Engagement & Motivation

I was recently speaking with an HR director exploring ways she could better equip her managers with tools to motivate her company’s staff. Her focus on managers was interesting. She understood what a growing number of HR professionals have come to realize: The importance managers play in attracting, motivating, and retaining talent within organizations.

According to Gallup, companies stand to increase revenue per employee by as much as 59% by employing four key human capital strategies. Having a great manager accounts for nearly 50% of this potential revenue increase. Great managers have the ability to develop employees’ strengths and get the best out of each person.Speaking with Marina Byezhavova, a human resources professional in our hometown of Montreal, only reinforced this perspective further:

“I conduct culture audits of companies and I see that most hiring managers and HR professionals who are interested in a happier workforce focus a lot on work conditions, social atmosphere and team building. However, studies show that 80% of employees leave because of their managers! Happiness is important but a long-term strategy ensuring employees are loyal and content should focus on leadership training instead of the bells and whistles.”

Marina’s comments ring true for me, not only because of the various conversations I’ve had with other HR professionals and business owners alike on employee motivation, but because I’ve managed people for years. And, I have to say I think she’s right.

With that in mind, here are 3 three strategies to help your managers develop their abilities and to improve their employees’ motivation.

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Train your managers to be better leaders

As Marina puts it, “bells and whistles” are nice but on their own aren’t substantial enough to develop long-term employee engagement. Rather, companies should focus on leadership training. Developing your managers’ leadership skills provides your organization with a much more robust basis for attracting, motivating, and retaining talent.

When I was first promoted to a managerial position (many years ago), I got a hearty congratulations, some coaching, and then a nasty trial by fire.

Thankfully, I soon was able to get formal leadership training. So, it wasn’t too long before I began learning about performance reviews, setting goals for my employees, managing conflict, removing barriers for my staff, leading team discussions, how to listen and resolve issues, and so much more…

I also began to learn about creating a sense of urgency and rallying my team behind a vision. But it certainly didn’t come by magic. I was coached by a mentor and participated in as much leadership development training as I could.

And while many individuals are “naturally gifted” managers, the majority of people promoted into management or leadership positions (even those ‘naturals’) would benefit from formalized training to help them understand the ins and outs of managing others.

Key areas to consider include: communication, performance management, and managing conflict.

If your organization doesn’t have formal leadership training, consider informal or formal mentoring programs where more experienced leaders can help newly minted managers navigate their first year or so in their position.

Encourage managers to use SMART goals

When I was first introduced to “S.M.A.R.T.” goals, I remember thinking the acronym sounded too clever to actually be of any use.

As it turned out, the SMART methodology for goal-setting is critical for effective performance management and a key tool for managers of all stripes. Whether the acronym itself is explicitly mentioned isn’t relevant. Employees are more motivated when the goals they are working to achieve have the following “SMART” components to them:

Specific‍

The SMART approach encourages managers to set goals with their staff that include a specific target or destination.

Measurable

‍For a goal to be SMART, it must be measurable in that it can be tracked and quantified.

‍Attainable

‍The SMART methodology also requires that the goal be realistically attainable within the timeframe given to the employee.

‍Relevant

‍Of particular interest to me (and my personal experience), is goal-relevancy. To me, this is about linking the goal to the broader mission and vision of the organization. It helps employees understand how they’re contributing to the bigger picture.

‍Time-bound

‍Finally, SMART goals always have a defined timeframe for their achievement.

No manager should be without this approach or, at least, a good understanding of it.

Empower managers to recognize their staff

Recognition done well can be the secret weapon of an all-star manager. Often, however, it is left to managers to figure out how to effectively use this incredibly powerful tool.

Recognition plays into performance management, feedback, employee development, and much more. And, I think organizations are increasingly aware of the power of recognition to improve employee morale, motivation, and performance.

According to a recent article in the Harvard Business Review, giving your employees feedback about their “performance improvement opportunities” is fraught with the potential for error and puts people in a negative state of mind not ideal for learning and improvement.

Instead, catching an employee doing something well and taking a moment to constructively praise their accomplishment is a much more effective alternative. Instead of shoving your opinion about what they need to improve down their throat, you’re shining the spotlight on a strength they can build on and further develop.

This helps employees better understand what they did well and to build on those strengths and repeat them in the future. In this way, recognition not only serves as a powerful tool for boosting morale, but also for employee development.

I’m a big believer in these three strategies for empowering managers, especially as it relates to attracting, motivating, and retaining talent.

