There are no magic bullet ideas for making employees happy. But, there are hints at how we can make their work days a little easier.
After more than three decades of working in small, medium, and large companies (I moved around every few years) and talking to hundreds of employees over coffee and lunches, a few hints have appeared about what employees want.
#1 – They want to be successful
Regardless of all the perks and benefits, every person I talked yearned to be a very successful.
I have the absolute truth that has not been shaken yet: There are very few bad employees.
There are employees in the wrong job.
There are employees not trained properly.
There are employees with significant personal problem that interfere with their work.
There are employees with bad management.
There are employees who have been so ground down that they are now just mailing it in.
I absolutely believe that (almost) every employee desires to perform at a high level. They just need to have the right environment (not an easy task).
#2 – Trust
Employees want to be trusted. By you, the manager.
The lack of trust becomes visible when the discussion of remote work occurs. Manages don’t want their employees to work remotely because “..they will goof off and not do their work…).
My response: if your employees are so bad and need constant monitoring, why do you have them working for you at all, anywhere?
#3 – Appreciated
Employees want to be appreciated. I was told, too many times, “you get a paycheck, that is all the thanks you need.” Wrongo
It does not need to be elaborate…just a heartfelt thanks from the boss goes is tremendous.
Why do so many managers fail at expressing appreciation?