As a manager or an HR personnel, it’s quite easy to get obsessed to find employees who are ‘perfect’, but we’ve learned over the years that no matter the effort we put into finding a person that has the right skill set, the right culture fit, there’s just no way to create a formula for the perfect employee. It’s a dream for every company to find employees who do well with work individually, but also knows how to be a team player.
But what if the problem are not your employees, but the person tasked to guide and encourage them to be productive? A couple of studies reveal that one of the biggest challenges for employees is their stressful relationship with their direct manager.
It’s no secret that a lot of employees end up getting over-stressed with what they do and most important who they answer to, and thus, you’ll find a lot of them looking at every opportunity to find a new company.
Hogan Assessments recently did a study on what would make them stay in a company. The results show that 65% of their employee participants would instead request for a new direct manager than for a pay raise.
We looked at another research conducted by Inc. and learned that 75 % of their employee participants find that their manager is the worst part of their job.
We know that what keeps an employee productive and motivated is their level of happiness and contentment with the company they are working for. At first, we believed that higher pay was the formula to achieve the satisfaction employees aim for, but the recent studies we found proved otherwise.
After digging more studies related to employee motivation and productivity, we discovered that these three factors are indeed what encourages employees to give their best at work.
1. Time Off From Work
For a small business, it’s not so easy to let your employees go, even for just a few days. After all, you need to keep the company going. That’s what you hired your employees for.
But a poll by the American Psychological Association suggested that 69 % of people usually get burned out from work due to lack of ‘me time’ and spending quality time with their immediate family.
As an employer or manager, you want the benefits of having your employees work for you for the rest of the calendar year. Still, if you don’t let your employees take time off, the stress your people incur can impact the motivation and dedication they have for the company in the long run.
It’s not the manager’s job to promote work-life balance for their employees but think of it as some managing strategy to hit the kind of work performance the company is aiming for.
2. Office Parties
Employees love being told that they are doing a good job. When people feel appreciated for the things they do, there is more likely chance they are going to do a lot better in the future.
But if there is one thing employees love more than performance acknowledgments, it would be office parties.
Employees don’t usually have a lot of time to spare to socialize with their co-workers, but having worked in the corporate world for so long, we know that deep inside your employees which they could jam with the people they work with as well.
Sure your employees can always party with their friends outside the office, but no one understands their stress better than their co-workers.
This is why it’s such a healthy habit for companies to hold office parties. Aside from being an avenue for relaxation, office parties also help create camaraderie within the company.
When In Work surveyed their employees one time, and guess what they found out. There were nine of 10 employees who confessed that they would be severely disappointed if their office parties would suddenly be cut off.
On that note, another set of nine out of 10 employees also said they believed office parties are an essential part of team building.
3. Feedback And An Open Culture
For most employees, there’s more to a job than merely being an end to a means. A lot of the workers I’ve met are genuinely interested in career growth. So, it’s no wonder there are many employees, who, apart from salary, also look at the culture of the company they work for.
On top of that, people also appreciate a company that can provide them feedback every time they submit their work.
It’s already a common habit for companies to provide positive feedback to employees, but more than that, people might also appreciate being given a set of tips on how they can get better. We know that employees would love to hear about the steps they can take so they can climb the corporate ladder.
Management is always out looking for potential candidates for their company, but we think they also need to take a look at people who aren’t as good as their ideal candidate but are more than willing to be trained. It’s not about how good an employee is. It’s about one’s flexibility and loyalty to the company they work for.
References:
The Real Productivity-Killer: Jerks
Is your direct manager the worst part of your job?