As far as meaningless corporate jargon goes, the phrase “people are our greatest asset” must be near the top of the list. While companies put enormous effort into finding out what their customers want, the same can rarely be said of their employees. Most of the time, they’re left to get on with their work and severely criticized if something goes wrong.
Not all companies are like this. Google, for instance, holds regular checkups with employees and tries its best to respond to their needs. The top brass at Microsoft is similarly concerned with employee welfare, which is why jobs at these firms are so coveted. But for the majority of companies, the wellbeing of staff is little more than an afterthought.
Things are changing though. Glassdoor, for instance, is a review site for employees where they can talk frankly about employers. It provides people with an insight into how companies are run, what their values are, and how highly rated they are by staff, past and present. It’s a great tool for times like these when the economy is nearing full employment because it gives workers the information they need to make better decisions about where they want to work next. But Glassdoor is very much the exception, and most businesses aren’t a part of it – at least, not yet.
The data on employee happiness speak for themselves. According to Investors in People, more than 47 per cent of workers are considering applying for a different job this year, with more than a quarter already looking. What’s more, about one in five workers say that they are so unhappy at work they’d be willing to take a substantial pay cut to improve the situation.
Isolation At Work
The problem is that companies simply aren’t doing the things that make workers happy. One of the most significant issues is isolation at work. Workers kept in cubicles don’t get the opportunities they need to make meaningful friendships with others in the office, affecting their happiness levels. Research suggests that workers who do have close relationships are much more productive and far more likely to enjoy work.
Lack Of Training
Lack of training, especially in critical areas such as customer service, is a major bugbear for employees. You can check here for more information. But suffice to say that companies just aren’t investing enough in their people to convince anyone that they believe that their people are their biggest asset. If they were, then more money would go into things like staff training and leadership development. Data from the Oxford Martin School suggests that expenditure on training is falling in most Western countries.
Lack Of Interest In Wellbeing
Companies know that they have to talk about corporate responsibility and worker wellbeing to appear socially responsible to the outside world. But few companies go beyond the standard buzzwords and implement their own internal programs. Firms that genuinely see their people as assets see them as customers and managers continually seek feedback on their performance.
