Many people talk about the good and bad aspects of working. The 2020 legacy is home-versus-office working. This creates a constant tension between employers and employees, who want people to work more days in the office than they are willing to. Businesses try to combat these issues by offering employee benefits such as duvet days and gym memberships, and even baristas who make the perfect latte. They think that this will encourage people to return to the office, and build loyalty. They are wrong.
Bribes only work in the short-term. Free lunches are nice but they quickly lose their shine and we return to our baseline levels of job satisfaction. Even threats are less effective. Those who can leave, leaving behind less marketable and less competent employees, as well as an expensive turnover issue to manage. Understanding and what motivates us is a much more sustainable approach.
It’s not money. Money ceases to motivate us once we’ve met our basic needs. (And everyone has a different definition of “enough”). It becomes a proxy to something else such as power, recognition or status. It can also become a demotivator when we’re not paid fairly. There is nothing more demoralizing than learning that your peers are paid more than you. The two biggest motivators are’team’ and ” purpose”. A bad boss is the greatest demotivator. Incompetent micromanagers are the main reason people leave their jobs.
Brilliant Bosses
It is obvious that a great boss will motivate you. They will build a happy, functional team, with a clear sense of purpose. There is a systemic, fundamental problem. We promote the wrong people to management, and then we disincentivise their good work. We give out management positions based on technical competency in an existing position, not because we’ve identified someone who has the skills and aptitude for the new management role. We worry about their departure if doesn’t we promote them. But we don’t think of the people that will leave if does. We don’t teach them how to perform the job. We don’t show them what “good” looks like. And we don’t reward them when they do it well. Instead, we expect them to become a player-coach, which is code for, ‘continue to do your job but also take on the responsibility of managing the team’. We disincentivise employers from training and hiring young talent, because in the event of a market slump, who will be more likely to lose their job: the older, wiser sage, or the younger, cheaper protege?
Benefits of
Many companies spend large sums of money on employee benefits without assessing whether employees value them. Great bosses can spend time with their teams to better understand the dynamics of this costly dynamic. The simple 2×2 plot of Employee Perceived Benefit against Company Cost ( Segal’s Cost-Value matrix ) identifies and questions the benefits in the opposite quadrant. This example shows that employees do not value large pension contributions. A responsible manager should educate their team on the importance long-term savings.
How to Get your Hybrid working right
The solution to the hybrid work conundrum is a brilliant boss. They will understand that people come to the office for collaboration, collegiality, and culture, not to keep an eye on shirkers or to exercise their micromanagement muscles. Focusing on the needs and requirements of the company, you can identify which tasks are best done in an office setting and which ones should be performed at home. A hybrid policy that is based on how much time employees spend doing tasks at home versus in the office (Segal’s Work Wheel), can be a great way to win over office workers who are not happy with the current system.
In order to create cultures where people want to be, the executive team and board must value and prioritize workplace culture. This will empower the business to invest more in their managers even during market downturns. This is when morale becomes most important. Firing middle managers that don’t perform a frontline role seems like a rational decision when you need to reduce costs. However, when pay increases are unlikely and redundancies are common, maintaining employee morale is more than a nice thing. It is a necessity.
The beauty of it is that culture investment is aligned perfectly with medium to long term profits. Many businesses are focused on maximising profits or building the best widgets or having the happiest customers. When businesses focus on their inputs, i.e. the most motivated and happy employees, they will see a dramatic change. Motivated employees are willing to give everything because they care, they’re engaged with the business and they really want to. This has a direct impact on the bottom line. If our leaders put a priority on creating a happy and nurturing work environment, they will not only see their business thrive, but also help to create a more sustainable, better world.
Many people talk about the good and bad aspects of working. The 2020 legacy is home-versus-office working. This creates a constant tension between employers and employees, who want people to work more days in the office than they are willing to. Businesses try to combat these issues by offering employee benefits such as duvet days and gym memberships, and even baristas who make the perfect latte. They think that this will encourage people to return to the office, and build loyalty. They are wrong.
Bribes only work in the short-term. Free lunches are nice but they quickly lose their shine and we return to our baseline levels of job satisfaction. Even threats are less effective. Those who can leave, leaving behind less marketable and less competent employees, as well as an expensive turnover issue to manage. Understanding and what motivates us is a much more sustainable approach.
It’s not money. Money ceases to motivate us once we’ve met our basic needs. (And everyone has a different definition of “enough”). It becomes a proxy to something else such as power, recognition or status. It can also become a demotivator when we’re not paid fairly. There is nothing more deflating that finding out that your peers are paid more than you. The two biggest motivators are’team’ and ” purpose”. A bad boss is the greatest demotivator. Incompetent micromanagers are the main reason people leave their jobs.
Brilliant Bosses
It is obvious that a great boss will motivate you. They will build a happy, functional team, with a clear sense of purpose. There is a systemic, fundamental problem. We promote the wrong people to management, and then we disincentivise their good work. We give out management positions based on technical competency in an existing position, not because we’ve identified someone who has the skills and aptitude for the new management role. We worry about their departure if doesn’t we promote them. But we don’t think of the people that will leave if does . We don’t teach them how to perform the job. We don’t show them what “good” looks like. And we don’t reward them when they do it well. Instead, we expect them to become a player-coach, which is code for, ‘carry out your old job but also take on the responsibility of managing the team’. We disincentivise employers from training and hiring young talent, because in a market downturn who will be more likely to lose their job: the older, wiser sage, or the younger, cheaper protege?
