Which means businesses are in a new race for talent that money can’t buy.
But why is this even a surprise?
We’ve seen the age-old quote “choose a job you love, and you’ll never have to work a day” floating around for years.
But we’re only just starting to take it seriously.
Mental Health plays a large part in this. And rightly so. People are realising they have choice and businesses are trying harder to make their companies desirable places to be.
So how do we create a workplace that keeps employees happy and engaged?
Let’s go back to school - a lesson in psychology.
Once we understand that as humans we have basic, psychological and self-fulfillment needs; we’re able to master motivation and engagement.
1. Basic needs are food, water, warmth and rest. A company not offering these is bound to have no employees. They are BASIC.
These should involve having an employment contract, living salary, and safe working environment. This will allow your employees to feel safe and able to fulfil their basic living needs.
2. Psychological needs include intimate relationships and friends. Which aren’t completely relevant in the workplace, but having a team of people surrounding you who you can trust and engage with is important.
Included in that is esteem needs. It’s human nature to feel wanted, appreciated and a sense of accomplishment. So as a company, you should be recognizing good work and making your employees feel valued and empowered. Having a sense of direction with a joint mission, vision and values creates a sense of purpose and teamwork.
3. Lastly, self-fulfillment. It's helping and supporting your employees to reach their full potential. And when people stop seeing room for progression, they leave to find it elsewhere. There should be opportunities for employees to achieve their goals at all stages of their career; hard work and successful performance should be rewarded. Through acknowledging this, employees will be more engaged with higher esteem, which will benefit the organisation as a whole.
To conclude, candidates understand that to spend over 30 hours a week somewhere, they have to be happy and engaged. Companies are now challenged to work on their internal culture and brand to ensure they can retain and attract the talent they need.