Do you ever had the displeasure of managing disgruntled staffs? Well, this situation should be avoided at all costs.

We all know that happy employees are productive ones. Not only does unhappiness at work distract people from getting things done, it demotivates them–and everyone within their sphere of influence–from doing good work.

If not everyone on your team is excited to come to the office every day, it’s time to look at what you might be doing wrong. There are at least 10 ways to manage disgruntled staffs.

1. Find out what motivates employees and incentivise them appropriately.

Whether it’s bonuses, the freedom to work from home or free lunches, take the time to learn what really drives each employee on your team. Find out what makes them excited, happy, and a way to make the work environment better for them.

2. Communicate clear expectations and directions.

Disharmony can result if people don’t fully understand their roles, or if their job functions overlap with someone else’s. As the manager, it is better to write down each person expectations. That way, they know what they are supposed to be doing and what you expect of them.

3. Avoid micromanaging at all costs.

No one enjoys having someone else’s hands and eyes all over their work. It is not good for bosses either, who aren’t focusing on their own tasks. Just empower your team to be successful by giving them the tools to make it happen.

4. Do what you say you are going do.

It is a matter of leading by example and keeping your promises. For example, do not say you are going to implement a new policy that gives everyone an extra day off every quarter and then not make it happen. If you don’t live up to that, they are not going to take you seriously the next time you actually say something that you mean.

5. Give them a chance to be entrepreneurial within your company.

Help them get excited about something within the business and watch it grow. People like taking ownership. If they have cool projects that they are excited about, they can share it with their teammates and their friends and celebrate their own little venture within your company.

See: Science Claims Happy Employees are More Productive

6. Give them rain days off to do cool things.

Recent beautiful weather could be a cue to give everyone in the office a day off. It is a chance to give them a breather or a paid break. Those little things are clearly please people.

7. Listen to their concerns and value their input.

If someone isn’t happy, find out why and what you can do about it. One negative teammate can really sink the whole ship. Check in with everybody, at least a couple times a week, to just see how they are doing, what they have got going on, and how they feel.

8. Give them the toys they need to do their job well.

In other words, do not be stingy. If someone needs a new device or computer, make it happen. Buy the equipment, buy the software, buy the extra mouse. Don’t be cheap. If it is going to make people more productive, so spend the money on it.

9. Let people fail on things that don’t matter.

It can be tempting to redirect someone if you see him or her steering in the wrong direction, but on non-critical missions letting a person make mistakes might be the better course for long-term learning.

Failure is a big motivator. Stopping them midway is psychologically less impactful than making a decision that ends up failing.

10. Thank employees when they do something well.

If someone works hard, stays late or puts in extra effort make sure to acknowledge it. Human beings like feeling good, and everybody loves hearing a ‘Thank you’.

See also: Happy Employees, But Not Costly

Source: Inc