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Uncover more ways your organization can benefit from a recognition process - book a demo with Qarrot today!

The holidays can be an extremely stressful time for everyone. With the stress of buying the right gifts, balancing home and office life, as well as staying focused with all the decorations, music, and events going on, it’s easy to become overwhelmed. Of course, the “Holiday Bonus” is the easiest and most immediately satisfying way to reward employees over the holiday season, but for smaller companies, this can be a great, and unaffordable expense. The hard truth is that most people just want money. They want a raise or a bonus and unfortunately, a bonus is only a present if it’s not connected to performance. Thankfully, there are other ways to reward and motivate your staff, while also keeping their attention at work. Using the holidays to your advantage can really help incentivize your employees' tasks, and spike sales around this time of year.

Choose the Right Rewards

When choosing rewards, ensure the rewards allow for some flexibility to suit everyone. Gift cards and vouchers offer choice, and implementing a rewards program allows for various options and prizes. Consider the “Four Gift Rule” when choosing prizes; “something they want, something they need, something to wear, something to read.”

Incentivize Achievable Goals

When planning holiday goals, they should be easy to measure, clear and specific, and just challenging enough to get done in time. Create a rewards program that carries over into the New Year to help combat the January blues. The easiest way to implement this is by creating a company rewards site where the employees can track their points, exchange them for rewards, or enter contests. Take care to communicate clearly so that the rewards program is office-wide and everyone gets a chance to participate!

‍Point vouchers: Vouchers can be varied, this way employees can choose to keep saving their points for a big item or trade them in early for several smaller prizes. Not only does it feel good to be rewarded for your efforts, but employees also have the option to give prizes as gifts and save on holiday costs, if they so choose.‍

Online scratch card codes: Once a certain level of points is attained, employees get a code to “scratch” on a company site for a chance to win prizes. Again these can be anything like gift cards, wine crates, or gadgets.

‍Trip incentive: This option allows employees to accumulate daily points throughout the holiday season to claim a holiday trip. These could range from local to international, including ski trips, spa weekends, or Christmas shopping sprees!

‍Grand prize draw: When reaching a certain level of points, employees get a code to enter a ballot into the grand prize draw. This can be “the Twelve Days of Christmas” or once a week in December. The more goals they reach, the more ballots they can enter, and the higher their chances for winning top prizes.

Reward Publicly

Beyond a rewards or point system, it’s important to thank and reward specifically high achieving employees publicly. Whether this is with an announcement in a meeting, a wall of recognition, or a luncheon, showing your gratitude in front of other employees is good for morale and gives a boost to employees who deserve a little extra recognition. In addition, say thank you to the employee’s family by sending flowers, or gift cards for a night out to a restaurant, movie night, or spa.

Flexible Work Hours

On the same note, allow for family days like a sick or vacation day. Give the option to work from home to parents who request it. A bit of flexibility helps to relieve stress in a season where there is a lot going on not only in the office, but personally as well. Some extra or flexible family time may be just what your staff needs to stay motivated and loyal into the New Year. Additionally, encourage employees to slow down, taking one task at a time. Distractions like social media, coupled with a massive to-do list and deadlines, produce unfocused work and more time away from loved ones.

Decorate the Office

With so many DIY decoration tutorials available on YouTube and Pinterest, it’s easy to get the staff involved in the process. Take an afternoon for team building and make a rewards game out of decorating. Perhaps let the winning team choose the office Christmas party location, or offer the option to split the budget by department. Remember that management leads the Holiday spirit. If you’re grouchy, then your staff will feel it and motivation will plummet. That being said, be respectful of people’s choices around the Holidays. Whether for personal or religious reasons, some people may not observe the festivities. Don’t pressure people for not taking part.

Practice Giving

After all, this is the season! Your employees also want to know they’re a part of something bigger; that the company is actually making positive changes in the world. This doesn’t have to be a grandiose gesture, but even looking up some local charitable activities like a food bank or clothing drive can get the office giving.

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Motivate improved performance with objective-driven campaigns - book your free demo with Qarrot today!

Sources

• ‍Medium - How to motivate your employees during the holidays
• ‍WhenIWork.com - Employee Incentive Ideas

It cannot be denied that a lack of employee engagement causes many areas of financial downfall. The latest 2017 Gallup report showed that employee engagement has only gone up by 3% since 2016, and unfortunately these disengaged employees are causing losses in the U.S. alone of between 450$ and 550$ billion annually.

