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How Leaders Can Help Stressed Employees

8/31/2021

A recent Workhuman survey of more than 3,000 U.S. workers reveals a workforce in trouble. The data show 48 percent of employees agree they've experienced burnout, 61 percent feel elevated stress levels, and 32 percent agree that they have felt lonely at work.

Writing in Inc., Marcel Schwartes, founder and Chief Human Officer of Leadership From the Core, says that to ease the toll of the crisis, leaders will need a more human-centered approach to management. In order to increase a sense of psychological safety and encourage cooperation and collaboration:

Say “thank you” more often: Recognition builds connections between people. Naturally, receiving a "thank you" makes an employee feel appreciated. But showing appreciation for someone's efforts also improves positive feelings for the giver. “Mutual recognition and gratitude help people take off their emotional armor. When employees do that, they feel safer as well as more connected.”
Check in with employees more frequently: Only 29 percent of respondents in the Workhuman survey said they check in with their manager every week. But a weekly check-in increases a sense of psychological safety. More frequent feedback heightens growth, innovation, and inclusion.
Build resilience Into your culture: The “new normal” is an opportunity for a fresh start, and an increased emphasis on psychological safety. Consider formalizing appreciation and thank-you’s with a data-rich social recognition system.

What are you doing to lessen employee stress in your workplace? To join the conversation, click "comments" above.

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Three Key Motivators at Work

8/17/2021

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When employers first tried to motivate employees, their approach was almost entirely based on incentive pay: paying for piecemeal output so employees would work faster and produce more. But in our modern economy and workplace, motivation is far more complex. In a post in TED’s “How To Be A Better Human” series David Burkus, PhD., associate professor of management at Oral Roberts University and author of Under New Management, outlines three drivers of motivation according to self-determination theory (a theory of behavior that addresses people's inherent growth tendencies and innate psychological needs).

Autonomy: In the context of work, autonomy means people feel they have a say in what they work on and how they work on it. They feel empowered rather than micromanaged. Creating a sense of autonomy in an individual or team can come from mutually assigned objectives and deadlines, or by giving people more freedom over where they work and what they work on.
Competence: This refers to the desire to experience mastery. People are motivated through learning at work. To facilitate learning, managers can offer constructive feedback, give praise when warranted, and take the time to celebrate wins, large and small.
Relatedness: Relatedness refers to our desire to connect with others. Humans are much more motivated to take actions when they’re seen as pro-social — that is, when they’re seen as being able to help other people. Creating a sense of relatedness in an individual or on a team means making sure people build connections to each other. “But it also means making sure people know the significance of what they’re being asked to do and how it relates to the whole team and the organization’s larger objectives. Even better, you might frame the team’s work in a way that makes it quite clear exactly who is helped by the actions of the organization, the team, and even the individual.”

What motivates you at work, and how do you help motivate others? To join the conversation, click "comments" above.

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Helping Employees Find Their Inner Purpose

8/3/2021

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Employees feel more engaged and satisfied with their jobs when they believe their company supports their own career and life ambitions.

No matter one’s job, industry, or career, we all benefit from finding a personal sense of meaning in what we do. And good managers help their employees to find their inner purpose. Writing in the Harvard Business Review, Kristi Hedges, a senior leadership coach and author of The Inspiration Code suggests regular check-ins that use five areas of inquiry to help employees identify and explore their inner purpose:

What are you good at doing? What have you gotten noticed for throughout your career? What do you take on because you believe you’re the best person to do it? The idea here is to help people identify their strengths.
What do you enjoy? In a typical workweek, what do you look forward to? If you could design your job with no restrictions, how would you spend your time? These questions help people find or rediscover what they love about work.
What feels most useful? Which work outcomes make you most proud? Which of your tasks are most critical to the team or organization? What are the highest priorities for your life and how does your work fit in? This line of inquiry highlights the inherent value of certain work.
What creates a sense of forward momentum? What are you learning that you’ll use in the future? What do you envision for yourself next? How is your work today getting you closer to what you want? The goal here is to help advance toward future goals.
How do you relate to others? Which working partnerships feel best to you? What would an office of your favorite people look like? Does your work enhance your family and social connections? These questions encourage people to foster relationships that make their work more meaningful.

How did you discover your own inner purpose, and what do you do to help others find meaning at work? To join the conversation, click "comments" above.

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How Leaders Can Help Stressed Employees

Three Key Motivators at Work

Helping Employees Find Their Inner Purpose

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