How Can You Keep All Employees on Your Team Engaged?
As a Manager, utilize Work-Life Balance to Increase Employee Engagement and Motivation.
As human beings, we are all unique. Therefore, one size does not fit all. The mistake often made by business owners, leaders, managers, and anyone in a hurry, is to lump everyone together. This in itself reduces engagement. As justification, we call this fairness. We believe it is more efficient to assemble and manage in more significant numbers, I guess. Here begins the mismanagement of work-life balance and the loss of team engagement. Often, this is unintentional, as overworked business owners and managers struggle to fit it all in.
Why it Matters:
Employees who strongly agree that their employer cares about their overall well-being, compared with those who don't, are:
- 3x more likely to be engaged at work
- 69% less likely to actively search for a new job
- 71% less likely to report experiencing a lot of burnout
- 5x more likely to strongly advocate for their company as a place to work
- 5x more likely to strongly agree that they trust the leadership of their organization
- 36% more likely to be thriving in their overall lives
Gallup: Jim Harter July 6, 2023
So, the question becomes:
What can I do about it?
At the core, it begins with understanding that how people learn and think matters when determining work-life balance, and understanding how they behave in execution matters when touching on internal motivation and engagement. As a Manager, this is your deliverable every day.
I refer to DiSC for modeling behavior. At JRCI, we use DiSC extensively, helping people better understand the personal conduct and behaviors of those around them. Here is the trifecta when getting a handle on Motivation, Engagement, and Work-Life Balance. I have listed a few thoughts on learning and thinking styles for consideration.
| How We Think: | How We Learn: |
|
Convergent Analytical Thinking Making decisions by using memory, resources around us, or logic Divergent Thinking Opposite of convergent, making decisions when there is no single correct answer Critical Thinking Analyzing information to form a judgment about it Creative Thinking Finding alternative methods to generate new ideas on established topics.Using multiple unconventional perspectives. |
Visual Learning Prefer the use of images, maps, graphic representations Auditory Learning Learn by listening and speaking, recordings, and group conversations Kinesthetic Learning Learn through tactile approaches, hands-on styled learning Traditional Reading/Writing Like to learn reading/writing techniques. |
You now have combined your previous knowledge of DiSC behavioral science with the sciences of learning and thinking. A better comprehension of these often overlooked human sciences in the leadership of people is why some zig when they need to zag.
Being a strong manager, you are now considered officially dangerous! Dangerous enough to possibly think we know more than we do know and don't know we don't know what we need to know! Say that 3 times fast. My point is that there is much to this, and this is the skim of the skim. Please look more into this to support your clarity with these rather deep concepts on your journey. You will learn more helpful information.
JRCI 10 Things You Can Do Right Now to Increase Employee Engagement, Motivation
(and Enhance Your Work-Life Balance)
Below are a few reminders of what you probably already know as a manager. I know that. But you are probably not doing what you know. I hope you reset your Employee Engagement, Motivation, and Work-Life Balance framework. This is another true trifecta for success. Now is a new time requiring your new thinking and behavior in the managerial space.
|
1. |
Understand how you learn, think, and behave naturally. |
Fundamentally accept who you are. Enhance your strengths, don't fight yourself. Get out of your own way! |
|
2. |
Proper Planning Prevents Poor Performance. |
Plan for leisure, work, family, and friend time. Manage your time, with time in between for you. |
|
3. |
Develop your routine. |
Make your rhythm your partner. Embracing how you operate, build from your strengths, and be consistent. |
|
4. |
Make technology your friend. |
Technology advancement will support your working smarter, not longer. Enlist the latest to save you time. |
|
5. |
Make time to enjoy your time. |
Schedule the time to take the time. Otherwise, it will fill in with nonsense. |
|
6. |
Connect with your JOY. |
Rediscover what makes you joyful, not just happy. Then do much more of it. You will experience fulfillment. |
|
7. |
Re-establish good communications. |
Good communication solves everything. Be helpful when you can, and ask for help when you need it. |
|
8. |
Respect work hours. |
Work is work, and home is home. Be fully present in each location. That is all. |
|
9. |
Establish Priorities. |
If everything is a priority, nothing is a priority. Do the heavy lift first, delegate, trash, or do it tomorrow. |
|
10. |
Set Boundaries. |
The key to it all. Draw the lines, and protect them with discipline. Be unyielding in your quest for WLB. |
|
11. |
Bonus. |
Remember, Work-Life Balance is a journey, not a destination. |
As a Manager, use Work-Life Balance to Increase Employee Engagement and Motivation.
Your ability to leverage your Adaptability is more important now than ever. Work-Life Balance, Motivation, and Employee Engagement are more than simple words. These are crucial elements of organizational culture, teamwork, and success—a mindset thing. Use these tools and reset your strategy for optimal growth personally, professionally, and organizationally.
I bet you can!