The recent Gallup report also shows that managers are a key factor in employee engagement and the main reason 50% of employees will quit their jobs, but yet nearly the same percentage of managers are as disengaged as their employees. Only 35% of managers are engaged at work, causing only 30% of their employees to be engaged. Good leaders promote engagement -- the best leaders get to know their employees personally, recognize their strengths, and remember that they are people first. They relate to their issues and make business decisions that suit company needs, while also considering the employee’s needs. After all, what is a company without its employees? The less engaged or incentivized a worker is, the less they will be invested in doing any more than just the bare minimum, eating into profit margins.

This bad management is causing people to walk, and the real killer that disengagement provokes is turnover. Unfortunately, the higher paid and more specialized the job, the greater the cost of turnover. Depending on position, salary, and specialization, employee turnover can range anywhere from 40-400% of an employee’s annual salary to replace.

The losses companies incur from turnover result from a variety of factors, including a dip in employee productivity after giving notice, investing in recruiting, onboarding and training costs, a decrease in revenue while transitioning, or experiencing a gap in replacement. But the worst nightmare is when an expert employee leaves unexpectedly. Not only are there “hard” financial losses like administrative and replacement costs, but there are many “soft” costs that are often overlooked when turnover is involved.

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The Specialist

Lost expertise can be especially difficult to replace. Some positions require a highly skilled specialty, which not only takes years of training but also specified hands-on skills within the position itself. Bringing someone up to par with a long-term employee could take years, additional training, all the while costing the company.

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The Ripple effect

Disruption of workflow and missed deadlines are only natural until the replacement employee is comfortably settled. Duties fall by the wayside, are forgotten, or are handed-off to other employees. Employees taking on additional responsibilities may feel stressed, causing higher absenteeism or even shine a light on the idea of leaving too.

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The Aftermath

Decreased office morale is the ultimate result. Once the employees feel it, the customers suffer. Employees naturally exude how they feel about a company or product, it is very easy to see they’re faking it. Employees are more likely to slack off and make errors, resulting in customer complaints. If these complaints occur too often, you’ve got yourself a real problem. Too many customer complaints will lead to a loss of reputation, forcing the company to spend on PR and rebuild its reputation.

It is possible to calculate the approximate cost of turnover for your company. Create a spreadsheet with employee replacement costs. A major factor, of course, is the employee salary. A Zen Workplace study showed that an average income takes 40% the salary to replace, whereas a higher paid income can take up to 150% to replace, on average. This can be difficult to calculate exactly, as many turnover costs are qualitative, but the quantitative ones are often enough to show the impact on your company’s finances.

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‍Check out these resources and comprehensive examples of turnover calculators to help you get started:

• Canada Human Resources Centre Turnover Calculator
• Drake International Turnover Calculator
• ERE Recruiting Intelligence Turnover Calculations

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Sometimes, turnover can be a positive thing. Recognizing the value in “good” turnover allows you an opportunity to work with it, rather than letting it catch you by surprise. A disengaged employee can often affect your business equally to that of turnover loss. Assess where the money is better spent by using an employee disengagement calculator.

Slacking employees with outdated skills, too much seniority with no fresh ideas, and long-term employees accumulating benefits and bonuses may actually cost less if offered an exit package. This also requires strategic decision making, as it is a delicate subject and a fine balance to create and maintain a company with mixed skills and experience levels. For example, Zappos tried implementing exit incentives and it backfired. Instead of choosing specifically where they wanted a change, they offered a severance package to all their employees. As a result, 14% of their most skilled employees took the deal and left the company spending even more money trying to replace them. The key to strategic turnover is to truly assess who stays and who leaves: too much turnover results in considerable financial loss.

To resolve these issues, view employee engagement as a business strategy. Start by conducting an assessment of your employees’ level of engagement. And consider investing in employee recognition, with platforms like Qarrot. Through your recognition program, you can foster a stronger culture and improve employee morale. For example, with peer-to-peer recognition, your staff build stronger relationships and are motivated to improve performance. With goal-based motivation and awards campaigns, goals can be incrementally achieved, while promoting employee drive. Not only will your employees feel recognized, celebrated, and rewarded, but your investment will pay off in lower turnover costs.

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Employee engagement is an investment, not an expense - learn more by booking your free demo with Qarrot!

Turnover Reconstruction Begins with Employee Appreciation

It’s no mystery that a valued employee is more productive in their workplace. People don’t stick around and make plans for their future that involve major levels of stress. Employee turnover saw an all-time high in 2015 and has only remained a persistent issue today, according to an SHRM/Globoforce survey.

