What Do You Do When Your Employees Don’t Care?

by | Jan 30, 2020 | Business Excellence, Personal Development

Two colleagues, epitomizing employee apathy, rest their heads on a table between two laptops, appearing exhausted. Their arms are extended in front of the devices, and a white coffee mug sits beside one laptop. The scene is set against sheer white curtains in the background.

As a business owner, you expect a lot from your employees. They have to work for long hours every day and ensure not to make a mistake. Some of them have to work over the weekends and holidays. Expectations remain that employees treat all customers well and all stakeholders as you require them. You probably trust that they will do an excellent job.

However, depending on the empowerment policies in your company, some of them may get exhausted, demotivated, and start acting like they do not care. When this happens, what do you do? Read ahead;

Engage your employees

You have to understand that you hired your employees to benefit from their hard work. They spend many hours at work to make ends meet. They have capacities and capabilities to expand. You must engage them in a way that they feel they are benefiting from the company.

No employee wants to work in a job where they do not care. They all want to be engaged in meaningful work. Listen to them, hold meetings frequently, and be an approachable leader. Your employees want to feel valued in their workplace. They want an assurance that their hard work goes ignored.

Meaningful teamwork

Still on engagement, your employees want to be part of a team that allows them to participate and air opinions without being judged. They want to be part of a team that finds meaningful fun during a working day and produces the best results. Therefore, before you demand a lot from your employees, it is only fair to create an engaging environment, one that supports teamwork.

Empower them and stay out of the way

It is a difficult transition to move from feeling satisfied with individual work to feel satisfied with the work of a team. It is equally demoralizing to work for a boss who keeps rewriting whatever you write or one who takes all credit for something you created, without celebrating you in any way.

As an employer, you want an engaged workforce. Grant them the autonomy to exercise their skills and competencies without interrupting or micromanaging. It feels great knowing that it is up to them to perform and that their efforts make a difference in your company. This autonomy implies that they will receive credit for their excellent work; they will be recognized and that they are trusted.

Whenever you see your employees act like they are tired and want to quit, engage them, empower them, grant them autonomy, and see the difference it makes in their daily works.