State of reduced performance. How to get rid of fatigue and improve performance
If the causes of depression are quite difficult to determine, then when a person’s performance decreases, the reasons, as a rule, are not so many and they are easily recognizable. Let's consider these reasons along with the recommendations that a consulting psychologist could offer to a client in connection with them.
Reason 1. Physical fatigue of a person. As a cause of decreased performance, it mainly acts in cases where a person for a long time have to perform work that requires significant physical exertion. This is basically various types heavy physical labor, which modern conditions are quite rare.
In this case, to prevent fatigue, it is necessary to rationally organize a physical activity regimen, thinking it over in such a way that a person rests, restoring his performance even before he has obvious signs of physical fatigue.
The client can achieve this in the following way. Observe his work for a sufficient period of time and try to understand when, after prolonged physical activity, he first begins to notice noticeable signs of fatigue. Having recorded the time intervals at which they regularly appear, it will be necessary to reduce the time of continuous operation by approximately 3–5 minutes, i.e. make intervals between moments of physical work such that during them obvious signs of fatigue do not appear.
We must always remember that during heavy physical work, in any case, it is better to take frequent, but short-term rest breaks than one long and fairly long break. As a result, a person will be able to significantly increase his physical performance, and at the same time he will be much less tired.
Reason 2. Illness or physical illness can also cause a decrease in a person's performance. This reason appears when any normal conditions in the body are disrupted. physiological functions. Their change can be detected if clinical examination the client really confirms this fact.
Let us note, however, that simply a person’s poor health, including physical health, is not a sufficient basis for drawing a conclusion about the existence of this reason, since physical condition This kind of behavior can be generated in the client by the socio-psychological reasons indicated below.
If socio-psychological causes of decreased performance are identified, the client is advised to rest, but if complete rest is not possible, then reduce physical and psychological stress to a minimum for a while.
True, such recommendations are generally only suitable for people who are not accustomed to heavy loads. As for those who are accustomed to significant loads in life and for whom they are normal, a sharp reduction in loads cannot be recommended for them, since a quick and significant change in their usual lifestyle can cause negative consequences for them. For such persons, physical activity, even during a period of malaise, should remain quite large, but feasible.
The load should be adjusted by the client himself according to his own well-being. Self-regulation will allow him to maintain his performance at a high level.
Reason 3. Monotonous work can also lead to a decrease in a person's performance. Such work creates a state of fatigue and reduces a person’s performance, not because it is unbearable and difficult for him, but because of its purely psychological fatigue. This is a very common factor in decreased performance, which practically occurs in all people, regardless of what they have to do in life, since any type of work can contain elements of monotony and, therefore, lead to fatigue.
The practical solution to the problem of increasing performance in this case is to minimize monotony in human activity, to make it as varied and interesting as possible. To do this, you need to carefully analyze what this person studies during the day, think through his life schedule in such a way that the conditions and nature of work change more or less systematically. As for determining the time intervals during which a person’s work can remain monotonous, to clarify them it is advisable to use the recommendations already made when discussing the first reason.
The optimal mode of operation is one in which significant mental stress in some periods of time alternates for a person with average or weak physical activity in other periods of time, and vice versa: significant physical activity at some moments of activity they are accompanied by average or weak mental stress at other moments of human activity.
Note that it is not recommended to simultaneously combine strong or weak physical activity with the same mental stress, since in this case, strong stress of one type or another can themselves cause fatigue. Weak mental and physical stress does not contribute to switching attention from one type of activity to another.
The task of alternating mental and physical stress comes down to ensuring that, while restoring a person’s performance in one type of activity, he does not tire him out in another type of activity.
Reason 4. The next reason for decreased performance may be work that is simply not interesting for a person. Here, the problem of maintaining performance at the proper level is mainly of a motivational nature and, therefore, a means of increasing a person’s performance concerns enhancing the motivation of his activities.
Let's look at how this could be done practically. But first of all, let’s find out what really influences a person’s motivation. Let's use the following formula for this:
M.d. = N.z.p. x V.u.n.z.p. x O. u.n.z.p. + D.p. x V.u.d.p. x O.u.d.p.,
M.d. – motivation of activity,
N.z.p. – the most significant need associated with this activity,
V.u.n.z.p. – the likelihood of satisfying the most significant need for the relevant type of activity,
O.u.n.z.p. – expectation of satisfying this need in this type of activity,
D.p. – other human needs that can be satisfied through this type of activity,
V.u.d.p. – the likelihood of satisfying other human needs in this type of activity,
O.u.d.p. – expectation of satisfaction of other human needs in a given type of activity.