Technology and social media are inescapable factors of society that have influenced immediate gratification, heightened expectation, and quick replacement. With access to endless information, training, and networking, most employees aren’t just looking for whatever 9 to 5 they can find - they’re looking for something that is an extension of their “personal brand”.

But the main reason people are walking out the door? Lack of recognition from their managers, peers, and employers. People want to be noticed and know that their work makes a difference and according to a TINYpulse study done on over 4,500 employees, 79% of employees feel undervalued.

The way individuals perceive and carry themselves greatly affects the way others react to them, and when a co-worker feels valued, their peers are more likely to treat them accordingly. Being valued reaffirms the psychological human need for purpose. Contrary to the typical idea of “competition”, employees actually want to see one another succeed. If a manager never stops to recognize their employees, an obvious separation is created between ranks. Negative energy spreads from under-appreciation, and you can bet people will start quitting left, right, and center. That being said, there is a fine line between recognition and becoming a pushover. At the end of the day, it is a job. What we’re going for is the old Golden Rule: “treat others as you would like to be treated” - it’s common human decency.

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The Benefits of Recognition and Why Employee Retention is Important

The most obvious and immediate reason to emphasize employee retention is saving company money. Training takes managers away from their regular tasks, advertising drains funds, and employee’s special skills leave with them. On average, a company will spend approximately 20% of the original employee salary to replace them. Good staff morale is based on employee relationships and, unfortunately, meaningful relationships aren’t possible when longevity is lacking. The longer an employee is around, the better they become at their job, and the more productivity spikes. Companies that maintain a reputation of good morale and low turnover tend to appeal to star talent, which leaves more options for recruiting the employees you want.

Here are some results HR professionals have seen with values-based recognition programs:

• 68% saw a positive impact
• 86% found an increase in happiness in their employees
• 84% saw improved workplace relationships
• 90% saw a boost in employee engagement

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What are Some Retention Strategies That Can Be Implemented to Minimize Employee Turnover?

Salary, compensation, and benefits

Turnover is rarely about salary, but it’s a no-brainer that the pay you are offering should be competitive. Show your appreciation with bonuses and follow through with compensation promises. If you are a smaller company that is unable to invest a competitive salary in employees with specific and highly experienced skills, try compensating in other ways. Make offers that help increase work/life balance for the employee, or offer help to reduce busy work.

Hire smart

Hire the right person from the start and avoid misrepresenting the position. If someone is overqualified but looking to move up, consider them a great asset and one that will likely stick around. Unfortunately, many employees are enticed into positions by receiving the sugar-coated version of the job. In cases like this, once the initial excitement wears off, the result will very likely be a short stay. Long term employees become brand ambassadors for referrals and avoid job description confusion. This will innately recruit the right people for your company and build a team that feels equally invested in the brand you are cultivating.

Training

Training should be a major priority and orientation should cover more than just the basics. Introduce the employee to the company history and culture to help them thrive and see the opportunities for growth. Organize an onboarding period ranging between a few weeks to a few months so the employee has time to get settled. Thorough training will ensure the employee understands the clear requirements of their position.

Mentoring, coaching, and feedback

A mentoring program can help employees develop special skills, and a one-on-one with a more experienced employee offers a safe environment to build confidence for growth. In turn, this will open opportunities within the company for the employee and motivate them to move forward.

Positive culture

Respect, trust, honesty, teamwork, and striving for excellence, are among the key values to a successful work environment. Encourage employees to remain curious. By asking questions about procedures and problem solving, they are taking ownership and involving themselves in the larger picture. This is not meant to encourage criticism, but instead to find the best way to get things done. They should be equally encouraged to embrace failure, as failing is the only true way to grow. This helps employees to input their ideas or take charge, and if it doesn’t work; pivot and redirect.

Conversely, employees should be encouraged to show appreciation amongst colleagues when an accomplishment is achieved. Employees should feel welcome to acknowledge each other's successes informally or through a recognition program. This helps to foster strong morale and a positive workplace culture through a meaningful connection.

Strong communication

The employee needs to know their employer is really listening to their questions, concerns, or input. Passing information along through too many levels may make your employees feel like their ideas have been lost in a deep, dark hole of protocol. Ensuring timely and thorough communication maintains credibility, eases tension within the ranks, and increases access to shared information from everyone within the company.

