Employers Don't Know What Workers Want Now

 

One thing I try to do in this blog is make sure you are aware of areas where you may have misconceptions about what your workforce needs to be productive. After that, of course, I give you ideas to use in your project. Here's your latest test.

Which of the following two lists represents the five factors, in order of descending importance, that workers in a recent study said causes them stress?

Group A

1. Inadequate staffing (lack of support, uneven workload or performance in group)
2. Low pay or low increase in pay
3. Unclear or conflicting job expectations
4. Organizational culture, including lack of teamwork, and tendency to avoid accountability and assign blame to others
5. Lack of work/life balance (excessive workloads or long hours)

Group B

1. Lack of work/life balance (excessive workloads or long hours)
2. Inadequate staffing (lack of support, uneven workload or performance in group)
3. Technologies that expand availability during nonworking hours (e.g. mobiles, notebooks)
4. Unclear or conflicting job expectations
5. Fears about job loss, too much change.

While there are some overlaps, you would have to know the correct list in order to properly intervene to help your workers be more satisfied with their jobs and more productive in your project. Towers Watson and the National Business Group on Health teamed up in the U.S. to study how workers felt about their stress at work. Researchers asked employers the same questions to see what employers believed the main sources of stress are. That's why there are two lists above, one is the employee list and one is the employer list.

The study found that there is a disconnect. Take a minute to get over the shock.

The worker's list of causes of stress is Group A. Note how workers are more concerned about inadequate staffing. Group B, representing employers' view, shows employers think the main problem is of work/life balance. Just looking at these two factors illustrates a trend. Employers believe that they can implement programs to help employees solve their own problems. But employees see the main cause as outside of their control, and inadequate staffing leads to uneven group performance and keeps them from getting the support they need. No wonder participation in employer programs for health and productivity is low.

You can make a big difference if you give workers in your project the support they need.

Help everyone prioritize their work . . . With so much to do and not enough resources, workers report that they need more help with prioritization.

Clarify the matrix . . Workers complain of matrixed organizations working under inadequate staffing where conflicts occur from multiple projects and uncontrolled workflow.

Pay attention to your high potentials . . . Don't make the common mistake of believing your high-potentials are immune to stress. If the study represents you workplace, chances are that your high potentials are working harder than others and are burning out. They may be looking to leave for greener pastures.

Help with time flexibility . . . If there was a peak period of work where long hours were needed, reduce hours during a slow period by giving people Friday off or Fri afternoon off or some other option they suggest. Tell your workers that they can come to you and ask for a break.

Listen to complaints about what you cannot change . . . Be a good listener. Perhaps the complaint is low wages after hearing the enterprise has had another profitable year. This is a common feeling according to the study. 

Think of your own ideas appropriate for your workplace that can help workers with their highest sources of stress. You don't have to solve managment's problem with meeting the needs of the workforce. You just have to build a powerful skill useful for the foreseeable future.