Let's consider general principles application of this formula to the solution of the problem of increasing motivation for human activity that interests us.
M.d. – this is the strength of a person’s real desire to engage in the relevant type of activity. The more M.D., the higher a person’s performance, and vice versa, the less M.D., the lower a person's performance. The main way to increase and maintain human performance is, accordingly, to strengthen M.d.
What does the motivation of activity depend on? First of all, it depends on the strength of the most significant need that can be satisfied with the help of this type of activity. In the above formula, the strength of the corresponding need is indicated as N.z.p.(most significant need). If engaging in an appropriate type of activity meets this human need, then this will maintain the person’s interest in the activity and, therefore, maintain his performance.
But, unfortunately, this is not always the case, and it often turns out that one, the most significant need to maintain interest in an activity is not enough. Then the motivation of activity must be strengthened by involving other motives and human needs in the management of activity, which can also be satisfied with the help of appropriate activities. There may be several such needs, and they are indicated by the abbreviation in the above formula D.p.(other needs).
In addition to the needs themselves, motivation can be influenced additional factors, such as the probability of need satisfaction and the expectation that in a given situation the corresponding needs will actually be satisfied.
Man is a rational being, and every time he takes specific actions, he is guided by certain motives and evaluates how much his needs can really be satisfied.
If they can be fully satisfied, then his interest in activities and, consequently, his performance will be the highest. If, when starting an activity, a person does not count in advance on the full satisfaction of current needs in the given conditions, then his interest in the activity and, accordingly, his performance in it will be much lower than in the first case.
The same goes for expecting success. With a 100% expectation of success, the motivation for activity will be stronger than with a partial expectation of success. Both – the likelihood of need satisfaction and the expectation of success – can be treated as the most significant need (V.u.n.z.p. And O.u.n.z.p.), and to other needs (V.u.d.p. And O.u.d.p.).
Let us now consider, using a specific example, how a consulting psychologist can practically use this formula. Let's say that a client contacts a psychologist who complains that he has been engaged in creative work for a long time, but recently his performance has decreased significantly. Let us also assume that all the other previously considered reasons for the decline in performance were not discovered in the process of consulting work with this client, and only one, last reason remained, associated with a possible lack of motivation for activity.
Then the consulting psychologist will have to begin developing this particular version of the cause and work with the client according to the following plan. For example:
1. In a conversation with the client, try to understand for yourself and, in addition, help the client understand the needs for the satisfaction of which he is engaged in this type of activity, where the decrease in his performance occurred. The counselor and client will need to work together to determine why the client's performance has decreased.
It is possible that this happened because engaging in the relevant type of activity at a given point in time no longer fully satisfies the client’s needs. For example, it could happen that previously this person (he may be a scientist, writer, engineer or artist) received quite decent fees for the results of his creative work, but now his creative work has actually depreciated.
2. Together with the client, try to find new, additional incentives in his work. Such incentives could be other motives and needs that he has not yet thought about and which could well be satisfied by this type of activity.
In order to practically find these additional motives, it is necessary to determine for what purpose, in addition to satisfying the main need, the client is ready to engage in the same type of activity that he is currently engaged in. Having found and indicated such motives to the client, it is necessary to rebuild the hierarchy of his needs, which underlies the corresponding activity, so that the top level in it is now occupied by new motives and needs.
Psychologically, this means that it is necessary to change or give a new meaning to the previous activity. If, for example, it turns out that previously the client was engaged in creative work mainly for the sake of earning money, then for prestige, recognition from the people around him, then now it is necessary to try to convince him that self-respect can mean no less to a person than prestige and earnings. By convincing the client of this, you can further restore his performance through increased motivation and increased internal interest in creative work
3. The third desirable step towards increasing motivation is to review with the client the conditions of his life and prove that in reality the client has a much better chance of satisfying his most significant and other needs through appropriate activities than he previously thought that his expectation of success is objectively higher than he previously assumed.
