Apart from the standard expectations of fairly-compensated salaries, good coverage from health insurance plans and well-deserved vacation days, there are other forms of support that employees these days are looking to receive from the leaders.
According to the 2020 Global Culture Report created by O.C Tanner Institute, some of the challenges that leaders and companies face today include growing frustration with conventional workplace practices, an alarming increase in burnout and a rejection of traditional leadership practices.
Keeping these new challenges in mind, here are 3 forms of support employees need from their leaders today that is different from the conventional expectations.
1. Coaching
As employees around the world desire greater autonomy and more transparent communication, they have also expressed their needs for better mentoring from their leaders.
In fact, among the surveyed 20,000 employees, only 54% of them reported that their leaders knew what they did at work. These employees are aware of what they specifically need coaching on too. Providing these individuals with feedback to connect them with their strengths is one way leaders can coach them too.
Additionally, employees have also mentioned that they need leaders who act as mentors and coaches, rather than those who would micromanage their tasks. As such, one of the forms of support that leaders can provide their employees with is coaching.
2. Work-Life Balance
Work-life balance is also one of the other forms of support that colleagues need from their leaders at work. According to an article published on Entrepreneur.com, establishing work-life balance is essential to prevent employees from professional burnouts and to promote overall well-being.
With remote working conditions becoming a norm, more employees are now asking for flexibility with regards to time and location. These individuals want to break away from the fixed schedule of working hours and explore environments outside of their office cabins to complete their work.
Employees are now also on the lookout for leaders who encourage productivity over fixed 8-hour shifts. This could mean getting some extra time for individuals who are quicker at handling their workload. Employees who are also parents are looking for increased support to spend more time with their children as well.
For these reasons, employees seek good work-life balance as one of the forms of support that employers can provide in today’s working world.
3. Morale
According to an article published by Bill Hogg & Associates, it is critically vital to have a positive work environment. They also highlighted that if employees dread the thought of going to work each day, they may not be able to perform their best and could resent going to work altogether.
Morale can be boosted in employees when they feel valued within their company. The expression of gratitude as well as the trust established towards them by their superiors are always to increase the morale within a workspace.
As a result of these actions, the high morale employees will be more engaged, willing to work harder, and will also be more committed to the organisation’s goals. As such, keeping the morale high for employees is also one of the many forms of support employers can provide their colleagues with, in an organisation.
In conclusion, there are many forms of support that employers can provide their employees with. The above mentioned – coaching, work-life balance, and high morale within organisations – are just 3 forms of support out of many.
Since employees already spend more time at work than they do at home, leaders should try to provide them with the necessary support they need so as to maintain high engagement rates, and for employees to attain career success within the workspace.
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Reshma is StrengthsAsia’s content writer and research contributor. She enjoys spending her time writing anything from poems to screenplays, and everything in between. She also finds joy in reading novels, baking and catching movies with her family. Participating in creative activities helps her find inspiration and new ideas for her work.
Aly is StrengthsAsia’s marketing and communications guru and lead editor. She's over the top inquisitive and everyone in the company knows her as “The Googler” as she practically googles everything. Honestly, we all worry for her… She is also the Principal Trainer for our one of a kind ice cream team building workshops in Asia.