to a surprisingly good start. Yesterday evening, after having already qualified for the knockout stages, they played their final group game against Belgium.

Unsurprisingly it was a rather dull affair as both teams had qualified and both put out their ‘B’ team to ensure that the better players were well rested for the knock out stages. In typical English style, we lost 1-0 with many critics arguing we were losing our winning momentum. Some would put this down to complacency. We were through so why try harder? Why risk injuries?

These are valid points but if England were to lose their first knockout game (which would be that big a shock), many would look back at this game and say the team were too complacent and so let their guard down and didn’t try as hard as they could have. Had we played the last group game to win, we would have kept the momentum and the winning feeling going, ensuring everyone was fired up for the knock out game.

Of course, we won’t know this until it comes to pass but the point is there, and it wouldn’t be the first time a team has lost a game of football due to complacency.
But complacency isn’t confined to the football pitch. In the office, staff can become complacent in their roles. Office complacency can occur for a variety of reasons however they are generally rooted in the belief that the company is already leading the way without putting in the effort to make sure it is.

Complacency can also occur if work is repetitive or continually unchallenging. It can happen without staff realising it and can seriously impact productivity.

What Signs Are There?

  • Staff disengagement
  • Less Initiative being taken
  • Loss of passion
  • No self-investment
  • Reduction in risk taking
  • Loss of motivation

Complacency can manifest itself in other ways however they will generally follow a similar pattern to the ones listed. But don’t worry, there are several ways you can motivate your staff to reduce complacency and boost productivity.

  • Incentivise
  • Spruce up the office
  • Move desks around
  • Improve training opportunities
  • Create initiatives
  • Create a sense of urgency.

The key is to start getting your staff to engage again, to take pride in their work and their career path. Enhancing your company culture with a combination of team building and employee empowerment will boost productivity and help reduce complacency.