Working life can come with its ups and downs. However, when the worst comes to the worst, this can have a severe effect on work morale. If an employee works for a company that is going through a lawsuit, furlough, job losses or even a merger with a different company, it can make them feel like they don’t know where they stand. Will they still be able to bring home a wage at the end of the day? As a manager, it is your job to make them feel safe and secure even during difficult times. Here is exactly how you can do it.
1. Be open about the changes
One of the worst things that you can do is lie to your employees. Not only will this break their trust, but you will find that they will not believe you about future advice and information. Your natural reaction may be to completely withdraw in order to avoid conflict, but this can be equally as debilitating. Afterall, you need to let your employees know exactly where you stand with this. This is how you will build their trust and let them know that they have nothing to worry about. If you do have to break bad news to them, do it empathetically. You can learn how to help your workers appropriately through courses provided by LifeWorks.
2. Be action focused
Actions do speak louder than words. You can say one thing, but if your actions don’t reflect it then your employees may start to lose faith in you. Alter your routine and make sure to act empathetic to your employees if work is currently in a crisis. Make the effort to keep in touch with them and check in on their daily routines. This will show that you care and will inspire them to keep working hard.
3. Organization & Workload
If you are in a crisis in your workplace, it can be tempting to simply go overboard and dump as many responsibilities as possible on different employees. Do not do this! This sort of behaviour can drive your employees in to panic mode and can make them extremely stressed. Make sure to keep organized and to divide responsibilities equally. Communication is key to making sure that everyone understands what is expected of them.
4. Acknowledge and Reward
It’s important that you reward your employees for their hard work. During moments of crisis, it can be tempting to simply push the next task on them and ask them to complete it as quickly as possible. Instead of doing this, acknowledge their work and reward them. You may want to take your team out for a meal as a reward or even buy them drinks once work is finished. Take some time to think of a list of rewards for your employees!
5. Set information boundaries
Of course, you’re not going to know every piece of information immediately. Instead, if you are in a crisis period in your company, you will need time to understand precisely what is going on and how you can support your employees. Set boundaries and only let them know information when it is certain. That way you can be sure of the outcome and how it will affect your workers.
