With that in mind, it’s important to find a way to enjoy the workplace.
A healthy work environment is a place where people want to go. People find joy, purpose and fulfillment in a healthy work environment. If they don’t find these things, then they won’t stay.
Today’s workplace needs to be fun and congenial. Negativity, unresolved issues, conflict or inappropriate demands make the office unhealthy. Individuals can’t stay. It’s bad for their health.
If bosses take care of employees and engage them, customers and clients will benefit. Workers will stay. The bottom line will improve.
There are a lot of good people looking for a wonderful place to work. Seventy percent of Americans today are unhappy in the workplace. How can this be changed?
You may just be an employee, but you can make the workplace better. Focus on being an asset to the company. Do what’s expected and a little more. Come to work with a smile and be gracious. The more engaged you are, the more engaged your clients will be. Your value increases when your clients are engaged and happy. Your employer should see your value and nurture the retention of employees like you.
It costs about one year’s salary to replace a great employee when she leaves a job. This includes the time between giving notice and departure, looking for a replacement, training a new hire and getting her up to speed.
Women face some unique challenges when trying to improve the workplace. A boss may feel that if he’s not correcting you, then you should know you’re doing a good job. Humans need reinforcement for positive behavior. No reinforcement is connoted as negative reinforcement.
Women may also need more flexibility in the schedule, because they are typically the primary caretakers of children. There needs to be some flexibility and coordination between teammates when parenting requires a shift in schedule. No one will take advantage of the flexibility if cooperation is the theme. If someone does take advantage, it can be handled by confronting the issue with care and understanding to immediately resolve the issue.
If there is a problem, look at the unacceptable behavior. It’s not about the person or personality. Is the behavior harming the business? If so, it needs to be addressed. Many bosses don’t want to cause more difficulty by confronting the issue. Others shake people up by publicly reprimanding the individual. These tactics don’t work out well.
Is the unacceptable behavior harming the team or the company as a whole? The boss can schedule a meeting to sit down and work out what can be improved. The topic of the meeting needs to be made known ahead of time so she doesn’t stew and spend the time leading up to the meeting in anxiety.
Your work environment will be much better if individuals on the team know what’s expected of them in their own roles in the company. They deserve the respect and the honor to receive the education, feedback and support to perform their jobs well. Appreciation is a more valuable motivator to people in the workplace than money. A leader’s job is to help the workers be better because it reflects on the leader. You can be better together.
Listen in as Dr. Cathy Jameson shares tips so you can improve your outlook and attitude surrounding the workplace.
Cathy Jameson, PhD, is a consultant, writer, workshop leader and international speaker. She has published six books and over 1,500 articles in various magazines and newsletters.