Work-life balance

Overwork, stress, and burnout are all things you want to avoid. Pay attention to your employees and cater to their specific needs. An employee with children will have different needs than an employee who never clocks out. Use trust to blend personal life with business life. If it’s possible to let an employee work from home, where they are more productive, focused, and engaged, why not let them?

Same goes for compressed work weeks or non-conventional hours. Carefully consider if they are the type to hit the deadlines, and make a decision that benefits both the employee and the company. A good employer encourages having a life outside of work.Working is such a large portion of our lives we have become desensitized to many aspects of it. Since you have to make an income anyway, why not do it somewhere that makes you feel valued?

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Improve retention by strengthening workplace culture with positive interactions - book your free trial with Qarrot!

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Sources

• ‍Huffington Post - 3 Ways that Recognition Reduces Employee Turnover
• ‍Forbes - New Management Research Analyzes How Recognition Affects Retention
• ‍hr.blr.com - Strategies for Retaining Employees and Minimizing Turnover
• ‍Fastcompany.com - Four Employee Retention Strategies for the Modern Workplace

It’s pretty safe to say that happy people function better. Therefore, having happy employees means more productive and motivated employees. Many people think they’re multitasking to maximize their efficiency in a workday. In reality, what is perceived as “multitasking” is actually redirecting focus extremely quickly, causing the inevitable; lack of motivation and eventual exhaustion. Motivation is neuroscience, and dopamine plays the largest part in the most “important reward pathway in the brain.” Not only is dopamine commonly associated with pleasure, but it is actually spiked when motivation and reward are involved. Scientifically speaking, your brain can only focus on one task at a time, and coincidentally, the easiest way to attain this productivity spike is by setting incremental goals. Gamification is an easy solution to simplify tasks, in turn creating efficiency and productivity in the workplace.

Why games?

What is it about Pokemon Go, Overwatch, and Call of Duty that is so addicting? Extremely successful video games are created by having obstacles that are just challenging enough for the player to keep coming back for more, but not so challenging that they eventually give up. What is every gamer chasing? A reward. Games connect to the top three psychological aspects for motivation: recognition, competition, and reward. Companies such as Microsoft, Cisco, and Treehouse, amongst many others, have all used gamification to increase business productivity through employee engagement. Gamification is about using the psychology of gaming to motivate your employees.‍

This is not meant to turn a work task into a game, but instead create a reward-based system that encourages healthy competition. Most employees want to be recognized for their contributions and know that what they do within the company really does matter. Using the many gamification tools such as badges, leaderboards, challenges, levels, and point systems, employees become motivated to gain recognition for their work. This gives the employee a sense of control as the cued micro-tasks help them to perceive their capability. This encourages the inherent competitive drive, that is within us all, to be brought forward, leading to the overall employee and company growth.

Does it really work, or is it simply a trend?

It is possible that gamification is both - a trend that actually works. Besides employee engagement, gamification promotes many positive outcomes:

• Real-time feedback, allowing the employee to see where they are doing well and track smaller or forgotten tasks.
• Elimination of the fear of favoritism by showing the employee where they are excelling or falling short in comparison to others.
• Objectivity
• Reduced staff turnover
• Improved productivity, which in turn improves business outcomes.
• Happier employees, happier customers. Gamification can simply make work just a little more fun!

90 % of employees are more productive when gamification is implemented. But how do you get started?

• Identify what goals need to be achieved within your business and why. How can you get there? Work backward to ensure you don’t miss any steps.
• Determine what changes need to be made in employee behavior and skill to make this happen? What are your employees expected to achieve when using this app?
• Clarify, do your employees understand the purpose of gamification and how it can help? This will ensure that the application will be used once it’s implemented.
• Design, take time to create an application around the users/employees experiences - and make sure it’s fun! Need a little boost? Book a demo with us for some fun, easy, and effective employee engagement tips.
• Personalize the game to your employees and their workflow - make changes according to their needs and involve them in the creation process.

That being said, gamification can present some major limitations if not implemented appropriately. Many careers do not have quantifiable performance tasks, which are trickier to track in the gamification world. A gamification application can easily fail if it is designed poorly or fails to possess meaning to the employee. Even if you have the perfect app, if an employee isn’t a good fit or a negative office culture looms in the air, gamification may just make the employees even more unhappy, viewing it as one more task to live up to. Finding the right balance is crucial for employees to avoid feeling constantly “on” and competitive, especially with the transparency of the stats available to everyone in the office. In the wrong context, this can leave your employees feeling violated, controlled, and eventually burned out from the stress of staying ahead.

