Energizing The Undervalued And OverworkedProvo City, United States of America, 23-Jun-2015

Emily Hoffman, Vice President, Development & Delivery at VitalSmartswrites about Managing Employees who feel “Undervalued” and“Overworked”.

Dear Emily,I have a team of three individuals. They are all hard workers and have beenwith the company for a long time. I have been their manager for almost fiveyears now. Over the last year, we have gone through some organizationalchanges that have made them feel, as they have stated, “undervalued” and“overworked.” In an effort to boost morale,

Now I am getting emails like “I am leaving on Thursday at three because I have a something I need to do.” Or, “I amgoing to work from home today since it is my Friday to leave early anyway.” How can I pull back from some of these“perks” without them spiraling down into their previous feelings?

Regards,Perk ‘Em Up

Dear Perk ‘Em Up,Managing employees who feel “undervalued” and “overworked” is common. In 2011, the American PsychologicalAssociation reported that 48 percent of U.S. employees feel “undervalued” at work. Much has been written about whatorganizations can do to foster a healthy work environment. Yet the question remains what can a single manager of threepeople do? Individual managers don’t have all the levers that organizations do. They can’t change the compensationsystem, the building layout, or whether there is free food in the cafeteria and an onsite masseur. However, most of usintuitively know what research has shown: people quit their managers not their jobs. A manager has a huge impact onemployee engagement and retention even more than a Ping-Pong table in the break room. So, what is a manager todo?

First: Get Really, Really Clear On What You Want And Why You Want It.As a manager myself, I have been highly influenced by the work of Clayton Christensen. I will always remember readingan article by Dr. Christensen in which he described what the core of management is giving people the opportunity tolearn, grow in responsibilities, contribute to others, and be recognized for achievements. What is absent from this list?Free sodas in the break room.

I believe that one of the most important things I do as a manager is making sure my people go home feeling good at theend of each day. I want them to feel as if they have accomplished something, been recognized for it, and contributedpositively to others. I want to send them home that way because the most important work we do is not in ourorganizations it is in our homes, our families, and our communities. Sending someone home to her six-year-olddaughter feeling overworked and undervalued creates an unproductive home dynamic.

So, that is what I really, really want for work to get done in a productive manner under conditions in which employeesthrive. Our friend and colleague Rich Sheridan, CEO of Menlo Innovations, would sum this up more succinctly: “I want tocreate joy in the workplace.” The benefit of getting clear on this is that it allows you to put into perspective all the thingsthat don’t matter. If work is getting done productively and people are taking joy home to their families, why does it matterif someone leaves early? Why would I feel taken advantage of if someone assumes they can work from home? It onlymatters if I think my role as a manager is to make sure people are in their offices from 9 to 5 each day. That is not therole I choose as a manager.

Second: Understand What Really Creates Joy, Satisfaction, And Value In The WorkplaceIn all honesty, it is probably not what you think it is. It is a very human tendency to look first to perks, rewards, andincentives to motivate, recognize, and engage people. I do this in my own life. When I have a hard task that I amtempted to put off, I promise myself a reward: finish this newsletter article on time and I can treat myself to thatchocolate-dipped Oreo I have been craving. When it comes to dealing with others, we do this as well. Need to motivateyour teenager to clean his room? Withhold his allowance until it is cleaned to your satisfaction. Want your employees tofeel valued? Let them have “early-out” on summer Fridays.

Don’t mistake me rewards, incentives, and perks are important influence tools in our manager toolbox. But they canbackfire, especially when used in isolation. If all you do is offer a reward, you miss out on other more powerful sourcesof motivation and engagement. As you think about ways to engage “overworked and undervalued” employees, considerthese other sources of motivation.

1. Get things done. Again, I learned this from Rich Sheridan. People love to get things done. There is incrediblesatisfaction that comes from checking off an item on the list of things to do the ability to look at a finished result and say,“Yep, I did that today.” As Sheridan says, “Done releases endorphins, the body’s natural opiate, and it’s addictive.”People want to come to work and finish something. But too often, process and people get in the way of getting thingsdone. So how can you as a manager make sure you are taking down barriers and allowing your people to actuallyaccomplish work?

2. Connect to what they value. This is especially important in times of organizational change. It is imperative thatmanagers find ways to connect the work that is being done to the things that people value most. Not only do peoplewant to get work done, they want to get meaningful work done. Make sure you find ways to regularly and powerfully

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connect the work people are doing to the value that work provides.

3.Recognize achievement. When you do give a reward of some kind, make sure to link it to a specific behavior orachievement. This is different than just giving someone a perk it is frequent, specific, and timely. It requires a managerto have a great deal of insight into what is important to an employee and how best to recognize someone. And it is notrecognition for recognition’s sake. It is not saying, “Good job for showing up to work today.” Managers should linkrecognition to specific behaviors, e.g., “I really appreciated how much time to you took to address that client’s need. Youdemonstrated a lot of empathy.”

Third Have A Conversation.If you believe that employees are behaving in ways that are dragging down the organization or your relationship, talk tothem about it. Be transparent and treat your employees as your equals. It is absolutely fine to approach them as a groupand say, “You three have done wonderful work this past year as we have navigated through these organizationalchanges. I know there were times when you felt overworked and undervalued. I attempted to mitigate some of thosefeelings by introducing the policy of leaving at 3:00 p.m. on alternate Fridays during the summer. Now, I notice, thereare times where you are taking off early on Thursdays or working from home on Fridays. I don’t want to curtail a perkthat is meaningful to you and helps you know how much you are valued. At the same time, I am starting to feel like youare taking advantage of the initial perk by stretching it past the original boundaries. Can we talk about things I can do tohelp you feel valued and recognized for the great work we do, while also not feeling like things are being taken too far?”

When you involve them candidly in the discussion, you can surface the issues and come to a joint resolution thateveryone will be committed to.

Best of Luck!

Emily

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