One of the biggest complaints from employers in the workforce today is the lack of good work ethics among their employees. Some people abuse their personal and sick days and call out even when they have used up their allotted time off. They will leave part of their responsibilities for their coworkers to do. They come to work, stay for eight hours, and leave.
Others are truly dedicated to their job. They do the work their employers expect from them and will then give a little more. They pick up the slack for lazy coworkers. They stay late to finish their work without complaining.
Then there are those employees who arrive at their job to do what is expected of them and no more. They believe that they should not do anything that their employer did not specifically list under the duties of the job.
There is a way for employers to hold onto those employees who give 110% to their job every day. There are also ways for employers to improve the attitude of those workers who just show up every day. For the not-so-desirable employees, unfortunately, employers have to be careful with, and think about, ways to deal with them even when their fellow employees deserve better.
Merit raises and monetary rewards are not the only things that will keep the loyal employee around. Employees like to hear the boss tell them that they notice their hard work and that they appreciate it. Employers need to give these employees glowing performance reviews along with the promise of a raise. They should periodically let these employees know, all during the work year, what a great job they are doing.
For those employees who do only what the employer expects of them, employers need to point out in their performance reviews that they would like to see more dedication from them. They should ask the employee what he would like the employer to do that would give the employee more incentive. Good sentence starters include, "I would like to see", or "I feel you could".
When the employer places the emphasis on what they want as opposed to what they want from the employee, the employee is more likely to receive it positively. In addition, employers should let these lukewarm employees know that there are rewards waiting for those who improve their attitude toward their job.
For employees who take excessive time off, and who try to get out of work constantly when they do show up, employers need to directly point out their disapproval to the employee during their performance review. Employers need to set time limits for improvement. The employer could let the employee know that by a certain date they would like to see improvement on their attendance. They could then give an incentive for the employee if attendance improves within that time.
These incentives are similar to the way parents reward children for good behavior. For every area where the employee needs to improve, the employer could set a time limit, and offer incentives for each area.
What employers also need to do for employees with bad work ethics is to tell them that, if there is little or no improvement, the employee may be in danger of losing their job. This works for some employees, but not for all. The employer will know if the employee is worth keeping around by the level of improvement seen within the time decided on.
Performance evaluations also serve as a safety net for employers who need to fire employees. They run the risk of the discharged employee suing them. If, however, they list specific problems on employee evaluations, they will be able to prove that they discussed these concerns with the employee. In addition, the employee knew they needed to improve in order to keep the job.
Most employees want to keep their jobs. The old saying, "you can catch more flies with honey," works in employer-employee relationships. If employers praise good work on performance evaluations, and point out trouble spots when needed, improvement in work habits will normally improve dramatically.
Well-thought and detailed employee performance evaluations make for a more peaceful work environment. They also result in a more productive setting, which makes life easier for employers.
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