Having a purpose at work, and being validated for your work by your managers and colleagues is very important. Generally, we both like to be rewarded for our hard work through fair compensation, and validation. Research shows that in some cases, validation was even a bigger need, than a good compensation, and those employees stayed longer, and happier who were given continuous feedback (KPI-s) on their work as opposed to the annual ones.
Companies can also benefit from keeping their employees motivated and productive, and retaining their top talent. In one survey of more than 2,000 respondents, the meaning of work was ranked higher than compensation including salary, benefits, bonuses, etc. The other interesting thing ranked above compensation was working with team members who are fun to work with. If managers understand their employees’ needs better, it can be a win-win.
Meeting the needs of employees enhances business morale, success, and productivity. By having a happy and motivated workforce, employees are likely to go to competitors less, what’s more, they can contribute to a healthy work environment. As a consequence of their acknowledged work, services, and enhanced productivity, they bring more friends or referrals to work for their company. Mental, emotional, and physical investment into staff usually pays off.
1 Security
In today’s uncertain and ever-changing world, a long-term secure workplace is a blessing. If employees feel uncertain about their work, they usually start looking for new opportunities. Everyone wants to feel appreciated for their hard work and feel safe. If you encourage open communication about the business plans, keep your employees up to date on what they may expect. Chances are if employees like working for you, and the company, they will want to stay.
By being transparent about your team members’ future role in the business, you can earn their trust and commitment, which can also benefit you! Meanwhile, you should get to know your team members in as much depth as possible, discourage gossip and clicks, as well unfair workplace behavior. Encourage an open-door policy, and welcome any questions related to business or employee matters, and performance.
2 Fair Compensation
This is one of the best motivators for your staff. They should be fairly compensated for their work, otherwise, they could quickly leave. You should assess their salaries annually, making sure that their earnings are reasonable and competitive in the job market. Consider giving a raise if someone has taken up extra responsibilities or does more than one main task at the same time.
If you can provide bonuses and rewards for exceptional performance, your employees will probably want to stick with you. Monetary incentives could show you appreciate their work, make them feel valued, and motivate them to work even better and harder.
3 Feedback and Validation
Every employee would love to receive feedback and validation if they are doing a good job, and what they often don’t get: guidance on what and how they could improve. By giving your employees honest feedback, they could better focus on achieving their goals. Try to encourage open communication, sharing ideas and suggestions with no judgment, and keep regular brainstorming sessions.
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Employees would love to be heard more, and by enabling them to work together on solutions, you could not only create a better work atmosphere, but your company could also be thankful for your incentive. It might take a lot of time to schedule one-to-one employee meetings regularly, but if you can listen to and speak with your team members about their ideas and concerns, your invested time will return to greater performance of your business.
4 A Healthy Work Environment
Employees need you to see them as valuable human beings and prefer workplaces where the leadership cares about their physical and mental wellbeing. In Western societies, a growing number of companies encourage their employees to engage in regular physical activity, but the least to stand up from their desks to move or exercise for a few minutes every hour.
Highly aware employers know that healthy employees can focus on their job duties a lot more sharply, what’s more, they also tend to miss fewer days of work for health reasons. Besides offering employees packages of competitive benefits such as health, dental, and vision insurance, you could also provide them with a workplace health and wellness program to contribute to their wellbeing.
You could offer any of the following health, wellness, and fitness initiatives: mandatory days off and vacations, mental health days, standing desks, free or discounted gym memberships, healthy snacks, and meals, workplace yoga, meditation, or even massage, paid/free health screenings, seminars on healthy lifestyle, diet, and exercise, fitness and weight loss challenges.
5 Work-Life Balance
To have a healthy sense of work-life balance, employees need optimal working hours coupled with enough space for recreation. If they cannot recharge their batteries, chances are, they can sooner or later get burned out. You don’t want them to start hating their job, feeling stressed, overworked, and underachieved. If they can balance their career with their personal life, and have some work satisfaction, they will want to stay.
You could encourage work-life balance by allowing remote or hybrid work, or work from their home office if they have a good reason. If your company can offer flexible working hours, this could be a big plus for many workers. Also, consider offering generous paid time off. When you see your employees feeling down, encourage them to take days off, or go on holiday. Allow them to spend time with their family, or go to appointments without negative consequences.
6 Belonging to a Great Team
Especially since the start of the pandemic, with the growing number of hybrid work styles as well as working entirely from a home office, employees have a bigger need than ever to socialize and belong to a great team. It makes them feel valued, and as they belong to a company. You could invest in your team members by paying special attention to every one of them, greeting them in advance, asking them about their friends, family, and hobbies, depending on their openness.
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This would encourage a more open work atmosphere and could also inspire them to initiate a conversation with one another. To motivate them even further, whenever possible, you should organize team-building events, social get-togethers, lunch, dinner, and celebrating each holiday along with their achievements. Everyone needs an enjoyable work atmosphere, and positive, uplifting connections, even at work.
Bottom Line
Bringing out the best of your team can save you plenty of headaches and pay your efforts back in the long run! Employees need to be validated for their hard work and efforts. They need to feel trusted with their decisions inside and outside of work. Encourage an open, positive, and respectful atmosphere, where good ideas can be discussed during brainstorming sessions, without judgment, and criticism.
Recognizing the importance of a healthy mind and healthy body, providing workers with on-site meals, treatments, and fitness sessions could bring amazing work results! Allow employees to go on breaks when they need, and necessary appointments without judgment. These are crucial for a successful employer-employee collaboration.
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