"From work from home to work from office to work for somebody else and all this after all the employee interaction activities to keep employees happy. For that you need employees. They should have focused on keeping employees," so said social media comedian Aiyyo Shraddha in a viral video on the recent layoffs in the tech industry.
At our workplaces we have all seen events, rewards and many more tokens given to employees for ‘appreciating’ them but it all goes against the current scenario of the job market. So far, in 2023, more than one lakh employees have been laid off. Numerous employees have shared accounts of how stressful the work environment can get.
It’s Employee Appreciation Day today, March 3, and the need to properly appreciate the employees has been rising every passing year. In light of the perennially tight labour market, the loss of human connection in the workplace is a cause for concern. Many reports have suggested that employees do not feel connected to, valued by, or valued by their co-workers on a real level. To get that elusive sense of being seen, heard, and valued, employees are becoming more open to searching in other places.
“Appreciation cannot be viewed as a yearly event that may be completed and then forgotten about for the following 364 days. It's also not best conveyed through tacky, brand-related presents that are most likely to wind up in a landfill. Individuals now expect more from their employers; they desire an environment where they can be themselves and give their all every day,” said Sangitha Reddy, a corporate counsellor based out of Hyderabad.
Here are some ways in which employees can be ‘really’ appreciated:
Invest in making employee mental health a priority
It’s very important for companies to invest in the mental health of employees. A report by Slack, titled 'Leadership and the War for Talent,' found that 54 percent of Indian knowledge workers experience burnout and nearly 66 percent are planning on a job switch.
Deloitte’s Mental Health Survey, released last year, pointed out that around 47 percent of professionals in India consider workplace-related stress as the biggest factor affecting their mental health.
Employees want to be heard at their workplace
As per data by global analytics firm Gallup, 71 percent of employees agree that they will advocate for their company as a good place to work in if their workplace cares about their well-being.
Company policies form a very important role in an employee's mental health as it benefits both of them. “Creating wellness solutions to help employees maintain optimal well-being at the workplace is no longer a nice-to-have but a necessity to increase business performance, employee engagement and talent retention,” said Lalitha M Shetty, AVP, HR and Talent Management, Omega Healthcare.
Some good initiatives to that end are pop-up messages to stop working after office hours by SoftGrid Computers, Spotify ‘wellness week,’ Deam 11’s unplugging initiative, and Meesho’s week-off for mental health well-being.
Apart from this, companies can also invest in providing employees with wellness apps and a more flexible work schedule.
Companies in India need to start with simply being empathetic towards their employees, according to Amrit Singh, Co-founder and CRO, Loop, a healthtech company. He advises companies to make available a collection of resources that provides coping skills for frequently encountered mental health symptoms and also provides access to a roster of mental health experts and professionals.
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“Companies can also encourage employees to designate ‘work time,’ ‘focus time’ and ‘downtime’ to ensure a proper work and personal life balance. Respecting employee holiday time is also a good way to ensure they completely switch off from work and come back re-energised,” added Amrit.
Listen and communicate
As per a Slack study, a quarter of knowledge workers said their leaders do not communicate well and reported being dissatisfied with their jobs — that is four times the rate of knowledge workers who said their leaders are good at communicating.
Employees are expected to act when leaders express their ideas and concerns. Alternatively, the same is expected of leaders, and one of the best ways to demonstrate to staff members that they are valued and heard is by acting on input.
“Creating a culture of feedback, appreciating your employees for their work, noticing their work and making their hard work visible in the company is a leader's role,” said Reddy.
Experts and employees suggest that now, employee wellness is more than providing their employees with group health insurance or personal accident insurance; it's about optimising their overall health and other factors that impact it, like mental health, financial health, emotional health, stress management, work-life balance, and flexibility.