In our example, this means the following: explain to the client that with the help of his creative work you can not only earn more, but also ensure that he is respected more and that he values himself more highly as a person.
When consulting a client on these issues, the psychologist, together with him, must find ways and draw the client’s attention to how best to achieve the desired result. In practical terms, in relation to, for example, a creative person who has lost his ability to work, this, in particular, means that together with him it is necessary to develop a specific, very realistic plan for such practical actions, designed for the near future, the implementation of which should restore and increase the lost efficiency client.
Reason 5. Next possible reason The client’s unpleasant experiences associated with events and affairs in his life that are not directly related to the work he is performing at a given time may cause a decrease in performance.
This reason is usually not directly related to the activity in which a person is engaged, and, therefore, ways to eliminate it lie beyond the regulation of motivation or the content of the corresponding activity.
The conclusion about the existence of a given reason for a decrease in performance in a client is reached if, during a conversation with him, the presence of none of the previously discussed reasons is confirmed. However, for an unmistakable conclusion that such a cause is actually active, direct confirmation of the fact of its existence is necessary.
This can be done, for example, as a result of analyzing the client’s answers to the following questions (they are usually asked to the client after it has been firmly established that the reasons described above are not really valid):
What happened in your life before or at the time when you really felt that your performance began to decline?
What reaction did this event evoke in you?
What did you do yourself to cope with the problem that arose?
Did you manage to solve this problem? If it failed, then why?
If in the client’s answers to these questions it turns out that some significant events in his life have really happened recently, if, in addition, it turns out that among these events there were very unpleasant ones that gave rise to long-term, negative experiences in the client, if, finally , it turns out that the client tried to cope with them, but could not, and the corresponding problems have not yet been resolved, then from all this it follows that the discussed reason for the decrease in performance really exists. In this case, together with the client, it will be necessary to begin to find a way to solve it and eliminate the corresponding cause.
Not every person is able to constantly experience vigor and sufficient performance. Some deterioration in general well-being periodically occurs in each of us. And this is completely natural, because our body is not a machine, and from time to time the processes occurring in it may be disrupted. However, if you constantly experience poor health, you should not ignore it. Let's talk on this page www.site about what a decrease in performance is, we'll look at the symptoms of such disorders on the mental and physical plane in a little more detail.
Decreased mental performance
A decrease in mental performance can manifest itself in many different symptoms.
Patients with this problem usually complain of significant loss of concentration. It is difficult for them to do any work, since they simply cannot concentrate on the task at hand. Such people suffer from increased absent-mindedness and inattention. Their memory is significantly reduced.
General capacity during mental stress decreases, and to compensate for it, a person has to make pronounced volitional efforts. Also, with a decrease in mental performance, patients complain of a significant decrease in physical strength, and they may develop sleep disorders.
Decreased physical performance. Symptoms
In general, a decrease in physical performance is accompanied by the same manifestations as a decrease in mental performance. The severity of such a disorder may vary depending on its stage. In addition to the symptoms already described, a decrease in physical performance may be accompanied by impaired muscle strength and painful sensations in the muscles. With severe physical fatigue, the patient’s indicators of physical performance decrease, and the activity of the cardiovascular, respiratory, and also may change for the worse. muscular system.
Why might there be a decrease in the body's performance?
The most common cause of such disorders is overwork. If you tend to overwork, put a lot of stress on your body and bring yourself to the point of collapsing from fatigue, then a decrease in performance is a completely normal phenomenon.
In addition, quite often a person’s ability to perform mental or physical work decreases due to illness or physical illness. This disorder may be due to lack of sleep, especially if the lack of sleep is chronic. Of course, deterioration in performance can occur with an unbalanced diet if the body receives an insufficient amount of vitamins and minerals, calories, etc. Among other things, experts say that such a disorder can occur when a person takes alcoholic drinks, when smoking or exposure to other toxic elements.
Thus, a constant decrease in mental and physical performance can occur against the background of exposure to a variety of factors. And under no circumstances should such a symptom be left unattended.
Correction of decreased mental and physical performance
To stop the decline in mental and physical performance, you must first change your lifestyle.
The patient is strongly recommended to sleep at least seven hours a day, and it is worth falling asleep not at midnight, but at least a couple of hours before it. It is advisable to go to bed at the same time, as well as force yourself to wake up.
