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CHANGE
Your ATTITUDE
And It will CHANGE
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Showing posts with label work related. Show all posts
Showing posts with label work related. Show all posts

September 10, 2009

Appreciate The Effort

I came across a very well written post on why people quit their jobs and I knew I had to write this one.

I remember one colleague of mine saying the words “That’s why people quite their jobs, they are not happy and they choose to move on and keep doing it unless they find one”.

The statement came at a time when I was amusing myself with sarcasm when I saw a mail from the HOD (head of department) asking to explain on an email received from the client side. All this happened when I took a loo break.

Before that an email from the client appreciated my team efforts for delivering in a short time. The HOD also acknowledged our team effort on the same email.

What amused me that day was the way the boss chooses to change sides without trying to find out what happened. It kind of reflects how much trust he has on his own team.

Anyone who has worked would know that the number of your mistakes pointed is always higher than the times your work has been appreciated. I would put that in a ratio of 10:1.

An office environment is nothing short of being in a sports team where everyone’s contributions decide the final outcome. Very few people actually realize this and treat their team in such a way.

I remember doing a presentation in one of the session how an employee morale gets affected with and without feedback being received.

The first stage was about the employee who joined the organization trying to give his best. In the second stage he feels lost when his efforts don’t yield the appreciation/recognition that he was looking for. In the third stage he loses his enthusiasm to give his best which results in bad performance without a feedback. With a feedback, he knows where he stands and gives his best and that gets him rewards & promotions.

In reality, the feedback session is nothing short of being told where one should improve and reminded of their past mistakes. Appreciating an employee rarely happens unless it’s outstanding!! How many of the employees manage to do that?

There is also a perception among the management that if they appreciate the work of the employees, it would send out a wrong sense of hope that they would be moved up the ladder. This is totally wrong!!

Not everyone aims of becoming a leader, how is one suppose to lift a team member’s morale without appreciating the effort he/she has put in, irrespective of the outcome? Does cribbing, pointing out their mistakes are going to make them do things right? The answer is NO.

People choose to work for various reasons, and not everyone is going to follow the office ethics!! It’s a myth if people think it works, no wonder office politics sustains because of the above reason, often finding people who are incapable to inherit the much desired position. Then again, it’s the management who holds the control over how much politics should be allowed to exist.

We end up spending most of our time in office than at home, which only keeps getting longer as one moves up the ladder. It does makes a difference on one’s state of mind on how one is treated.

Everyone likes to be appreciated once in a while. A small pat on the back, telling someone that they are doing a good job goes on a long way to boost one’s morale.

I have observed that unless one does an outstanding work, one’s work will never get appreciated even if it’s a good effort. How many times are people able to deliver outstanding work? Very few!!

Where does that leaves an average employee? No wonder after a certain period of time people quit as boredom sets in and the constant reminder of how bad one is doing.

If one wants employees to stop quitting, start appreciating the efforts not the result, and one could see the difference…