By now you’ve likely seen or heard about the New York Times exposé on Amazon’s grueling, pressure-cooker culture—and all of the residual chatter. While the piece delivered a healthy bruise on the retail giant’s arm, it’s nothing they won’t recover from. It’s already turned that weird yellowish green that let’s you know it’s healing.
“As my dear ol’ Grammy used to say, you catch more flies with honey than vinegar. This was fine except for Grammy would sprinkle said flies on her melba toast.”
For those of us in the brand engagement and communications business, it once again raises the recurring, head scratcher: What is the secret to a healthy, happy, high-performing employee?
While I’m a believer in a workplace that pushes for curiosity, creativity and innovation, I also believe there are better ways to achieve positive results than fear-based feedback and performance tactics or an “eat or be eaten” approach that may be commonplace at Amazon and other companies.
As my dear ol’ Grammy used to say, you catch more flies with honey than vinegar. This was fine except for Grammy would sprinkle said flies on her melba toast. To be honest, we were all happy when they came and took Grammy away.
The recent buzz on the wires prompted me to put pen to paper (not literally, that would be archaic) and unpack common elements of a happy employee versus an unhappy one. It looks like this:
1. Challenged vs. Bored
It’s very likely you have employees who are bored and don’t realize it. Because challenged employees are typically more dedicated and engaged, you’ll want to conduct a regular “challenge check” with your team. Arm people managers with a checklist they can use to grade employees, and look for the classic signs of boredom (late and leaving early more often than usual, sloppy work, phoning-it in behavior, puddles of drool on their desk, etc.) One easy way to turn a bored employee into a challenged one: give them a tough assignment outside their comfort zone, and watch the magic happen.
2. Included vs. Left Out
Everyone needs to see the shiny, bright end of the rainbow. All employees should see how their day-to-day efforts map to your company goals. This takes time and effort to put yourself in your teams’ shoes, but it’s worth it. First you have to share your company’s long and short-term plans with the organization at large, in ways they can relate to, remember and act on. Second, you must make sure every single member of your organization is focused on achieving the goals.
3. Trusted vs. Mistrusted
Leadership can send signals of mistrust in many ways. Closed-door meetings, overly scripted or choreographed speeches to employees at all-company meetings, inconsistent messaging, and a penchant for lurking in the shadows, can send signals to employees that something is amiss. Watch for the signs of mistrust amongst your employee base, coach your leadership team on the language of trust and staying on message, and address issues head on.
4. Inspired vs. Complacent
As much as you wish it weren’t so, you know that not every people manager in your organization is an inspirational leader. So, how are you making sure your employees are motivated? Identify the individuals (characters) in your organization who motivate teams, and give your employees access to these individuals through lunch and learns, beer-thirty chats, focused team project sessions, and so forth. Exhibit A: CEO Howard Shultz’s email to Starbucks employees last week.
5. Heard vs. Ignored
You know your employees have a voice, but do they feel heard? This is a tricky area for many leadership teams to get a handle on. If employees feel as though their feedback, grievances, issues and input fall on deaf ears, they are likely to become disenfranchised, and take an us-versus-them mentality. Check out these handy ideas from a recent Fast Company piece on how you can enable and empower your employees to communicate openly.
6. Recognized vs. Anonymous
No one wants to be just a face in the crowd. Find ways to honor and celebrate everyone, not just the extroverted overachievers. The quiet cube mate who keeps her head down and works hard deserves—and needs—recognition also. Take 20 minutes and listen to Susan Cain’s TED Talk on the power of introverts, if you haven’t. For extra credit, read her book about how to harness the influence of your quiet force.
7. Rewarded vs. Penalized
Whether perceived or real, if your employees feel there are more rules than rewards, they’ll gripe about it at the water cooler. Along with the necessary guidelines that keep your organization running strong, throw in some perks. Keep a mental tally—if you banned pets in the office after it got out of hand and tightened your vacation policy in the same week, balance that with a perk—offer an employee education benefit, bring in an expert on a topic of interest, or close the office early on a sunny summer Friday.
8. Collaboration vs. Isolation
Teamwork is more than a buzzword. It’s a fact that group efforts, in the right balance, can stimulate productivity and enhance individual creativity. The French language has an excellent expression to describe it: esprit de corps. This means a sense of unity, of enthusiasm for common interests and responsibilities, as developed among a group of persons closely associated in a task, cause, enterprise, etc. We, oui?
Want to keep these eight qualities of a happy employee top of mind?
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Steve Klinetobe is the founder and creative director of The Cartoon Agency, a not-so-traditional content marketing agency with a method for extraordinary results.