What Do Employees Want From Employers?

A business can’t thrive if it doesn’t have a team of committed, talented employees. Indeed, a company’s staff has a bigger impact on the future of the organization than most things. If they’re the best that can be found, then the future will look bright; if they’re not, then the company will face a downward slope. 

Once you’ve got a good employee, it’s in your interest to keep them — replacing them can cost a lot of money and also disrupt any forward momentum. So how do you keep your best employees? By giving them what they want. And what is that exactly? In this blog, we’ll take a look at just a few of the things that employees desire. 

A Pleasant Work Environment

People want to be happy when they go to work. This can’t always be the case, of course, but you can at least make it possible. One of the things that’ll influence the mood of your employees more than you might realize is the atmosphere of the workplace. If that’s bright and happy, then they’ll feel good — if it’s not, then all the perks in the world wouldn’t be able to fix things. You can push your workplace in the right direction by ensuring it’s clean, bright, colorful, and just all-around enjoyable to be in. Take the same approach to your office as you do with your home. 

An Even Temperament

Your mood will have a big impact on the morale of your staff whether you like it or not. More than anything, employees want their employers to have an even temperament. They’d rather someone always be even-keeled, rather than sometimes the happiest in the world and sometimes the angriest. If you’re prone to anger, then staff will begin to feel nervous in your presence; and once that happens, the battle has been lost. There are plenty of ways to regulate your mood, including exercising, meditating, and limiting or avoiding alcohol. 

Freedom To Work

Employees, good ones at least, don’t want to have their hands held when they’re working. They just want to get on with their task. If you’ve hired passionate employees, then they’ll actively enjoy diving into their work. It would be frustrating for them to have to deal with people constantly looking over their shoulders. If you’re guilty of micromanaging your team of employees, then look at learning how to curb that instinct. Normally it just takes a little bit of resistance! 

Flexible Conditions

The 9 – 5 in-office working model is outdated. The coronavirus pandemic showed us that many of us could work from wherever we wanted without any dip in performance. While you might want to have your employees in the office sometimes, it’ll be best to give the option of working from home if it’s possible. Some staff will continue to come into the office, but in any case, everyone likes having an option. You may also offer some flexibility regarding when they begin work. Maybe you could say they can start at any time between 7 and 10 am? This will allow staff the chance to build a life that suits them, and that’ll ultimately result in greater productivity. 

Career Growth

It’s unlikely that your employee feels that they’ve hit the peak of their career in the position that they’re in now. That’ll only be the case with the most senior members of your team, and even then, it’s not guaranteed. Your best employees will want to continue growing and developing. If they can’t get that from your company, then they’ll find a company that will give it to them. You can help ensure your employees can grow within your company by looking into learning and development processes. This approach won’t just ensure that your employees are happier in their roles; the company will benefit, too.

A Sense of Family

It’s much, much more enjoyable to go to work when you know and like the people that you’re working with. So look at putting together activities and spaces where your employees can get to know one another. This could be activity days out, or you could create a chill-out area in the office where people will naturally interact with one another. A team can achieve great things when there’s a sense of community — and it’s up to you to create that community. 

Fair Salaries

A team member isn’t going to be thrilled — or stick around for too long — if they don’t feel like they’re being paid a fair salary. Make sure you’re offering good salaries in the first place, and then from time to time, perform reviews. If you don’t, then there’s every chance that they jump ship.

Added Bonuses 

As well as salaries, look at adding a few extra perks and bonuses. This could be something as simple as providing refreshments in the office to giving out bonuses or presents at Christmas. Everyone likes unexpected surprises, even small ones, and that includes your team of staff!

An Open Door 

There’ll be times when your employee has issues with their work, other colleagues, their personal lives, and so on. You can’t avoid this — people are only human, after all. What you can do is ensure that they have a space in which they can air their concerns and issues. A good boss will always leave their door open for employees who want to speak to them. Ultimately, you can’t expect all problems to just go away on their own. If you can let your employees know that they can always come to you, then you’ll be able to tackle whatever issues they have head-on. 

Conclusion

You’ll ask a lot from your employees. But it’s only fair that they ask a lot from you, too. After all, they’ll be giving a lot of their time and energy to your business! Employers that fail to invest in the well-being of their employees typically find that they have to hire more frequently than they’d like because staff members are always moving on to better companies.