A complete and balanced diet plays an extremely important role, saturating the body with all the nutrients it needs (vitamins, minerals, amino acids, fats and other particles). It would be a good idea to include B vitamins, vitamin E and vitamin C in your diet as part of multivitamin complexes.
Try to calculate your strength and reduce the load on the body. Don't waste energy or try to accomplish more than you can. Reduce the stress on yourself at home and at work.
Try to correct the flow of information that pours into you every day. Do not clog your brain with unnecessary and even harmful information.
Walk outdoors more often and be sure to go out into the sun. Also learn to avoid stress or deal with it correctly.
Of course, if a person has any diseases, it is necessary to take measures to treat them. Otherwise, restoration of functionality is impossible.
Traditional treatment
Folk remedies will help cope with a decrease in mental and physical performance. But you should not consider them as a cure for all diseases. Such medications can have a general strengthening effect.
Taking a honey-nut mixture has an excellent effect. Combine three hundred grams of honey with one hundred grams of well-chopped nuts and freshly squeezed juice from three lemons. Also add one hundred and fifty milliliters of aloe juice to this composition. Beat the resulting mixture with a blender. To achieve a positive effect, you need to take the medicine a teaspoon three times a day, about half an hour before meals.
Also positive effect gives the intake of adaptogen plants: ginseng, Eleutherococcus, Leuzea safflower, Schisandra, etc. Medicines based on them can be purchased at any pharmacy.
In the constant need to work and earn money, a person has to exhaust all his resources in order to manage to complete all assigned tasks. But everyone’s safety margin is different, and sometimes the amount of work capacity runs out, turning work activity into a real hell. In this case, it is necessary to urgently begin to restore your own strength, both physical and moral.
Reasons for decreased performance
1. Chronic diseases, the symptoms of which include suppression of the activity of the central nervous system. This manifests itself in drowsiness, increased laziness, clumsy behavior and absent-mindedness. A condition that is often called a period when everything falls out of hand. Along with this, chronic fatigue develops - where you get up, you fall asleep there, which, undoubtedly, is big problem for a person dependent on work activity.
2. On the contrary, an overexcited nervous system, depression, regular stress, which exhaust you and distract the activity of neurons to heal existing damage in the nerve fibers, while they should be directly responsible for your attentiveness, reaction and performance. The cause of overexcitation may be completely natural physiological characteristics, or reception medications, excessive consumption of coffee and tea.
3. Overwork. As a rule, this state based on overwork, insufficient sleep and improper daily routine. Lack of vacation and the need to work on weekends accelerates the process of overwork. If you eliminate the factors that cause fatigue in time or can significantly reduce them, then overwork can be quickly eliminated.
4. Lack of sleep, sleep disturbances. This provokes disruptions in the functioning of the central nervous system, develops a state of irritability, depression, and worsens general health, reduces immunity.
5. Psychological factor. Sometimes work is just annoying. You don’t like what you do, you don’t receive satisfaction, either aesthetic or material, which creates a certain pressure on the psyche and reduces activity in the workplace. A situation arises where you have to do everything “under pressure”, as a result of which your performance decreases.
6. Incorrect work schedule. Incorrect allocation of important and unimportant tasks leads to the fact that you spend more effort and time than is actually necessary. This contributes to increased fatigue and overwork, and then decreased performance.
7. Large consumption of carbohydrates, in particular sweets and sugar.
How to improve performance
To improve performance, it is necessary to adhere to a whole set of measures. Eliminating just one of the reasons is not enough, since the reluctance or inability to work is usually caused by several factors at once, and not just one thing.
1. Treatment of existing diseases. If performance has sharply decreased and is accompanied by chronic fatigue, drowsiness, laziness, difficulty waking up and irritability, a tendency to depression and stress, then it is important to exclude a number serious illnesses, which can develop in the endocrine and nervous system. It is worth noting that this condition is also typical for cancer. They may be accompanied by periodic pain and a general decrease in immunity. Also pay special attention to existing chronic diseases.
2. Active life position. It’s not enough to overcome yourself and get up for work in the morning. To cope with laziness, which goes hand in hand with decreased performance, you must force yourself to get up - to do at least something, but not to lie down. This operates on the principle of feedback - the neurons of the brain give a signal to action, but the action also helps the neurons give the signals necessary for this!
