Employees can feel down at work and show signs of disinterest. It happens for many reasons, some are temporary and are caused by external problems and work is difficult because life is difficult at that time. They come to work, but they act like they are suffering from an illness.
It is when it is truly about the work we do, that we need to do something about it. Below are three signs of employee disengagement due to disinterest with their job or those they work with.
The employee does just enough work to get by, and when questioned by their manager or employer they make excuses, very weak excuses, ones that they actually believe their employer will accept. (But they do not)
They begin to disengage and give a cold shoulder to those they work with. They may become impatient and critical of others and possibly verbally snap at someone when they are asked a question. (I am amazed when I have seen this happen, do they really think we think everything is okay?)
Their coworkers start to complain that something has to be done about their coworker’s attitude. They have had enough and want help to resolve the issue of working with someone who is making their daily work life difficult. (When this happens react like the fire alarm is ringing and do something!)
Based on my 20+ years of management experience here are three of the most common reasons employees are unhappy with their workplace:
They feel under appreciated. They have worked hard but it has gone unnoticed. Even when an employee likes what they do they will leave a job because they do not feel appreciated by their employer.
They are under paid for the job they are delivering. There really is nothing worse than working for less than you are worth. When you take a job make sure you know how raises are earned and how often they occur. If an employee knows what the expectations are to earn a higher pay they will be much happier as they work towards the goal.
They have not received adequate training for their job position. Demands are made on them to deliver their share of the workload yet they are not sure exactly how to do it. Training is an ongoing investment that employers need to make to ensure that their employees are able to perform at a high level. Investing in employees is an investment in your business.
As a manager you should be interacting with your staff on a daily basis and know what they are doing, what they need to accomplish and most of all how do they like what they do. If you are a manager that truly cares about your staff this must be a regular practice in order to diagnose a potential problem before it becomes a true illness. You will be able to help your employees more by spending time with them than staying inside your office just waiting for someone to go to the infirmary.
What kind of manager would you like to have manage you?
Comments