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Technology might be currently getting all the headlines, but it’s the employees who still make or break a business. So it’s important to learn, and avoid, things that employ employees.
Having a productive team of talented workers really can be a game-changer for businesses, helping brands to be the absolute best that they can be and ultimately get the edge over their competitors.
Many businesses think that having the right tools in place is key to boosting employee productivity, but actually, employee happiness plays just as big a role. Having the best tools/software for your employees will count for little if they’re all planning on leaving your company as soon as possible.
There are many ways to boost employee happiness, and one of the easiest is to simply avoid frustrating them whenever possible. In this post, we’ll run through some of the most common things that annoy employees, as well as outline some handy solutions.
Overlooking the Importance of Personal Time
Good employees will genuinely care about their work and the overall success of the business, but they’ll also care about their personal time. Employers who try to encroach upon their employees’ personal time typically experience an above-average employee turnover rate, since they demonstrate that they don’t value their team’s free time — and that’s something that employees notice.
Respecting personal time goes beyond calling/messaging/emailing outside of the employee’s work hours. It also means allowing employees to choose whether they attend out-of-hours social get-togethers or other business-related activities.
Inaccurate or Late Payments
If you’ve hired correctly, then your employees will be genuinely passionate about the work that they do.
But passion doesn’t pay the bills. Businesses that make inaccurate (which nearly always means lower) or late payments more than once run the risk of alienating their workforce. For businesses, payroll can be an administrative issue. For workers, it’s the difference between paying rent and not. Businesses can show that they value their employees’ financial commitments by using payroll software that eliminates errors and allows for on-time payments every single payday. Ultimately, an employee should never have to ask for their salary; it should be as reliable as clockwork.
Poor Office Quality
Employees primarily care about the nature of the work they do. But they also increasingly care about where they do it. Offices that are cluttered, dirty, and generally uninspiring can seriously harm employee morale, impacting productivity and making it more likely that they’ll seek new employment.
For office spaces, a little bit of effort really can go a long way. Upgrading the office furniture, adding colour whenever possible (plants/artwork can help), and increasing the amount of natural light can do wonders for creating the kind of space that employees actually want to work in.
Micromanagement
Autonomy is a fundamental pillar of employee engagement and professional satisfaction. When individuals have the agency to make decisions and manage their own workflows, they develop a deeper sense of accountability and pride in their output. Micromanagement, however, cuts directly through that sense of autonomy and ownership, stripping away the trust necessary for a healthy workplace culture. This constant oversight causes employees to feel disempowered, stifles their creative problem-solving, and ultimately breeds a culture of resentment and “quiet quitting.”
The impact of this management style extends far beyond individual morale; it is a significant drain on organizational health. Companies led by managers who micromanage tend to suffer from significantly higher staff turnover, as high-performing talent will rarely stay in an environment where they aren’t trusted to execute their roles. Furthermore, these teams often produce inferior outcomes compared to those led by empowering managers. When staff members are allowed to simply get on with their work, they are free to innovate and take initiative, leading to higher quality results and a more resilient, loyal workforce.
Conclusion
To keep your workers happy, be sure that you avoid these 4 things that annoy employees.
Now, over to you… if you are an employer, or an employee, are there other things you found that annoy employees?
