Many employees have had fantasies of escaping the office with a fanfare. They want nothing more than to tell their bosses where they can stick their crummy job. Then they walk out, head held high, without a care in the world. But for most working people, this is something that will never come to pass.
The question for employers, however, is why their employees are having these thoughts in the first place. Sure, some people working for you will always feel put out by deadlines and demands for quality work. But for the most part, thoughts like these are caused by an unhealthy working environment.
You might say you don’t care about that, so long as you’re employing people within the letter of the law. But an unhappy workforce is an unproductive one. Their unproductivity is, therefore, costing you money. High turnover, poor quality output, and low motivation all contribute to bringing your business down, ultimately costing you profits.
What can change your employee’s viewpoint of the workplace? If they could tell you what they wanted, here’s what they would say.
“We Want To Decide When We Work”
From an early age, we learn that every day follows a set pattern. We wake up, brush our teeth, put on our clothes, and go to school. While we’re at school, a bell – just like in prison – tells us when we need to move onto the next activity whether that’s a class, recess, or something else. We’re brought up with a set, daily routine drummed into us.
Employers continue this tradition in the workplace, assigning specific work hours. In some work environments, you even have to clock in or report to someone to let them know when you arrive and leave. But in many industries in today’s dynamic, virtual economy, it doesn’t matter what time of day many workers do their job. What’s more, demanding is that workers have to spend eight hours in the office during the day with no options offered to them. This makes them unhappy because they can’t take advantage of the flexibility today’s society allows for.
Why not offer them the best of both worlds. The trick is to let them plan their schedule around the work, with the only insistence that work is done on time and they attend all required meetings. It’s a radical approach but one that works for many innovative firms.
“We Want More Attention”
It’s not your job to be mom and dad to your employees, but that doesn’t mean that you should leave them to their own devices entirely. Employees want a bit of guidance – not everybody is an independent, free-thinking entrepreneur.
It doesn’t take any special training either. You can go up to a worker, any time of day, and casually ask how things are going. Encourage them to share if they are struggling with anything, even if there’s nothing you can do to help. The simple act of listening makes a big difference in morale.
“We Want Development”
Millennials are the biggest contingent of today’s workforce, now overtaking retiring baby boomers. Their needs are different from those of generations past: they want development more than anything. Millennials want their future to be better than their present, and they want meaningful work – the sort of stuff that requires training.
Firms like ej4 have stepped into the market to provide eLearning opportunities to companies with development needs. But more importantly, they provide employers with a means to attract the best talent. You can also consider bringing in trainers to provide lunch and learns, or specially designed workshops. Employers who can provide development opportunities will fare much better overall.
“We Want Responsibility”
People want to feel powerful in their own world, whatever that might be. They need responsibility, but sometimes it can be hard for employers to give it.
Turning over responsibility can make those at the top more vulnerable. Rather than dealing with issues themselves, they must delegate, reducing their personal efficacy. It can be tough, but it’s something that all successful companies do. Take Valve, creator of the online gaming platform, Steam. The company doesn’t have any hierarchy at all. Instead, employees think about problems they’d like and need to solve. They then work with others to make their solutions a reality. It’s a bizarre concept for most managers, but it turns out it works very well. The company has grown stronger over the years. Employees are happy too, with Valve having one of the lowest staff turnovers in the sector.
“We Want Challenge”
A cynical view of the modern workforce says that workers want the most amount of money for the least amount of effort. But is that really true? Certainly not when you add passion and drive to the mix.
Sure, workers doing the same rote tasks, day after day, may become bored by their work. Although many do, employers should not ignore the boredom and do nothing about it. The key, according to Jeff Gunther, a Silicon Valley entrepreneur, is to set measurable goals. Often called stretch goals, these targets should provide a challenge to employees that stop them from watching the clock or becoming complacent. Challenge is difficult, but you should find most people thrive on it, especially your most talented workers.
“We Want A Reason For Doing Our Work”
We don’t like to think about “purpose” in the modern world because it doesn’t seem very scientific. But whether or not people have a purpose in life, they want to feel as if they do.
Some companies are on a worthwhile mission to save the world, Tesla and SpaceX being two prominent examples. But the majority of people work for companies that aren’t. As a leader of a company, your job is to find ways to inject some purpose into the daily lives of your employees.
Often, just giving employees a chance to make a difference can reap huge benefits. It could be something as simple as implementing a new lunchtime menu, or as tricky as overhauling a product for the sake of the long-term survival of the company. Whatever it is, so long as employees feel they have a purpose, they will find more joy in the work they do.
Savvy employers now realize they can have the best of both worlds: happy and productive employees. You can have the best of both worlds in your company by keeping in mind what your employees really want to feel as if they are truly part of the team. If you’re not sure what they want, just ask them. In the end, you will have happy and productive employees that will stick around for many years to come. Here’s to YOUR success!
Carolyn R. Owens has over 25 years of proven experience and serves as a Career Strategist, Executive and Leadership Coach. She is the President of Infinity Coaching, Inc. where she can help you up-level your skills, so you can up-level your income, career, business or life. Infinity Coaching, Inc. provides coaching, organizational training, personality assessments, and a signature program, the Infinity Coaching Inner Circle. Carolyn is certified to give both The Energy Leadership Index Assessment and Myers Briggs Type Indicator Assessment. You can find out more about both assessments and other products and services at https://infinitycoaching.net.
