In an infographic published by Office Vibe, the site enumerated the 10 most important employee engagement statistics for 2017. The most notable ones are as follows:
- 3 in every 5 employees wish to get more frequent praises on their work.
- More than half of workers (51%) are contemplating on leaving their current jobs.
- The percentage of engaged employees is measly, amounting to only 13% worldwide.
- In average, 7 out of 10 employees wish to spend more time with their superiors.
Not to mention the expected 20% increase in sales for businesses with highly engaged employees, the benefits of employee engagement is indeed massive – both on financial and personal standpoints.
Meanwhile, poor employee engagement stemming from low workplace morale is detrimental for every business. It drives turnover costs, and hamper with overall productivity and efficiency metrics. The working atmosphere isn’t conducive, and everyone’s not performing to their full potential.
As a manager or business owner, you’re the first influencer of morale in your workplace. You set the culture, and devise ways to make work more fulfilling.
But as bona fide human beings, you’re bound to make some mistakes too, even without noticing it at times. Below are five clear red flags regarding employee morale that you should abstain from:
- Micromanaging
This comes 4th in the list of Kim Bhasin, a senior reporter from The Huffington Post. Kim believes that “when you micromanage an employee, you’re telling them that you don’t trust their abilities.”
Carrying out tasks is of utmost importance for employees, but you don’t have to bug them every single minute for updates and work reminders. It’s an absolute mockery of their independence and competence.
Instead of frequently second guessing their work, an acceptable practice is to ask them to send progress reports at least once or twice for the day. If you have revisions and suggestions to make, I’m pretty sure your collaboration platforms at work will enable you to give insights to the employee even remotely.
Even if the pay and benefits are competitive, an employee may be discouraged to come to work if they sense substantial mistrust from you.
- Subtle or direct jabs at their credibility
At times, you use criticisms and hope employees will receive it as a challenge, instead of a personal tirade.
Even if your intentions are good, you can’t expect all employees to be receptive to that approach.
When having hard talks with employees, never EVER bring out their credibility. Here are few statements that provoke employees:
“Sometimes I wonder if you’re really an MIT alum.”
“Guess I have to dig up your records.”
By uttering these words, you’re showing the door to an employee. Those heart wrenching remarks will reverberate in an employee’s mind every day and before he goes to sleep. It’ll be forever embedded in his memory.
Why not go for a more challenging and supportive approach?
“You’re way better than this.”
“Your monthly performance is terrible, but I’m willing to give you the ropes.”
Build employees, instead of obliterating them.
- Dealing with employees publicly
No employee would want to be embarrassed in front of his colleagues. For instance, have you made it a habit to sit alongside your employee’s desk? Perhaps your voice still echoes on his neighboring workmates while you’re lecturing him.
This may lead to a great deal of shame for the employee, since you exposed his weak points to almost every member of the team. Others will be wary of your attitude too.
The best avenue for discussion is still in the four corners of your personal office or other isolated areas nearby. This way, you’ll have a more open discussion as the employee won’t get distracted from any audience but you.
You may also want to reduce those occasions you give high heaps of praise to an employee publicly. If you do it inconsistently, others will think that you play favorites.
- Inadequate personal support
Majority of small businesses today are done in this setting: employees work at the principal place of office, while employers monitor them remotely.
If you’re just appearing personally to hand them their paychecks, you’re doing it wrong.
As per Chron contributor George N. Root III, “both the boss and employee need to commit to the concept of teamwork […]”
However, that concept can be impaired if you always hide in the shadows. Employees need to feel that their concerns are being catered by a real human. It boosts team synergy because they’re seeing something who takes charge with daily operations.
There’s just lots of communication barrier in online communication, so put a premium in live interactions with your men too.
- Cronyism
When you inject a new hire to your team simply because that person’s a family member of yours, you’re dispersing an uncompetitive aura in the workplace.
If you approved someone who lacks the requisite skills incumbent in his position, what would prevent your employees from thinking that the person will climb up the ranks effortlessly?
This not only result to lost productivity from the person you erroneously hired, but also lack of engagement brought upon by perceived injustice.
Chron suggests to “support a committee approach to interviewing before a candidate can be hired.”
As a wrap-up, employee morale and engagement are responses. It’s reflective of the values, beliefs, and practices you instilled in the workplace as a leader. By shying away from the above mentioned practices, you can expect to bolster your team’s confidence on you and the employment opportunities you provide.
Author’s Bio
Lester Corey teaches Literature in Yale University. Most people think that teaching is the only thing he does for a living, but little do they know that he also writer essays for writingpaper.org every night.