Employees in your workplace are going to be the driving force behind your company. Your idea might be sound and you might have an army of freelancers and outsourcing companies at your back to support your goals, but no one is going to help your business like a well-trained and loyal employee will. Let’s face it, freelancers and outsourced workers have no attachment to your company and, regardless of if your business sinks or swims, they only care that they do a good job and get paid. After that, you’re not likely to ever hear from them again unless you can offer a freelancer regular work, in which case they may as well be an employee!

It’s amazing how often employers misunderstand the needs of their employees. They are such an important and critical component in running a business, yet they are treated no better than the ageing office printer that refuses to spit out documents from time to time. Despite that, even an old printer sees more care and maintenance than most employees in the world do. Let’s face it—employees aren’t treated as well as they used to a decade or two ago when hard work paid off and it wasn’t so easy to find replacements. With the popularity of outsourcing and the high unemployment rates around the world, finding a replacement is as simple as posting a job advertisement that will attract graduates like moths to a flame.

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Employees Are Not Disposable

No matter what you think of your employees, they are not disposable assets. You need to stop treating them as such because employees are people with hopes, dreams, families and beliefs. You can’t simply treat them like fodder and fire them for small and pointless reasons. Each recruit that applies to your company should be carefully considered before you hire them. Keep in mind things like their health, their family and their interests. You want to hire someone that fits within your company in terms of skills and personality. When you hire an employee you are going to hire them for life, so you should treat them as investments much like you would your business or any other office equipment. You have to take care of their health, you need to look after their interests, and you need to protect their lives if you are offering them a job in a dangerous field such as construction. Keep these points in mind when hiring an employee and you’ll find yourself declining people more often. This is sometimes a good thing because you want employees that stay for the long term and who will look after your business if you look after them.

Adjusting for Illness and Sick Days

When you hire employees you typically hire just the right number of staff to handle all of your business’s tasks. This has the obvious side effect of making it harder to work when you are missing one or two employees due to sick leave or other issues. In order to prevent this, you need to have an employee or two more than you would expect so you can cover for these sick dates. Even if it means having less overall work for your employees to undertake, it has the beneficial side effect of reducing stress and removing tight deadlines. You also want to consider health assessments service for employees to help facilitate their return to work after an extended period of sickness. If you feel like your employee is forcing themselves to work, then you will benefit from an expert opinion. It’s important to look after the health of your employees as much as your own, so make sure you are hiring a few extra staff members to cover for situations like this, and that you pay close attention to the needs of your employees should they feel like they need an extra hand to get their work done.

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Stress Is a Serious Issue

Overworked employees are prone to pushing themselves and stressing them out because they believe their hard work will be rewarded, or because they feel like they have to complete their work or else they will be criticised by fellow co-workers or even fired. This usually isn’t the case, but unfortunately, there’s no changing their minds. The best thing to do here is it not give your employees to much work and to monitor their levels of stress. Some signs are very clear, for example, they might act a little more aggressively than normal, they might appear dazed or confused at times when you speak to them, or they might have a very tired look in their eyes. There are other obvious signs too, such as coming into work later than usual or staying in the office for longer periods of time than they are used to. Make sure that your employees take regular breaks and enforce some rules about staying at the office for too long. Although it’s a good sign that your employees are willing to put in the extra work, you don’t want them to burn themselves out.

Give Them Support at Work

Don’t neglect the working conditions for your staff. One of the best ways to build trust with your employees is to show them that you care about their working environment. Everything from comfortable chairs to having soothing decorations to reduce stress and anxiety will add up and create a bond between you and your staff. Ask them about their working conditions and respond to their needs and wants. For instance, if an employee is suffering from a back injury due to a chair that’s falling apart, then consider replacing all the chairs in your office to prevent this from happening to other people. If they feel like their desk is too small or that they would work better with a standing or adjustable desk, then consider investing money to refurbish your office. Your employees will feel more comfortable at work and they will be motivated to work harder knowing that you are supporting them.