Tired of being in a bad workplace environment? Your not alone. It’s said that up to 40% of our adult life revolves around work. And for many it’s not a happy time.
Think about it.
We get up early, and get ready for work. Then most of us spend time in traffic getting to work. Sometimes its just work getting to work. After our work day is done, we must start our way back home. Sometimes facing even worse conditions than we did getting to work. Finally getting home we must spend even more time ‘unwinding from work’.
Now this would be fine, if we didn’t have to sleep, eat, shower, or carry out all the other mundane chores of daily living. After all is said and done, it’s a wonder we have any time left for ourselves. Let alone our families.
According to a massive poll of 25 million employees in 189 countries, it was found that only 13% of workers feel engaged, happy and have a sense of passion for their work. That means 87% don’t.
There’s no doubt that outside of a miserable marriage, there’s no other depressing thought than going through all this 5 days a week. Especially for something we may hate.
How some people really feel about their job.
There may be more recent information, but this Gallup poll taken in 2013 is quite eye opening (Forbes article published October 10, 2013.)
Since the late 1990s, Gallup has been measuring international employee satisfaction through a survey it has been honing over the years. In total it has polled 25 million employees in 189 different countries. The latest version, released this week, gathered information from 230,000 full-time and part-time workers in 142 countries.
Overall, Gallup found that only 13% of workers feel engaged by their jobs. That means they feel a sense of passion for their work, a deep connection to their employee and they spend their days driving innovation and moving their company forward.
The vast majority, some 63%, are “not engaged,” meaning they are unhappy but not drastically so. In short, they’re checked out. They sleepwalk through their days, putting little energy into their work.
A full 24% are what Gallup calls “actively disengaged,” meaning they pretty much hate their jobs. They act out and undermine what their coworkers accomplish.
Add the last two categories and you get 87% of workers worldwide who, as Gallup puts it, “are emotionally disconnected from their workplaces and less likely to be productive.”
Bad workplace environment? 10 factors to improve
Let’s start with another Forbes article published December 15, 2014, by Jacob Morgan “Several other studies have also emerged around what employees care about at work but the most recent one from Boston Consulting Group which surveyed over 200,000 people around the world is one of the most comprehensive. Unlike previous studies which may point to flexibility or salary as the top factor for job happiness, BCG found that the #1 factor for employee happiness on the job is get appreciated for their work!
The top 10 factors are:
1. Appreciation for your work
2. Good relationships with colleagues
3. Good work-life balance
4. Good relationships with superiors
5. Company’s financial stability
6. Learning and career development
7. Job security
8. Attractive fixed salary
9. Interesting job content
10. Company values
Perhaps what is more interesting is that contrary to some of the other studies which show compensation as the #1 factor for happiness, this report puts salary at #8. This reaffirms what I consistently see in organizations that I speak with. You can’t pay someone a lot of money, treat them poorly, and expect them to do their jobs well just because they get a nice paycheck….
Bad workplace environment? Possible ways to improve
- Listen to your employees or those over you as individuals (not as workplace automatons). Try to get to the root of the problem. Confirm verbally both what they are saying and “what they really expect you to do about it. Try the old “what I hear you saying is…” and, “So, If I understand you, you want me to….”
- Approach fellow workers as a group and try to come up with positive ideas to help create a more conducive work environment. people are more committed to things they believe is their idea, or they had a part in.
- Dont take things personally: Keep a level head and stay professional. It makes things easier and requires less apology’s
- Network with others businesses or organizations to find out how they deal with these issues. Build support groups for your employees or subcontractors who are undergoing similar problems at home (sometimes work problems start with problems at home).
- Go back to school, take night classes, enroll in seminars, and learn new skills that help both you and your employees.
- Get involved in special projects that are more geared towards their unique skill sets.
- Volunteer for activities outside work to build a sense of purpose for your own life (sometimes things get better all around when we find passion).
- Focus on your company’s core strengths. Sometimes we need to phase out and cut away things that distract us from our core markets. Getting back to our roots (the reason why we started our business) can help provide a stronger sense of purpose for our employees.
- Find a support group, church, bible study, social club or other activity that will enhance your spiritual, emotional and relational life. In leadership, we need to start from within, before we can change things without.