Given the average workweek is approximately 40 hours, it is not surprising that certain issues may escalate from time to time. In addition, as people spend nearly one-third of their adult lives at work, it is important for managers to boost employee engagement and provide healthy working environments for them.
Therefore, in this article, we have listed some of the most common roadblocks that employees encounter in today’s fast-paced generation. Stick with us until the very end to learn a viable solution for each unsolved workplace challenge before they develop into full-fledged issues.
Lack of Communication and Empathy
Speak to any successful entrepreneur, and he or she will mention the importance of effective workplace communication. However, every manager communicates differently. Some respond to text messages and emails in a matter of minutes, while others do not even respond. The lack of a clear communication protocol may cause problems to stack up instead of fixing them and challenge organizational harmony and success.
To address this issue, managers should encourage open communication that allows messages to travel freely from top to bottom and vice versa. Some helpful communication tools to help foster teamwork include messaging apps, video conferencing, email, and audio to text tools, to name a few.
Not Enough Reward and Recognition for Employees
From salary raises to customized gifts and everything in between, employee recognition has been a cornerstone of effective employee management. When employees do not receive adequate recognition for their work, it can have an emotional toll on the individuals. This not only brings down employee productivity and job satisfaction, but also significantly reduces organizational progress. In fact, according to a recent study conducted by the Université Laval in Quebec City, the lack of employee recognition is the second leading cause of stress and burnout in the workplace.
If this is prevalent at work, it can be helpful to create employee rewards systems like employee of the month to demonstrate that the employees are valuable to the company. Small details like keeping track of employees’ birthdays or complimenting them when they finish projects ahead of time can also be excellent opportunities to boost their morale.
High Stress Levels in the Working Environment
While stress is a normal part of work and life, extremely high levels of it can have dire effects on team productivity and morale. The negative consequences associated with workplace stress are so strong that the World Health Organization (WHO) has declared it a Worldwide Epidemic. These may stem from work overload, personnel problems, and lack of job security — all of which drag down the overall satisfaction levels of the employees. Many of these kinds of workplace challenges can also cause conflict between different departments and affect the smooth functioning of the entire organization.
The good news is employers can address those problems by offering mental and physical health benefits like meditation classes, paid time off, subsidized gym memberships, and health insurance as part of their benefits package to alleviate the profound effects of stress. Another viable option is to allow remote working and flexible work hours to let employees know that their jobs are defined by the quality of their output, not when they punch the clock.
Task Overload Without Adequate Support
From the executive position down to the new entry-level employee, task overload without adequate support is not always easy for anyone. One clever way to alleviate this problem is to encourage the idea of rest and promote a work-life balance culture within the organization.
Another commonly seen challenging situation at work is the lack of professional growth and skill development to move up the corporate ladder. Most employees do not want to settle for a low-paying, conventional desk job and would look forward to acquiring new skills and keeping pace with the technological advancements to improve performance.
Wrong Approach to Employee Survey Integration
Creating an effective employee survey and putting together several questions for employees to answer can be daunting tasks for many managers. When done wrong, employees may feel frustrated by requests to take a survey rather than feel motivated to give feedback. Some of the common employee survey mistakes include time-consuming surveys, not having a clear goal, faulty analysis of the results, etc.
Just like any detailed project plan, an employee survey should begin with the end goal in mind that will bring value to the organization. Likewise, it is equally important to ensure that their answers and personal information are well protected. Identity theft protection tools like Spokeo can serve as the first line of defense against cybercriminals and all sorts of imposter scams.
Final Thoughts
Whether it is struggling with employee engagement or overcoming organizational barriers, each company has its own unique set of workplace challenges that can make work difficult and slow down growth. Thankfully, various companies provide a wide range of solutions for boosting employee engagement to help you resolve these workplace challenges.