3. If possible, change your type of activity, get another job or open your favorite business! Work activity should bring not only practical benefits, but also aesthetic pleasure, then fatigue can be overcome on a psychological level.
4. If your performance is reduced due to psychological factors, something prevents you from moving on, contact a psychologist, tell us about the problems that may hinder your active work and climb up the career ladder.
5. Play sports. Physical activity is an important component of an active life in all areas. Increased tone muscles, improved health, improved blood circulation and oxygen supply to the body help fight stress and cope with assigned tasks more effectively.
6. Know when to stop! Workaholism is a useful trait only at specific moments in your life. It is not suitable for regular use, as it leads to a gradual depletion of a person’s nervous and physical reserves of strength, contributing to a decrease in performance. Use the weekend for your development and relaxation, plan a vacation, make it varied.
7. Practice time management! Make the planning of your affairs and tasks as efficient as possible. Numerous online time management guides and advice from businessmen who have to spend their time as actively as possible will help you create the right plan. This will help you prioritize your work correctly.
8. Adjust your diet in favor of eating more fiber and completely avoiding all types of fast food! Reduce your intake of carbohydrates - their excess suppresses the central nervous system and negatively affects attention and reaction.
Prevention of decline in performance
1. Hold healthy image life. None bad habits! Optimal water consumption. A diet worthy of a healthy and self-confident person - more seasonal vegetables and fruits, rich in fiber, macro and microelements. Treat yourself to seafood and avoid very fatty, sweet foods and canned food. Monitor your cholesterol and blood sugar levels!
2. Lead active image life. In a healthy body not only healthy mind, but also a high level of performance!
3. Go on vacation regularly. Use it not for lying on the couch, but for development, physical and moral - travel, go hiking, communicate, play active team games, have fun, share the positive yourself. From each vacation, take something new into your life that will motivate you for further work, which will be a symbolic confirmation that you are not working in vain.
4. Weekends should be for rest and relaxation, not for finishing work! If you don’t have time to do something on the weekend, it means you need to seriously reconsider your plans and priorities for completing certain tasks.
5. Always write down your plans, tasks, keep a notebook with annual, monthly and daily plans - this will help you avoid getting confused a huge number life tasks and necessities, which means maintaining mental balance and saving a lot of physical strength. This will help strengthen the position of performance at a high level and make work activities as efficient as possible!
6. Don’t put everything on your shoulders - each person should have his own responsibilities for which he must be responsible!
Zinaida Rublevskaya
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Decreased performance
If the causes of depression are quite difficult to determine, then when a person’s performance decreases, the reasons, as a rule, are not so many and they are easily recognizable. Let's consider these reasons along with the recommendations that a consulting psychologist could offer to a client in connection with them.
Reason 1. Physical fatigue of a person. As a cause of decreased performance, it mainly acts in cases where a person has to do work that requires significant physical exertion for a long time. These are mainly various types of heavy physical labor, which are quite rare in modern conditions.
In this case, to prevent fatigue, it is necessary to rationally organize a physical activity regimen, thinking it over in such a way that a person rests, restoring his performance even before he has obvious signs of physical fatigue.
The client can achieve this in the following way. Observe his work for a sufficient period of time and try to understand when, after prolonged physical activity, he first begins to notice noticeable signs of fatigue. Having recorded the time intervals at which they regularly appear, it will be necessary to reduce the time of continuous operation by approximately 3–5 minutes, i.e. make intervals between moments of physical work such that during them obvious signs of fatigue do not appear.
We must always remember that during heavy physical work, in any case, it is better to take frequent, but short-term rest breaks than one long and fairly long break. As a result, a person will be able to significantly increase his physical performance, and at the same time he will be much less tired.
Reason 2. Illness or physical illness can also cause a decrease in a person's performance. This reason appears when any normal physiological functions in the body are disrupted. Their change can be stated if the clinical examination of the client really confirms this fact.
Let us note, however, that simply a person’s poor health, including physical health, is not a sufficient basis for drawing a conclusion about the existence of this reason, since a physical condition of this kind can be generated in a client by the socio-psychological reasons indicated below.
If socio-psychological causes of decreased performance are identified, the client is advised to rest, but if complete rest is not possible, then reduce physical and psychological stress to a minimum for a while.
