We’ve examined some myths regarding the employee-manager relationship, now let’s face the facts.
Happy Employees Work Harder
A study from BI Worldwide found that 9 out of 10 employees who say they’re happy at work also agree that they “feel an obligation to work as hard as I can for my organization”, compared to just 6 out of 10 unhappy employees.
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93% of happy employees in the same study agreed that they are “willing to work especially hard for my organization’s customers”, while 69% of unhappy employees say the same.
Happy Employees Stay Longer
The same study found that the majority of unhappy employees plan to leave their companies within the next year, while only 23% of happy employees plan to leave.
The majority of unhappy employees plan to leave their companies within the next year.
Workplace Friendships Matter
What’s one recipe for happy workers? Workplace friendships. In one survey of U.S. employees, 89% of respondents said that their professional relationships impact their quality of life.
Among employees that have between 6 and 25 friends at work, 60% say they love their companies. Employees that don’t have as many friends? Only 24% say they love their companies.
A Gallup survey found that office friendships boost employee satisfaction by 50%, and when people have a best friend at work, they’re seven times more likely to be engaged.
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Employees Want More Feedback from Managers
85% of Millennials surveyed said they would feel more comfortable if they could have more frequent conversations with management.
These conversations don’t always have to center around praise: A Harvard Business Review poll found that 57% of employees actually prefer corrective feedback while 43% prefer praise/recognition.
Managers Have a Major Impact on Engagement
Gallup research shows that managers are responsible for at least 70% of the variance in employee engagement scores. Perhaps it’s no surprise then that half of employees have left a job to get away from their manager.
When managers hold regular meetings with employees, their team members are three times as likely to be engaged as those employees who don’t have regular check-in meetings.
These check-ins open the door for employees to approach their manager with questions, concerns, and feedback. Among employees who strongly agree that they can approach their manager, 54% are engaged. Only 2% of employees who don’t feel comfortable talking to their manager are engaged.
Regular conversations allow managers to develop a better understanding of their teams’ strengths. By highlighting those strengths, they can increase engagement. The same Gallup survey found that when a manager focuses on workers’ strengths and positive characteristics, 67% of employees are engaged. When a manager focuses on weaknesses, only 31% of employees are engaged.
Regular conversations allow managers to develop a better understanding of their teams’ strengths.
Managers Should Prioritize Goals and Growth
Managers are twice as likely to engage their employees when they help those employees develop their strengths.
One of the best ways to do that is to focus on goal-setting. Gallup asked employees whether their manager helps them set performance goals. Among employees whose manager does help, 69% are engaged. And when managers don’t help employees set goals? Only 8% of those employees are engaged.