Sunaina seemed upset. As a senior colleague, I tried to find out the reason why this chirpy youngster was quiet. I had worked with this energetic, enthusiast young colleague for quite some time now and was fairly impressed with her responsiveness and accuracy. As seniors in the system we were able to rely on her and considered her to be one of the pillars in the office.
So, naturally concerned about one of our best resources, I tried to communicate and quickly learnt that she was upset as she could not be a part of a very important departmental review for which the entire data was prepared by her.
She was keen indeed but being too junior employee was not asked to be a part of the team. And now was convinced her own career and future in the organisation were in jeopardy. The above narration deeply impacted me, and as a senior I felt guilty of being unjust with a rather talented worker who wants to learn through involvement. This got me thinking. Could I have made her feel differently? Should I have set expectation more clearly?
Turns out I am not alone in this. My cousin who happens to be an executive in a private company in one of the bigger cities heads an office of forty – most of whom are around forty years of age. In our weekend catch up call, when I mentioned the incident from my work week, she told me of a similar situation at her end.
Her 57 year old colleague with an excellent track record had become moody and easily irritable. The talented gentleman, who has been considered a very dedicated worker, had frequent mood swings a year ago. Unlike his polite nature he seemed to be agitated all the while without any particular reason. It took some effort to facilitate clear conversation but soon it was evident that the gentleman was feeling ‘sidelined’ for the first time in his career, as the more important tasks were not assigned to him any longer. (Possibly a factor of him nearing retirement amongst other things.)
As you see above, irrespective of age or career stage, people can feel undervalued at work. Published studies show that helping employees feel valued was shown to have a dramatic impact on their performance. Managers must try to make their team feel included and appreciated – no matter how new or old they are in the system.
In my many years of service, I have learnt that by being mindful of some simple things, one can make the work environment much better. For example: Have a conversation with your team members beyond just assigning tasks and functional words. This makes people feel relevant. For example, once Sunaina handed in the reports, the right thing to do was explain to her where the reports will be used, that its only meant for management and her efforts are appreciated. This would make her feel relevant, even when not included in the actual meeting. Its important to make each team member feel that they are required.
Recognition is a great motivator. Appreciate a job well done, recognize efforts when you see them made. This is equally important for employees across all levels. This makes people want to show up to work everyday.
Recognize your team as individuals. Each member of a team is after all an individual. While everyone must be treated equally, its okay to be aware of an sensitive towards an individual’s motivations. For example, my cousin entirely missed that her senior colleague was feeling sidelined, and probably insecure as he was nearing his retirement.
Has she been aware of his state of mind, she could have been more sensitive towards him and little gestures could have allowed the gentleman to feel more ‘included’ and ‘wanted’ in the work place, rather than left out as responsibilities were slowly being shifted to other people in the office. While I claim to be no expert, I can claim with a fair amount of confidence that a human centricity in a manger’s approach helps build string teams and enables better performance. For all the industries, be it public or private, the biggest resource remains the human resource which is also considered to be the biggest asset for any organization. Managing human resource is not an easy task, it needs lot of care and dedication.
Also it requires utmost caution. There is always a chance that the employee feels discriminated. It may be genuine or vague but can be metted out through eager and patient communication. Managing human resource always is a sensitive issue. It needs a balancing act.
The State of unhappy, dissatisfied mindset of an employee is not desirable. Every employee should enjoy his/her job. Enjoyment in work brings results.
Brewing resentment always has adverse effect in workplace. To overcome this kind of situation and to create a happy and healthy work atmosphere there should be an environment of effective communication.
