Contributed Post
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It is often said that a happy workplace is a productive workplace. There is a lot of truth to this, of course. It’s always going to be hard to motivate workers who are feeling miserable and uninspired. But walk through a range of offices up and down the land, and it can seem like that saying has been forgotten. We’re spending more time in the workplace and job satisfaction is not trending upwards.
A lot of businesses seem to take account of this by expecting a high turnover of staff and getting what they can from employees for as long as they’re there. But can this really be the best way of doing things? It seems unlikely. At the same time, going too far to please employees can easily mean work doesn’t get done. So what’s the solution?
You, as a boss, need productivity. Your employees need to feel it is worth coming to work in the morning. Without both sides of that bargain being met, you can very easily end up with a dysfunctional workplace.
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Pay: Striking The Balance Between Motivation And Complacency
It seems simple. Pay your employees enough, and they’ll come to work and give their all. Think about using an earned wage access company such as Flexearn EWA as well and you can empower your employees to take care of their finances. But how much is enough, and how much is too much?
The second question is easier to answer than the first. “Too much” will become crystal clear when your business is no longer profitable enough to function.
“Enough” is harder to pitch. You need confidence that your employees will be able to live on their wage, without needing a second job that will leave them too tired to work.
You need to be sure that you’re not paying less than the businesses who are your peers. Studying a salary comparison survey is a good idea here. It helps if you can offer competitive benefits alongside that salary. If you can provide multiple perks to their job then they may consider that job role over a higher paying one with fewer benefits. Benefits include relevant life plans, flexible working hours, more vacation days, and training for a new skill or qualification. Make sure you don’t offer a salary too low though as low-balling salary is a false economy if people keep leaving your business and you have to keep retraining replacements.
Enjoyment: Because Sometimes Good Pay Is Not Enough
It’s not unheard of for people who work in high-powered banking jobs to make millions, and retire by the time they’re thirty years old. Why does this happen? Because they can afford to, partly. Also, because they would rather quit that job when they can than keep doing it a moment longer.
In short, no paycheck is high enough to make people enjoy a job they hate. So you need to make the job tolerable for them while still ensuring productive work gets done. This can be achieved by providing real pathways to more interesting work for high performers.
Avoiding monotony, and freeing people up to use their own initiative more, can be hard when there is a lot to get through. All you can do is monitor performance, and consult with colleagues who seem to be losing motivation. Leaving this too long is one of the biggest business mistakes you can make.
Finally, Support: Because Employees Are Humans
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Employees are not drones, and their loyalty to the company does not come from some cult-like devotion. They are more likely to come to work and really give it their all if they feel the business is loyal to them. This means that if they are struggling personally, they need to feel they can rely on your support.
Providing counseling services or having an in-house employee support team won’t come cheap. But it’s worth it for the money you won’t end up losing to employees in crisis who just feel trapped.