If you really take the time to design your app to meet your employee needs, there are endless possibilities for its use in engagement. Whether your employee is working in-office or remotely, the mobility of gamification can be easily applied to jobs with trackable tasks like measuring sales made, clients acquired, and complaints cleared. But everyone can take a training tip from the gamification app that SAP tech enterprise created. They created a virtual world called Roadwarrior, in which the employees can interact with simulated clients and close sales. They gain points and badges for correct answers and successful deals. Not only did this virtual leaderboard provide them with higher levels to unlock, as well as in-office recognition, but it also made their real-world interactions much more efficient and successful. Knowing your employees can help you keep them happy - and what a better way than to have a little fun!

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Discover how your organization can benefit from peer-to-peer recognition - book a demo with Qarrot today!

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Sources

• ‍Idonethis.com - The Science of Motivation
• ‍NPR.org - Think You're Multi-Tasking? Think Again
• ‍Psychguides.com - Video Game Addiction Symptoms Causes & Effects
• ‍Raccoongang.com - Examples of Gamification in the Workplace
• ‍Forbes.com - How to Drive Employee Engagement with Workplace Gamification
• ‍Medium.com - How Gamification in the Workplace Impacts Employee Productivity
• ‍Vimeo.com - Roadwarrior

What is the barrier between employees and untapped creativity? Could it be the fear of failure?

Anxiety is a serious deterrent for anyone; few things are more powerful than the thought of getting something wrong and facing the inevitable embarrassment and consequences that will swoop down on us after.

Many employers don’t realize how significant a barrier the fear of failure is towards achieving employee engagement.

In 2017, the World Economic Forum presented a study which revealed the brain’s unprecedented growth not through repetition, but through failure. A whopping 30% increase in employee confidence was realized just through employers adjusting the workplace mentality towards mistakes.

‍In other words, failure is the gateway to innovation and there are a few reasons why.

Overcoming Failure At Work Teaches Work Ethic

When we experience failure, we examine the path that led us to our payoff and visualize the changes we want to apply in the future. Introspection engages the subconscious and conscious parts of our brain, deepening our focus and intention. By framing failure as an acceptable outcome, you ensure these meditations are reinforcing positive thinking and optimism. 1

‍That same 2017 study also pointed out a direct relationship between optimistic thinking and personal confidence; those who had the former, inevitably demonstrated an ability to “think outside the box and overcome workplace challenges.” 2

"Our data supports the idea that confidence impacts workers' objectives and perceived success... Our results are consistent with a confidence cycle, whereby confidence and success create a positive feedback loop."

Something Innovative This Way Comes

Some of the most recognizable names in the retail market are products born from accidents. We know it doesn’t always work this way, but whoever rode a bike for the first time without falling a few times?Creativity is not a science: No one can say, “this + this = brilliant idea!”However, as an employer, you are in control of the environment in which your potential creative minds operate. Your work culture can either support creativity or hinder it and the way to achieve the former is by encouraging new ideas, no matter how ridiculous.Plan group brainstorming sessions where employees can pitch their ideas or send out an open invitation for feedback on a new project that the company is taking on. You don’t have to run with every idea that comes your way, but you may be inspired by what you hear. Ideas breed more ideas, which in turn - you guessed it - bring on more ideas.

The Time Has Come: Encourage Mistakes

The automatic psychological and physical response to a mistake is not a positive one. If your workplace culture openly encourages mistakes and communicates that mentality to every member of staff, it is possible to change this reaction amongst your employees.Drive your business forward with a team of risk-takers, whose passion and ingenuity knows no bounds. All you have to do is tell them it’s okay to be less than perfect because, in fact, you want them to be anything but.

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Discover how peer-to-peer recognition can foster a positive work environment - book your free Qarrot demo today!

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Resources

• The Learning Brain Gets Bigger--Then Smaller
• The Best Leaders Know That Letting People Fail Can Help Them to Grow and Improve
• Lifehack.org - Its All About How You Fail

In our twenties, we jump into the workplace with the ambition to realize our career aspirations and an excitement for professional work environments. When we think of our lives twenty years down the road, we often think of ourselves as having achieved our goals and despite a few grey hairs and wrinkles, we imagine ourselves happy.

Why is this so often not the case?

‍A recent study found that one in six workers between the ages 35 and 55 are unhappy, more than double the number for those under 35.  While the number of “happy” workers between the ages of 18 and 34 (a whopping 92%) is something to celebrate, the high rate of discontent amongst older workers is scary.

