Job Dissatisfaction Part 2: Personal Appreciation and An Environment of Hope and Involvement

Written by: Ralph Twombly

Published: October 2009

(A look at why workers are dissatisfied and what to do about it)

Chart Last month we sent you to an article from Reuters.com and we also sent you a poll question that opened the discussion about workplace dissatisfaction. I promised you some ideas for what you can do about dissatisfied workers. Don’t you love the way that sounds? Dissatisfied workers… sounds like their problem, right? Well it is and it isn’t. Confused?

To begin, here are some questions and answers to make sense of this challenge.

Why do workers feel dissatisfied?

From our own experience in this work, we have to conclude that people feel under: Under appreciated, underutilized, underprepared for the future and generally underemployed. We are not talking about the bad performers here. These are the good folks who give their time and effort every day. The bad actors deserve their own article at some point. All of the most reliable resources agree.

Is this feeling mostly from blue-collar workers or white-collar workers?

Both groups feel exactly the same. The way the two groups approach the issue is somewhat different and the same rules apply to senior managers and production workers.

What has changed to make this such a big problem? There are both local and global pressures on our workforce…here are three reasons why:

People are frightened. This economy has resulted in people staying put in jobs where they aren’t necessarily the most happy or productive. The best example I can think of is the family that has lost one wage earner to unemployment resulting in the other wage earner’s growing stress and limited options of growth or development in lieu of security
Companies are frightened. The economy has forced many organizations to decide to do things like lay off employees, take more weeks off without pay, etc. In a robust economy organizations wouldn’t think of doing that. Here’s another example: When sales volume declines, some organizations have put in place shrink strategies that leave the survivors overworked in ways that may feel stressful and/or less important to their growth and development.
The growing workforce. Older people have lost some of their retirement value and have to wait longer to retire if they retire at all. Younger people can’t move into the senior folks’ role. A lot of the blue-collar work has either gone away or has been taken by a lower paid group of immigrants.

It all adds to a squeeze in the middle for people (real or imagined) that breeds hopelessness.

Solutions are easier sometimes than the problems, so let’s go there for a while. Based on the research done and what we have learned, people need at least three things that are missing from the workplace:

Personal appreciation and an environment of hope and involvement
Opportunity for career growth and development
Fair compensation

The first two are easier for us to write about than the number 3, because it is outside of our control and in some cases outside of the control of the organization. Faith in a global economy and a look at history tells us that number 3 will return and take care of itself. It only makes sense for employers to pay people fairly so they can attract and retain the best providers of service to customers as they grow. You may have heard the old cliché, “If you aren’t growing, you’re shrinking”.

Personal Appreciation and An Environment of Hope and Involvement

This requires a few global changes for most businesses and a few behavioral changes for people in the environment of those businesses.

The Global change needed to the workplace	Behavioral changes for people and the environment
Leadership must feel that the idea of engagement and employee appreciation is more than just things to do. When the core belief is that people are doing things right most of the time’ is prevalent, then what drives appreciation is the need to let them know. This isn’t the employee of the month idea. This is the culture of valuing the hard work, dedication and perseverance of the people who work hard each day to help businesses succeed.	Identify the top performers with the same zeal placed on finding performance problems. Hold routine meetings to reward important and successful events. Find creative ways to let individuals know (personally) of their value; i.e., Letter of excellence Focus in the company newsletter Ask for advice on related work Verbally give credit to the people when you talk routinely to others inside and outside the organization
Change ownership in the workplace. In a traditional top down workplace the role of supervisor or manager is much like the home role of Mom or Dad. In this environment it makes sense that workers act like children. We learned these skills growing up and it is easy for most of us to repeat, but it is also why we couldn’t wait to leave home to start our own lives.	Give employees ownership to clean, decorate, celebrate and improve their surroundings Make the giving of an idea with a concern an expectation for everyone Build systems that support ownership such as: Great idea systems – companies like Toyota, Jotul North America and Southworth International are using this model Encourage people to take their careers seriously and take charge of them
Leadership needs to change its role from directors of people and product to coaches and engagers of people. You will notice that the above all looks like philosophy of some sort, and it is. The philosophy is that we need more people who believe in the work and less people doing the work because they have to. This starts with core beliefs. When emancipation started in 1862, many southern plantation owners felt the slaves would cease to exist, because without the plantation owners’ help, they could not exist. The lesson may feel extreme but the philosophy is the same.	Educate yourself in preparation for a change in the way to lead – the world is moving in this direction and you may want to catch up. Learn to build and implement individual growth plans with people Encourage people to coach and mentor Understand and lead participation efforts when the opportunity is available Follow leaders who are successful at engaging people

Hopefully, I haven’t overwhelmed you…let me return to the beginning and remind you that changing the workplace is not just something that should be done. To compete globally we need to create the best working environments, attract the best people, hold onto the best of them and tap into the unknown potential that they bring to work every day. This can be great fun and there is no denying that it is heavy lifting.

Interestingly, what businesses need is exactly what people are asking for when they speak of dissatisfaction.

Thanks for reading this article and I’ll be in touch with you next month. Please feel free to send along your feedback and ideas. Hope you enjoy the fall!

Ralph Twombly

In the 20 years since starting Priority Learning, Ralph has facilitated countless learning experiences and has conducted training for thousands of managers and leaders. With over 30 years of leadership development and organizational development background and work, Ralph continues to build relationships with client companies all over the U.S.