Many of us spend a large portion of our days at work; in fact, the average person will spend 90,000 hours at work over a lifetime. Statistics revealed that an average human spends 1/3rd of their life at work, and yet many employees feel disgruntled and under-appreciated at work which in turn affects their overall well-being. As employers, it should be your responsibility to strive to make it a place employees look forward to visiting every day instead of merely living for the weekends. As a leader or as an organization, it is of utmost importance to create a haven for our employees that will not just improve the well-being of our employees but will translate into a thriving business and a prosperous work culture. Employees will perform at their peak only when they know they are valued and appreciated. So as employers, what can you do to show them that they truly matter? Here are four simple ways to show them you care.
1. Give Public Recognition
This can be done by creating a unique hashtag to appreciate your employees on social media channels, like KFC’s version of Employee Of The Month. Some companies have gone beyond that, such as Disney, which does a marvelous job expressing its appreciation for its employees. Disney has created the #castcompliment social media recognition program, allowing customers to recognize Cast Members via Twitter.
For an added personal touch, if a Cast Member’s name were included in correspondence from customers, Lee Cockerell, the former Executive Vice President of Operations, would make a copy of that letter and send it to the Cast Member along with a unique pin he had designed. He also recognized Cast Members for a job well done by writing a short note in the weekly employee newspaper, the Main Street Diary, or making a simple phone call.
2. Add Gratitude To The Agenda
Studies show that consistent gratitude practices within the workplace can transform an organization’s entire culture. When employers show appreciation regularly, employees report increased well-being, stronger relationships with coworkers, and increased job satisfaction. It can be saying a simple job well done or accommodating a flexible work arrangement for an employee who is a working mother.
Bensussen Deutsch & Associates, LLC. (BDA) was placed among WA’s 100 Best Companies to Work For in 2017. The company achieved this status as they worked hard to show appreciation daily and not just when they achieved an extraordinary feat in their career. Employees applauded their company for taking the time to care for and appreciate them through more than just yearly bonuses, creating opportunities for teams to connect and refuel through office events and activities.
3. Go Above And Beyond To Help Them
Merely assisting your employees with work-related issues does not suffice any longer. The great recession in 2021 is proof that employees will no longer be happy with the bare minimum. A great leader should keep his/her eyes open for ways to help with personal problems. Companies are revisiting their culture and transforming to inculcate care, and consideration for their employees like never before to overcome quiet quitting and burnout which is at an all-time high. An increase in parental leave, bereavement leave, and even period leaves are being offered by companies like Zomato.
Companies like AT&T are also helping burnt-out employees by offering mental health assistance to employees through text, email, or phone, while Chevron makes self-guided resilience resources available to all employees.
4. Find Ways To Make Your Workplace Happier
“Broadcasting a compliment makes both the giver and the receiver happier,” Bock wrote in his book: Work Rules!: Insights from Inside Google That Will Transform How You Live and Lead. Like this, try to find ways to bring out the positive emotions in the employees of your organization that will eventually start reflecting on their work. Google is a great example of this. Google’s former Senior Vice President of People Operations created what he called a “Wall of Happy.” Laszlo Bock developed an online tool called thanks, where employees could publicly thank one another for outstanding contributions or even small things they appreciated. He would print out those kudos and tack them up on a sign outside his office for all to see.
In conclusion, as rightly said by David Novak, Executive Chairman of Yum! Brands, “People leave when they don’t feel appreciated. That’s why we’ve made recognition a really high value. Our business is people-capability first; then you satisfy customers and make money.” Looking after our employees’ needs is a foolproof way to succeed and reach new avenues of growth.