For those outside of this bracket, aged 55 and above, things are not much better statistically. Nearly a third of people over 55 don’t feel appreciated, while 16% say they don’t have friends at work.

‍What is happening in the lives of workers that by age 35, satisfaction at work takes such a significant dive? There are a few answers to this.

First, an awareness of how far one has or has not come. If the goals we set for ourselves have not come to fruition, the disappointment of this combined with the knowledge that the clock is ticking leaves many feeling unfulfilled. Corinne Mills, a joint managing director of Personal Career Management, puts it this way, “A feeling [we have] around that age, [where we think] ‘shouldn’t I have made it? Shouldn’t things be more sorted by now? Is this it?”

Another change in the life of a 35-year-old to that of a 20-something-year-old is that our priorities can dramatically change. This is the time when many have started a family or, at least, begun seriously thinking about it. Ten years earlier, the grind of working long days was less physically draining and felt consistent with career priorities, but this lifestyle isn’t as alluring to many workers after the age of 35.

"There comes a time when either you haven’t achieved success, work has burned you out, or life experience tells you family is more important…You ask yourself: ‘What am I doing this for?" - Cary Cooper, a workplace researcher at Manchester Business School. 

Avoid the pitfall

Midlife dissatisfaction can also be the by-product of stress. By 35, many people have achieved higher positions of seniority and feel heavier stress-loads from the increased responsibility and pressure. Compound this with the impression of not being appreciated, and one can understand why an employee would be unhappy.

As an employer, the awareness of how your employees are feeling should be used as an opportunity for you to change the statistics within your company. By 2024, one in four people in the labor market will be 55 or older, meaning a significant portion of your workforce are at risk of being unhappy and unengaged.

The best solution is prevention, and there are many ways for you to easily ensure your staff are happy, no matter their age.

Simply put, show your employees some love.‍

This can be as simple as in-person recognition, granting more autonomy to demonstrate your trust, or investing in growing your employee’s skills. The best part about this is that you don’t have to guess at what they would appreciate: Ask them! The question itself already serves as recognition that they are appreciated.

Beyond recognition, it’s important to simply be aware that older employees have a different lifestyle than younger staff. Check in with them to see how their work-life balance is going and create a channel of communication where employees will feel comfortable expressing feeling overworked or overlooked. These are confident employees who have been in the workforce for years and know what they are good at: Make them aware that they are assets to your business and they will bring everything they have to the table, happily.

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Recognized employees are happy employees - book your free trial with Qarrot today!

With every job, there are bound to be days where things are less than perfect, and you head home at the end of an 8-hour grind feeling deflated and unrewarded. At least you can take solace in knowing this kind of a day is a one-off, an occasional occurrence, and a good sleep will likely be enough to reset and make tomorrow better.

But, what happens when it’s not just the occasional day that has got you down? What do you do when work leaves you unsatisfied more days than not?

The first reaction many of us have when work is making us unhappy is to start packing-up and looking for a new job. Of course, jumping into a new role at a different company is likely to make you feel engaged and rewarded for a while, but the novelty and excitement can quickly wear off.

What this habit does to your resume and, most importantly, your long-term sense of fulfillment, however, should have you considering your current situation more carefully.

Before you go the route of “I’m out of here!” consider what this response will look like to potential future employers. Every time you are unhappy at work, your instinctual habit will be to start looking for something new, because hey, it must be the job that isn’t right. Right? Job after job, your resume will begin to look more like a directory than a professional CV and would-be employers may be concerned about hiring someone who has bounced around so much. And you still haven’t found that perfect position…

This doesn’t have to be your situation.

There is an old saying that knowledge is power. How true! However, you need to put that knowledge to work to truly benefit. Accordingly, the more you can dissect your situation and your feelings, the more power you will have. By identifying the specific things you find irksome and those things you need in your job to feel rewarded, you can reduce the risk of being a job-hopper.

Over the course of a week or so, make a list. This list can include the things you find frustrating, the work-life balance you wish you had, the inefficient work processes around you - anything.

When your list is completed, ask yourself:

Is it my job, or is that just part of it?

‍There is usually some part of our job that we don’t love as much as everything else. The good news is, you can work with that! The next step is to identify what element of the job is bringing you down. Brainstorm some solutions to the problem - decreasing the number of tasks, sharing the work volume with a colleague, or changing the approach to the work could all be viable options. If you find yourself in a job that doesn't let you do what you do best and enjoy most, try to be creative in finding ways to do more of those activities. Making time for these tasks, even if just in small bursts or brief times over the day or week, can have a significant impact on your energy, engagement, and happiness.