True, such recommendations are generally only suitable for people who are not accustomed to heavy loads. As for those who are accustomed to significant loads in life and for whom they are normal, a sharp reduction in loads cannot be recommended for them, since a quick and significant change in their usual lifestyle can cause negative consequences for them. For such persons, physical activity, even during a period of malaise, should remain quite large, but feasible.
The load should be adjusted by the client himself according to his own well-being. Self-regulation will allow him to maintain his performance at a high level.
Reason 3. Monotonous work can also lead to a decrease in a person's performance. Such work creates a state of fatigue and reduces a person’s performance, not because it is unbearable and difficult for him, but because of its purely psychological fatigue. This is a very common factor in decreased performance, which practically occurs in all people, regardless of what they have to do in life, since any type of work can contain elements of monotony and, therefore, lead to fatigue.
The practical solution to the problem of increasing performance in this case is to minimize monotony in human activity, to make it as varied and interesting as possible. To do this, you need to carefully analyze what a given person does during the day, think through his life schedule in such a way that the conditions and nature of work change more or less systematically. As for determining the time intervals during which a person’s work can remain monotonous, to clarify them it is advisable to use the recommendations already made when discussing the first reason.
The optimal mode of operation is one in which significant mental stress in some periods of time alternates with average or weak physical activity in other periods of time, and vice versa: significant physical activity at some points in activity is accompanied by average or weak mental stress at other times in a person’s activity. .
Note that it is not recommended to simultaneously combine strong or weak physical activity with the same mental stress, since in this case, strong stress of one type or another can themselves cause fatigue. Weak mental and physical stress does not contribute to switching attention from one type of activity to another.
The task of alternating mental and physical stress comes down to ensuring that, while restoring a person’s performance in one type of activity, he does not tire him out in another type of activity.
Reason 4. The next reason for decreased performance may be work that is simply not interesting for a person. Here, the problem of maintaining performance at the proper level is mainly of a motivational nature and, therefore, a means of increasing a person’s performance concerns enhancing the motivation of his activities.
Let's look at how this could be done practically. But first of all, let’s find out what really influences a person’s motivation. Let's use the following formula for this:
M.d. = N.z.p. X V.u.n.z.p. x O. u.n.z.p. + D.p. X V.u.d.p. X O.u.d.p.,
M.d. – motivation of activity,
N.z.p. – the most significant need associated with this activity,
V.u.n.z.p. – the likelihood of satisfying the most significant need for the relevant type of activity,
O.u.n.z.p. – expectation of satisfying this need in this type of activity,
D.p. – other human needs that can be satisfied through this type of activity,
V.u.d.p. – the likelihood of satisfying other human needs in this type of activity,
O.u.d.p. – expectation of satisfaction of other human needs in a given type of activity.
Let us consider the general principles of applying this formula to solving the problem of increasing motivation for human activity that interests us.
M.d. – this is the strength of a person’s real desire to engage in the relevant type of activity. The more M.D., the higher a person’s performance, and vice versa, the less M.D., the lower a person's performance. The main way to increase and maintain human performance is, accordingly, to strengthen M.d.
What does the motivation of activity depend on? First of all, it depends on the strength of the most significant need that can be satisfied with the help of this type of activity. In the above formula, the strength of the corresponding need is indicated as N.z.p.(most significant need). If engaging in an appropriate type of activity meets this human need, then this will maintain the person’s interest in the activity and, therefore, maintain his performance.
But, unfortunately, this is not always the case, and it often turns out that one, the most significant need to maintain interest in an activity is not enough. Then the motivation of activity must be strengthened by involving other motives and human needs in the management of activity, which can also be satisfied with the help of appropriate activities. There may be several such needs, and they are indicated by the abbreviation in the above formula D.p.(other needs).
In addition to the needs themselves, motivation may be influenced by additional factors, such as the likelihood of need satisfaction and the expectation that in a given situation the corresponding needs will actually be satisfied.
Man is a rational being, and every time he takes specific actions, he is guided by certain motives and evaluates how much his needs can really be satisfied.
If they can be fully satisfied, then his interest in activities and, consequently, his performance will be the highest. If, when starting an activity, a person does not count in advance on the full satisfaction of current needs in the given conditions, then his interest in the activity and, accordingly, his performance in it will be much lower than in the first case.
