As more organisations readily embrace work from home and other remote arrangements, this has significantly impacted how employees must navigate personal and family responsibilities.
Boundaries have blurred with many employees working long hours, juggling single parenthood, managing kids at home, balancing two remote careers and taking care of elderly parents. This shift could add to people’s stress load.
At the best of times, most of us spend many of our waking hours at work. As companies have adopted more flexible work arrangements such as working from home or off-site, our days can be more prolonged with little separation between work and home.
We know that social isolation significantly impacts our health. Corporations that value the well being of their employees reinforce employee engagement and retention. Organisations that have stepped up are no longer taking a blanket approach to employee engagement.
It is human nature for every one of us to want to be valued. Employees want recognition for the hard work and investment they put into their efforts.
Fortunate employees have managers who are supportive and verbally reward through praise and enthusiasm for the work their teams are engaged in.
We have learned that everyone has different drivers as well as unique ways to feel valued.
Respecting and reinforcing diversity and inclusion means that we must understand what employees regard as important to them. This observation may involve different things for different people. For example, some might enjoy verbal praise; others might like a challenging project or a charitable endeavour might be rewarding for some, and so forth.
If we care about the well being of employees and want to elevate how we value their contribution, then organisations need to take the time to understand what creates a treasured experience.
One very important take away is spending the time to recognise and understand that every person gets impacted based on how they get treated.
Corporations that stand out and have succeeded in building a robust pipeline will be the ones that invest in their employees in the right kind of way. And the right way is all about taking the time to understand what each employee requires to feel recognised.
Never underestimate the power in allowing others to feel rewarded as valued contributors.
Employees are your internal clients. They represent your brand to the external community. Positively build on their currency, and your return will be immeasurable.
Josh Wahler works in the field of employee engagement as well as skilled in digital marketing/social media. He is an avid blogger, you can follow him on his website, or Instagram @Green.Is.Gold with over 12,000 followers.