It’s not very often that I receive phone calls from ex-colleagues. So, I was surprised when my phone’s screen flashed with an ex-colleague’s number when I was ready to sign off after a busy week. The strange thing was that we hadn’t spoken for nearly two decades, except for the occasional greetings and wishes on WhatsApp.
I must say, it was a long conversation. We chatted about family and our jobs. Lo and behold, he informed me that he has been with the same company for the past 35 years.
He went on to express that for some time now he was overcome with an emptiness. Unfair treatment from his manager, lack of support, and unmanageable workload. A couple of times, he voiced his intent to quit, but he could never follow through with it. I felt for him at this point.
A lot of questions floated in my head instantly. Would I have been in the same boat if I was still working there? Had he been stuck at the same company for too long? How can companies value long-serving employees?
I’ve been reading about burnout, roadblocks at work, and mental health. As I continued listening to him, I realized that this was what he was experiencing.
As we navigate the new normal, we are constantly faced with new crisis every now and then. Businesses have to transform to suit the different needs of customers. Employees have to re-skill and up-skill constantly to keep up with the new technology tools. Customers have a variety of channels to cater to their needs and wants.
But business leaders are not addressing complex issues such as stress, mental well-being, exhaustion, and burnout. There is no emotional support given at the workplace.
How can a company work on its culture in this new landscape?
We need to understand how important it is for an employee to feel good, happy, and motivated at work.
From having one-on-one conversations to checking how they are doing, managing their workloads, or even giving them time away from work.
However, employees need to be shown that they are valued before burnouts even occur, which can lead to an even bigger mental health problem. Which is why I would like to share the best ways to support an employee emotionally.
Give feedback
We all wish to have constructive and timely feedback on our performance. Giving balanced feedback can help in shaping an employee’s work. Employees working remotely or in a hybrid setup could request a monthly evaluation from their supervisors. You could even seek guidance from trusted peers, mentors, or even your managers. Healthy criticism and feedback will have a positive effect on your employees for many reasons. Among some of the reasons, we can mention that it helps to build a relationship between the higher-ups and the employees. Their work will feel more important and valuable if you show that you care.
Equip your employees with the right tools
Ensuring your employees have the right tools to do their job well can benefit productivity and satisfaction. Whether on-site or remote, there must be a collaborative synergy between teams. Some examples of tools are collaboration platforms, CRM, customer engagement platforms, and project management. One of the most frustrating things that I have experienced as an employee myself was when the company tried to save money by not purchasing the tools that I needed to the point that it was impossible to do a decent job.
Unclear job expectations
One of the biggest aspects of why your employees procrastinate or get to the point of burnout is the lack of clarity on what, how, and for what amount of time they need to do a certain job. You won’t likely feel at ease if you’re unsure about your level of authority or what your boss or other expect from you.
That is why you as a manager should come up with an excellent hierarchy structure and a detailed plan for your employees. This way they would know what they need to do and to whom they should go for help and advice.
Dysfunctional workplace dynamics
Nothing screams “Toxic” more than an unwelcome job environment. I know that the saying “we are one big, happy family” is misused and should not describe a company, because you are mainly there to purely profit from one another, but to be honest you are spending a big chunk of your day at work, with your co-workers. That is why you should at least have a friendly interaction with them.
Like just imagine this scenery… Perhaps you are the target of an office bully, feel undercut by coworkers, or have your job micromanaged by your employer. This may increase work-related stress and make the whole working experience not enjoyable.
Work-life imbalance
You risk burning out rapidly if your work consumes so much of your time and energy that you lack the energy to spend time with your loved ones. That is why ever since people started working from home during the quarantine, they understood how important it was to be near their loved ones more. You can see a lot of employees all around the world requesting or even demanding that they be allowed to work from home permanently.
Lack of social support
I once worked for a company that went from 10 employees to 150 in less than 5 years. In a conversation that I had with some of the employees that were in the company from the beginning, they confessed that they were more happy, motivated, and productive. The reason behind this is they could instantly communicate amongst themselves for every need. They also had a great time because they filled their break-time with quality, social time full of laughter.
But this does not mean that all of you should be in a big office for some quality time and social support. Firstly, because it’s impossible if you are in a large company and secondly remote working has too many pros. But how can you build social support and interaction if your employees are working remotely? Equip them with the right tools. Get together on a virtual call to get things done. Have fun Fridays. Basically, pour a glass of whisky, chat, and play games for an hour.
Final Thoughts
As I rounded up my conversation with my old friend, we both felt that we learned valuable lessons from one another. We said our goodbyes with a promise to strive to do better at our jobs and for ourselves.
Now that I’m reminiscing about this, I think I should call my friend and see how things are at his end.
