As a manager, you want your employees to remain motivated, engaged, and productive. The better your team performs, the more likely they will reach company goals.
Although you want to encourage your team to perform their best, you also want to avoid pushing your employees too hard. Otherwise, your team likely will become demotivated, disengaged, and burnt out.
Look for these five signs you are pushing your employees too hard and what you can do to improve.
1. Substantial Absenteeism
If your employees regularly call in sick or do not show up for work, it may be because you are pushing them too hard. Continuous exposure to high amounts of stress impacts employees’ physical and mental health. This exposure can lead to anxiety, depression, and burnout.
As a result, you should encourage your employees to take regular breaks and an hour for lunch each day. They might go for a walk, meditate, listen to music, read a book, or talk with colleagues and coworkers who are on break.
2. Consistent Tardiness
If an employee regularly shows up late for work, it may be because you are pushing them too hard. Since an overworked employee likely will resent going to work, they might struggle to show up on time.
As a result, you should privately talk with an employee who consistently arrives at the office late. Determining the underlying issue helps you implement a solution.
3. Long Workdays
If your employees regularly work long hours, it may be because you are pushing them too hard. Employees who feel the need to come in early, stay late, and/or work over the weekend likely will become tired, frustrated, and stressed out. The result can be disengagement, reduced productivity, and burnout.
Therefore, you should consider whether you have realistic expectations for your employees and provide the necessary resources and support to reach their goals. Also, think about whether you provide adequate autonomy for your employees to make decisions and complete their work. If any issues come to mind, develop ways to resolve them.
4. Lack of Camaraderie
If your employees do not feel a sense of community at work, it may be because you are pushing them too hard. Your employees need a feeling of connection to remain motivated during the workday. Otherwise, the result likely will be decreased employee engagement, performance, and productivity. This can lower job satisfaction, employee morale, and retention rates.
Therefore, you should talk with your employees about how connected they feel to you, each other, and your organization. Then, implement ways to resolve the underlying issues.
5. Significant Turnover
If your employees are leaving the company in droves, it may be because you are pushing them too hard. This may be especially true if your employees give little or no notice that they are taking jobs with other companies.
As a result, you should privately talk with your employees about their reasons for leaving. Encourage your employees to be candid in their responses. Ask what you can do to improve so that future employees stay long-term.
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