The same goes for expecting success. With a 100% expectation of success, the motivation for activity will be stronger than with a partial expectation of success. Both – the likelihood of need satisfaction and the expectation of success – can be treated as the most significant need (V.u.n.z.p. And O.u.n.z.p.), and to other needs (V.u.d.p. And O.u.d.p.).
Let us now consider, using a specific example, how a consulting psychologist can practically use this formula. Let's say that a client contacts a psychologist who complains that he has been engaged in creative work for a long time, but recently his performance has decreased significantly. Let us also assume that all the other previously considered reasons for the decline in performance were not discovered in the process of consulting work with this client, and only one, last reason remained, associated with a possible lack of motivation for activity.
Then the consulting psychologist will have to begin developing this particular version of the cause and work with the client according to the following plan. For example:
1. In a conversation with the client, try to understand for yourself and, in addition, help the client understand the needs for the satisfaction of which he is engaged in this type of activity, where the decrease in his performance occurred. The counselor and client will need to work together to determine why the client's performance has decreased.
It is possible that this happened because engaging in the relevant type of activity at a given point in time no longer fully satisfies the client’s needs. For example, it could happen that previously this person (he may be a scientist, writer, engineer or artist) received quite decent fees for the results of his creative work, but now his creative work has actually depreciated.
2. Together with the client, try to find new, additional incentives in his work. Such incentives could be other motives and needs that he has not yet thought about and which could well be satisfied by this type of activity.
In order to practically find these additional motives, it is necessary to determine for what purpose, in addition to satisfying the main need, the client is ready to engage in the same type of activity that he is currently engaged in. Having found and indicated such motives to the client, it is necessary to rebuild the hierarchy of his needs, which underlies the corresponding activity, so that the top level in it is now occupied by new motives and needs.
Psychologically, this means that it is necessary to change or give a new meaning to the previous activity. If, for example, it turns out that previously the client was engaged in creative work mainly for the sake of earning money, then for prestige, recognition from the people around him, then now it is necessary to try to convince him that self-respect can mean no less to a person than prestige and earnings. By convincing the client of this, you can further restore his performance through increased motivation and increased internal interest in creative work
3. The third desirable step towards increasing motivation is to review with the client the conditions of his life and prove that in reality the client has a much better chance of satisfying his most significant and other needs through appropriate activities than he previously thought that his expectation of success is objectively higher than he previously assumed.
In our example, this means the following: explain to the client that with the help of his creative work you can not only earn more, but also ensure that he is respected more and that he values himself more highly as a person.
When consulting a client on these issues, the psychologist, together with him, must find ways and draw the client’s attention to how best to achieve the desired result. In practical terms, in relation to, for example, a creative person who has lost his ability to work, this, in particular, means that together with him it is necessary to develop a specific, very realistic plan for such practical actions, designed for the near future, the implementation of which should restore and increase the lost efficiency client.
Reason 5. The next possible reason for a decrease in performance may be the client’s unpleasant experiences associated with events and affairs in his life that are not directly related to the work he is currently performing.
This reason is usually not directly related to the activity in which a person is engaged, and, therefore, ways to eliminate it lie beyond the regulation of motivation or the content of the corresponding activity.
The conclusion about the existence of a given reason for a decrease in performance in a client is reached if, during a conversation with him, the presence of none of the previously discussed reasons is confirmed. However, for an unmistakable conclusion that such a cause is actually active, direct confirmation of the fact of its existence is necessary.
This can be done, for example, as a result of analyzing the client’s answers to the following questions (they are usually asked to the client after it has been firmly established that the reasons described above are not really valid):
What happened in your life before or at the time when you really felt that your performance began to decline?
What reaction did this event evoke in you?
What did you do yourself to cope with the problem that arose?
Did you manage to solve this problem? If it failed, then why?
If in the client’s answers to these questions it turns out that some significant events in his life have really happened recently, if, in addition, it turns out that among these events there were very unpleasant ones that gave rise to long-term, negative experiences in the client, if, finally , it turns out that the client tried to cope with them, but could not, and the corresponding problems have not yet been resolved, then from all this it follows that the discussed reason for the decrease in performance really exists. In this case, together with the client, it will be necessary to begin to find a way to solve it and eliminate the corresponding cause.