Understanding What Makes Employees Unhappy

As an employer, one of your main priorities is to keep your employees happy and content. When discontent manifests in the workplace, it can have some pretty awful results. Will unhappy employees represent the best interests of your business? Are they likely to care about their work or how other people perceive them? It’s unlikely, meaning they cause damage to your reputation. 

Likewise, unhappy employees are more inclined to leave. This presents a turnover problem as you’re constantly hiring new people, only for more to leave. It’s extremely costly, not to mention the lack of continuity it brings to your organization. Thus, the natural conclusion is that you must do all you can to keep your employees happy. To do this, you need to get in the minds of your employees and figure out what makes them unhappy. From here, you can prevent these issues from arising, creating a happier work environment for everyone. 

Poor wages

It’s only natural to be annoyed when you feel like you’re being underpaid. If your employees are on poor wages – compared to others in the same industry – they become unsettled. Why should they bother working for you when they can work for someone else and get paid a good deal more? Underpaying your employees is the easiest way to make them leave your business. 

Inconsistent payments

On a similar note, employees are unhappy when they receive inconsistent payments. This refers to when they’re paid, and how much they receive. Ideally, this can all be solved with some decent payroll software, ensuring all of your employees are paid on a set date each month and a set amount. When this isn’t the case, your workers are unsettled because they’re waiting around for their money. They might need it because they have bills to pay, so it’s highly frustrating when the payments are late – or incomplete. 

A lack of recognition/support

Have you ever worked for a company that doesn’t show any recognition of your services? Not only that, but they offer no support in your role? This makes you feel like a worthless drone to them – like you don’t even matter. If this happens in your business, none of your employees will be happy. They feel under-appreciated; it’s like all of their hard work isn’t even noticed. They work themselves to the bone so you can make money, but they don’t even get a pat on the back. If you don’t recognize your employee’s efforts, they’ll be extremely unhappy. 

No room for growth

Finally, staff members are discontented when they have no room for growth. They have no way of getting promoted or getting a raise. Their personal development is stunted because you don’t offer them any training or ways to diversify their skills. Employees hate this as it makes them feel like they’re stuck in the same job forever. So, it’s only natural that they think about leaving.

It’s your duty to recognize these issues and correct them. Give your employees room to grow, acknowledge their efforts, pay them on time, and give them a decent wage. By keeping your employees happy, your business will thrive.