If your list reveals to you that your general state of discontent is coming from missed lunches, extra hours, or an absence of appreciation, think about what changes need to happen for you to feel valued or to achieve a work-life balance.

Next, bring your insights to your manager and let them know you’re not feeling as engaged as you have been previously. This isn’t just a meeting for you to complain, though. Initiate a conversation about what you need to feel fulfilled at work and provide constructive solutions to help you both make that a reality. Remember, your employer is not a mind-reader, they can’t know you’re unhappy or help you out if you wait until you quit to inform them!

If, after your conversation, you ultimately decide to leave your job, at least you will know it was an informed decision; everything you have learned about what you need as a person and professional will help you to find and negotiate future job offers.Just remember: don’t make your career choices a guessing game. Knowing yourself better will ultimately lead to finding the right job.

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Don't wait any longer to engage and motivate your team - book your free demo with Qarrot today!

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Resources

• ‍Forbes.com - Unhappy at work: either change what you do or change how you do it
• ‍Themuse.com - What to do when you hate your job and you don't have anything else lined up yet
• ‍Experience.com - Ten things to do if you really really hate your job
• ‍Forbes.com - Five ways to get unstuck and break out of a career funk

Have you ever considered how your body language affects your employees and colleagues?

If not, you should.

Body language is a powerful method of subliminal communication and reflects your energy levels, emotional state, and personality. Because it is extremely easy to misinterpret, it is important that managers and executives be aware of what their body language is communicating to others within their organization.

Take charge of how you are coming across; body language can be a positive contributor to overall effective leadership. Knowing how to utilize your body language and interpret others’ will give you some useful tricks to keep employee engagement levels up.

Show interest in your employees

When in meetings or having one-on-one conversations with employees, ask yourself: What message is my body language conveying right now? You may be engaged and interested in the discussion, but your employee won't be aware if your body language is sending a different message.

And while you may think you appear engaged, take note of those little habits that say otherwise. For example, are you checking your watch, replying to text messages, or scanning the room while an employee is speaking? Don’t discourage your employees from contributing by sending a message of disinterest.

‍Attentive body language will encourage employees to contribute and engage in conversations. Eye contact, directly facing the person speaking, and non-verbally responding to input by smiling, nodding, and tilting your head, are all clear indicators of an interested listener.

Your body language will also signal to your team what is expected in meetings. If you are actively engaged in your team’s responses, your employees are more likely to emulate you and demonstrate engaged, supportive body language.

How do you hold yourself?

From the moment you enter a room, your posture informs employees of your mood, attitude, approachability, and interest. Maybe you are fatigued, or maybe you have never thought about your posture. But, you should know that other people are seeing it - and it has an effect.

An executive who sluggishly moves around the office doesn’t exactly energize her staff or inspire them to be their best. Show you are physically and mentally engaged yourself through strong body language; stand tall, with your shoulders back, and don’t forget to smile.

‍Smiling lets everyone around you know that you are approachable, cooperative, and open to communication. If you want your workplace to encourage idea-sharing, foster an inviting culture, and to motivate employees, smiling is an integral ingredient.

Respond to each employee accordingly

When two people are communicating effectively, they are often mirroring one another’s physical nuances. This physical synchronicity is called body mirroring and often happens involuntarily. But, that doesn’t mean you can’t consciously employ it.

If you notice an employee keeps a few feet of distance between himself and his coworkers when speaking, he probably has a larger personal bubble. This may be because of cultural or personal reasons. You can demonstrate your respect for his boundaries and make him feel more comfortable communicating with you by being aware of his spatial preferences. This way, you avoid making an employee feel nervous or stressed, consequently distracted by his emotional state and unable to fully engage in the conversation.

The personal gestures an employee uses when communicating are also important to notice. Do they make eye contact? Do they use specific, unique hand gestures? The more you observe how your employees are trying to communicate, the more versatile a communicator you can become. Your message will probably come across either way, but these small adjustments improve your employees’ engagement by showing them that you are more engaged.

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Book your free demo with Qarrot to unlock the power and motivation of peer-to-peer recognition!

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Resources

• ‍Monster.ca - Body Language
• ‍Monster.com - What the Boss Body language Says
• ‍Businessinsider.com - Common Body Language Mistakes Employees
• MakeForbes.com - 10 Simple & Powerful Body Language Tips for 2012