26 Jun Turning “Take This Job and Shove It” Into “Take This Job and LOVE It!”
Quiet-quitting. Loud-quitting. Regular-flavored “two-week notice” quitting. Whatever you want to call it, companies that don’t meet their workers’ needs are bound to produce disgruntled employees. Only 23% of the world’s employees report feeling engaged at work, according to new research by Gallup. Most, 59%, report being passively disengaged, while 18% say they are actively disengaged. Why? Low pay and long hours are a couple of the usual suspects. Other problems include poor management behavior, misalignment between each individual’s culture and values not aligning with the organization, poor job fit, and lack of opportunities to continue to learn.
Disengaged employees feel directionless, and don’t have a sense of purpose within their organization. It is still a candidate market, as 53% of employees feel it is still a good time to get a job in their area. Employees can and will pick up and go to another company that meets their needs if their current role does not. Whether employees are more passive or aggressive in the way they are “just getting by” at work, employers need to make changes to keep workers from leaving.
The key to keeping employees is to get them engaged with their work. Engaged employees feel valued, that what they do makes a difference, and that they have a clear trajectory within the company. Below are a few of the many ways to help your workforce out:
- Revisit your company’s mission & values. Your employees started working with you because you shared goals and values. Are you still living up to your own standards? Have goals changed? Do they match where your employees are at now?
- Show your employees how the work they do directly makes an impact. They want to know that what they are doing makes a difference. Show them that they matter, that they are an essential component!
- Give your employees the resources they need to succeed. This will vary, and can be anything from a mentorship program & career development, to partnerships with other companies, to insurance, to a pay increase. Employees will find those benefits elsewhere if you aren’t providing them.
- Make sure the work your employees are doing matches their work style, and make sure you are managing them the way they need to be managed. If someone who prefers autonomy and variety is being micromanaged while they do a repetitive task, of course they will be upset! The same goes for someone who needs guidance and routine who is left to their own devices on a project built only around a vague theme.
- Talk to your employees, and find out what is bothering them. Gently note that they haven’t seemed as engaged at work, and ask them what you can do to help. Take what they say seriously, even if it seems like a small issue. Clearly it isn’t small if it is affecting your opportunities for growth and productivity.
- Reduce stress and burnout sources within the workplace. This will also vary depending on your company’s structure, and can be anything from discouraging after-hours work, to removing “busy work” and unnecessary tasks from employee workflows, to reducing employee hours (but not their pay).
Remember, the right people, in the right jobs, managed by leaders who care makes all the difference in the world when it comes to engagement. For more information on implementing these strategies, and for all your management training needs, contact us today!