Guest blog: Ashley Lipman
Most people spent a bulk of their lives at work, yet these places aren’t always fulfilling and welcoming. Do you usually wake up in the morning feeling excited to go to work? If so, you’re in the minority. Whether you’re left wanting more connections in the workplace, or you don’t agree with management, it’s becoming normal to feel discomfort in the workplace.
What’s missing that makes employees feel more like a number than an actual asset to the company? This secret missing puzzle piece is humanity. Unhuman workplaces are the norm today, and they lead to low motivation and reduced performance.
Employees feel trapped in unhuman workplaces. They don’t feel they’re being heard, and they don’t think their goals align with those of the organization. Team efforts hardly happen at all, and employees keep to themselves until it’s time to clock out. Is your workplace struggling with its own humanity? It’s not too late to breathe new life into your employees’ routines. Here are 3 ways to create a more humane workplace.
1. Allow Freedom
Your employees need to trust you. More importantly, you need to trust them. This is why more and more companies are choosing to allow employees to work remotely or set their own hours. Some even allow employees to choose their own vacation allowances. This isn’t just to free up office space, research shows this type of freedom is beneficial to both employees and companies.
With tech tools like online productivity checkers and collaborative tools, it’s easier than ever to work from anywhere. This website lets employees clock in from anywhere, and request time off virtually. Even these small steps help the day run smoother. By introducing more freedom, companies can show employees they’re serious about their trust and their happiness.
2. Put Your Employees First
Companies are in a talent war. It’s a race to get the best candidates quickly since unemployment rates for skilled workers are lower than they’ve been in years. In all of this frenzy to find the best employees, organizations have forgotten what it takes to retain them. Putting all the emphasis on the recruitment process and not on the success of day-to-day operations will leave even the highest performing employees feeling exhausted.
How do companies make the right shift? By putting employees first. Recognize that your employees are your biggest asset, and seeing them succeed only means good things for your business. This goes beyond throwing a Christmas party once a year or celebrating birthdays. It means listening to employees and responding to their feedback. Instill ways for supervisors to connect with employees regularly to ensure they feel valued.
3. Capable Leadership
Trust starts at the top. When employees notice higher-ups showing up every day and failing to get their job done, this same lowered moral spreads through the entire office. Employees need leaders who take them seriously, and who are willing to work just as hard as they are. Underperforming management is a severe problem in many workplaces, but it doesn’t have to be that way.
Provide excellent leadership training for current supervisors. Showing them how to provide feedback and receive feedback will help employees feel more comfortable coming to managers with problems. These small initiatives to provide outstanding leadership will reflect on your company’s overall performance.
Give Employees Purpose
Your employees want to do their best. They want to help the company succeed. The issue is many workplaces are not designed around promoting this success in a healthy way. Focus on giving your employees real focus while still balancing their own health and happiness.
Employees who feel empowered to make their own decisions are more likely to be successful in the workplace. That might mean offering a few remote working days a month or holding weekly coffee breaks as a team. No matter how you decide to value your employees, do it with humanity.
This guest blog is written by Ashley Lipman, a super-connector who helps businesses find their audience online through outreach, partnerships, and networking. She frequently writes about the latest advancements in digital marketing and focuses her efforts on developing customized blogger outreach plans depending on the industry and competition.
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