Benefits of
Many companies spend large sums of money on employee benefits without assessing whether employees value them. Great bosses can spend time with their teams to better understand the dynamics of this costly dynamic. A simple 2×2 plot of Employee Perceived Benefit against Company Cost ( Segal’s Cost-Value matrix ) identifies and questions the ‘High Value Perceived/Low cost’ benefits. This example shows that employees do not value large pension contributions. A responsible manager should educate their team on the importance long-term savings.
How to Get your Hybrid working right
The solution to the hybrid work conundrum is a brilliant boss. They will understand that people come to the office for collaboration, collegiality, and culture, not to keep an eye on shirkers or to exercise their micromanagement muscles. Focusing on the needs and requirements of the company, you can identify which tasks are best done in an office setting and which ones should be performed at home. A hybrid policy that is based on how much time employees spend doing tasks at home versus in the office (Segal’s Work Wheel), can be a great way to win over office workers who are not happy with the current system.
In order to create cultures where people want to be, the executive team and board must value and prioritize workplace culture. This will empower the business to invest more in their managers even during market downturns. This is when morale becomes most important. Firing middle managers that don’t perform a front-line role may seem like the best option when you need to reduce costs, but with redundancies and pay increases unlikely, it is more than just a nice thing.
The beauty of investing in culture is that it is aligned perfectly with medium- and long-term profitability. Many businesses are focused on maximising profits or building the best widgets or having the happiest customers. When businesses focus on their inputs, i.e. the most motivated and happy employees, they will see a dramatic change. Motivated employees are willing to give everything because they care, they’re engaged with the business and they really want to. This has a direct impact on the bottom line. If our leaders put a priority on creating a happy and nurturing work environment, they will not only see their business thrive, but also help to create a more sustainable, better world.
Many people talk about the good and bad aspects of working. The 2020 legacy is home-versus-office working. This creates a constant tension between employers and employees, who want people to work more days in the office than they are willing to. Businesses try to combat these issues by offering employee benefits such as duvet day, gym memberships, and baristas who make the perfect latte. They think that this will encourage people to return to the office, and build loyalty. They are wrong.
Bribes only work in the short-term. Free lunches are nice but they quickly lose their shine and we return to our baseline levels of job satisfaction. Even threats are less effective. Those who can leave, leaving behind less marketable and less competent employees, as well as an expensive turnover issue to manage. Understanding and what motivates us is a much more sustainable approach.
It’s not money. Money ceases to motivate us once we’ve met our basic needs. (And everyone has a different definition of “enough”). It is a proxy to something else such as power, recognition or status. It can also become a demotivator when we’re not paid fairly. There is nothing more deflating that finding out your peers are paid more than you. The two biggest motivators are’team’, and’purpose’. A bad boss is the greatest demotivator. Incompetent micromanagers are the main reason people leave their jobs.
Brilliant Bosses
It is obvious that a great boss will motivate you. They will build a happy, functional team, with a clear sense of purpose. There is a systemic, fundamental problem. We promote the wrong people to management, and then we disincentivise their good work. We give out management positions based on technical competency in an existing position, not because we’ve identified someone who has the skills and aptitude for the new management role. We worry about their departure if doesn’t we promote them. But we don’t think of the people that will leave if does. We don’t teach them how to perform the job. We don’t show them what “good” looks like. And we don’t reward them when they do it well. Instead, we expect them to become a player-coach, which is code for, ‘carry out your old job but also take on the responsibility of managing the team’. We disincentivize them to hire and train up young talent, because in an inevitable market downturn who will be more likely to lose their job: the older, expensive sage, or the younger, cheaper protege?
Benefits of
Many companies spend large sums of money on employee benefits without assessing whether employees value them. Great bosses can spend time with their teams to better understand the dynamics of this costly dynamic. The simple 2×2 plot of Employee Perceived Benefit against Company Cost ( Segal’s Cost-Value matrix ) identifies and questions the benefits in the opposite quadrant. This example shows that employees do not value large pension contributions. A responsible manager should educate their team on the importance long-term savings.
How to Get your Hybrid working right
The solution to the hybrid work conundrum is a brilliant boss. They will understand that people come to the office for collaboration, collegiality, and culture, and not to keep an eye on shirkers or to exercise their micromanagement muscles. Focusing on the business needs and identifying which tasks are best done in an office setting and which ones can be performed at home is a great place to start. A hybrid policy that is based on how much time employees spend doing tasks at home versus in the office (Segal’s Work Wheel), can be a great way to win over office workers who are not happy with the current system.
In order to create cultures where people want to be, the executive team and board must value and prioritize workplace culture. This will empower the business to invest more in their managers even during market downturns. This is when morale becomes most important. Firing middle managers that don’t perform a front-line role may seem like the best option when you need to reduce costs, but with redundancies and pay increases unlikely, it’s a necessity.
The beauty of it is that culture investment is aligned perfectly with medium to long term profits. Many businesses are focused on maximising profits or building the best widgets or having the happiest customers. When businesses focus on their inputs, i.e. the most motivated and happy employees, they will see a dramatic change. Motivated employees are willing to give everything because they care, they’re engaged with the business and they really want to. This has a direct impact on the bottom line. If our leaders put a priority on creating a happy and nurturing work environment, they will not only see their business thrive, but also help to create a more sustainable, better world.
The first time HR news published the post “How businesses can create a culture that promotes workplace wellbeing”.
