One of the keys to growing your business significantly is to ensure that your employees are happy and in their best health. This way, you can be sure that they’ll be productive and dedicate their best to your business. While many employees may be aware of this, not too many may know the signs to look out for so that they can know that their employees aren’t really happy. Read on to see five of the signs that can make you aware of this fact, giving you the chance to change whatever’s necessary so you can make sure that you have a happy team behind you that’s ready to take your business or brand to the next level.
1. They’re Regularly Late or Absent
The first sign that your team may not be happy at work is if they regularly call in late, or they’re altogether absent. While it’s only natural for lateness or leaves of absence to be sought owing to different life situations, there’s a limit. That said, you should try to get to the bottom of the matter if either a particular employee or a group of them have a pattern of lateness. This is the case regardless of the industry that your business is in, including one that involves manual work in the field such as painting. For this, there are currently more than 206,202 painters employed in America, according to Zippia.
2. They Do the Bare Minimum
Next, if your employees clock in on time and leave at the right time but only do the bare minimum, this is a sign that they’re not motivated to give their very best to work. They’re more than likely dealing with dissatisfaction as far as work goes, hence the lack of passion. Note that according to Havard Business Review, organizations that had low employee engagement scores experienced 18% lower productivity. This can cost your business over time, leading to stunted growth that makes it harder for your business to reach its highest point.
3. They Never Speak Up
If there’s silence from your employees, don’t let this fool you, especially if the other signs outlined above exist. That’s because your employees may be resentful of circumstances at work or something else that they don’t feel free to talk about. This is a major issue, with 84% of people in a survey saying that Americans are significantly angrier today when compared with the case a generation ago, according to NPR. Create a free environment at your business so that if anyone has an issue, they’re free to talk about it and therefore make it possible to get a resolution for it.
4. They’re Not Friends with Each Other
While your employees don’t need to be the best of friends and want to spend every waking moment together, they should at least have some shared values that give them a common ground on which to stand. If they can genuinely enjoy each other’s company throughout the working day, you can be sure that there’s a friendly culture at the workplace that promotes bonding. A good way to handle this issue is to plan team-building activities periodically.
5. They’re Extra Sensitive to Feedback
Last but not least, if your employees seem to be extra sensitive to feedback, including things that involve correcting them, they may not be too happy. Feedback, even criticism, is meant to help people grow. This applies to professionally and in other respects as well, so it’s a part of any employment. Employees who are rarely, if ever appreciated, are bound to take corrections as an attack, so look into ways of acknowledging the hard work done by each one of them.
If you notice these five signs or many of them, then you should know that your employees aren’t happy. As such, you need to try and change this as soon as you can. Otherwise, you may end up having to deal with issues such as a high employee turnover rate.
