We all want our employees to be open and honest with us. But it’s hard for them to tell you what’s really going on.
There may be a disconnect between leadership and those they lead. Leaders often believe they have an open-door policy. For many of their employees, the door doesn’t feel open. It feels shut. Or, at a minimum, an inconvenience for an employee to approach leadership.
What happens then?
Employees clam up. They feel their voice doesn’t matter. They don’t want to rock the boat.
And organizations hurt because employees can’t share what’s really happening and how they’re really feeling. Below, you’ll find 5 things your employees want to tell you but probably won’t.
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5 Things Your Employees Want To Tell You But Probably Won’t
1. Your attitude is hurting workplace culture:
As a leader, you set the tone for the workplace culture. The things you do, the things you say… They are shaping the culture, if not completely forming the culture.
Your employees see how you act. If you’re not leading well, your actions and attitude are destroying the workplace culture. From being overentitled (you’re the boss, you deserve the extra freedom) to belittling employees. All of this is damaging.
They want to tell you this. They want to see a vibrant workplace culture that they can see themselves in for a long time. But you’ve created a hostile workplace where that’s not accepted.
2. They feel burned out:
Leaders are high performers. They see everything as a challenge to be overcome. As a result, your employees often feel the same pressure.
They feel pressured to:
- Work as many hours as their boss
- Give up family time for work time
- Forgo lunches so they can be seen as more productive
All of this leads to the feeling of burnout. No, scratch that. This leads to burnout.
But they can’t tell you this. They can’t tell you they’re tired, worn down, and feeling discouraged. They feel you’ll see them as weak or not committed.
That’s not the case. They’re tired of the long hours, added responsibilities, and overcommitment.
Are you willing to hear them on this?
3. There’s a lack of appreciation in the workplace:
Pizza parties. Office snacks. Fake pats on the back.
These are all ways bad bosses try to show appreciation to their employees for a year of hard work.
When organizations tell their employees there are record profits but give no raises, employees notice. That pizza party to celebrate? It’s a drop in the bucket compared to the financial data you shared.
You must learn to appreciate your employees. Ditch the pizza parties. Find real ways to show your appreciation.
Instead, think of doing the following:
- Give an extra day of vacation
- Hand out gift cards
- Allow for more remote working opportunities
When you show true appreciation, your employees will reciprocate.
4. They’re looking for a new job:
This may be the one you dread the most. Your star employees are looking for a new job.
Why? Well, you don’t know how to show your appreciation. You constantly demand more. You yell and scream at your employees.
You’d look too, if you weren’t the leader.
But you don’t have to freak out if your employees are looking for a new job. Instead, use it as an opportunity to find out why.
- You may be underpaying your staff, especially if they’ve been long-term employees
- You may be treating them unfairly
- They may need a more flexible schedule
- A recruiter may have reached out and they’re just wanting to see what’s out there
Just because your employee is looking at the possibility of a new job doesn’t mean you can’t learn from it. Find out why, see what’s attracting them to something new, and see if there’s a way to keep them.
5. They don’t trust you:
Your employees are watching you. They see how you treat others. They’ve felt how you treated them.
And the result? Your employees have come to the conclusion that they don’t trust you.
But they can’t tell you that. So, they continue to plug away. They do just enough work to avoid getting fired. They quietly resign themselves to work because you’ve given them just enough to keep them there.
Work on gaining the trust of your people. Without it, you’re going to struggle to see great results.
