What To Do With Unhappy Employees?

A survey in the U.K. found 55.6% professionals are not happy in their current roles. Despite the discontent, 57% viewed quitting as not necessarily the solution for their predicament.

The top three reasons for employee unhappiness, as surveyed by CV-Library, include:

i. not paid enough (38.9%);

ii. absence of room for progression (32.6%);

iii. poor company culture (30.8%)

An employee needs to be kept happy to maintain a good atmosphere in an organization. Satisfied employees come up with novel ideas and vigour in their work. It is not necessary every employee is happy but there are several things to improve an environment:

(i) give attention to problems or hindrances in the workplace;

(ii) try to create a friendly environment, for higher output and contentment;

(iii) provide opportunities to grow on the job or through training;

(iv) give weightage to employee opinions for more innovative ideas to surface;

(v) demolish false accusations quickly;

(vi) avoid stagnation in promotions – output is affected and it may be better to be honest with the employee, so that they could move on if not required in the present team;

(vii) give recognition to an employee where it is due – always easier said than done. In a competitive corporate environment, it is likely for one to behave like a “prima donna” and expect adulation rather than share the glory with a team;

(viii) interact with employees – many just want a conversation or interaction on a daily basis;

(ix) provide flexible working hours – many have issues in following fixed hours of work. Flexibility of an hour before or after work allows many to feel less “threatened” by traffic or domestic issues. Technology can assist in monitoring hours of work of an employee.

(x) provide competitive performance-based salaries (and/or bonuses). This is important for lower end employees who are motivated largely by salaries/remuneration. And in some cases, millennials will change jobs for just 10% (or less) increments.

Employee satisfaction is just as important as business plans and investment income. Discontent always leads to uncreative, infertile and poor output. It is for employers to find the fruitful steps to take to create a cheerful workplace.

Reference:

Adelle Chua, Top 10 reasons employees are unhappy in their jobs www.hcamag.com

Krishna Reddy, Unhappy Employees in the Workplace – What to do? www.content.wisestep.com