Table of Contents
Fears of a New Place
Will good boss help me? Starting a new job comes with the fear of new place. How will your environment be? What kind of people will your colleagues be? And most significant of all: what kind of person will your boss be? From a study conducted by “Dale Carnegie Training”, many qualities that employees want from their bosses, are rarely found in them. The study was based on questionnaires in which 3,300 employees participated worldwide.
Gap Between want and get
Granted, there is always a big gap between any kind of “want” and “get”, but there is always room for improvement. Especially, when the favorable qualities are effortless to develop. For example, 88% of employees value their bosses who would listen to them, but only 60% say that it actually happens. This is a totally effortless task that requires no more than a couple of minutes in a week – if not daily.
Characteristics of a Good Boss
An employee, not only wants but, needs a good boss to work effectively and efficiently in a workplace. Generally, they need a motivating superior that does not hold them down but strives to pull out excellence within them. A good boss promotes a development culture, encouraging employees to try new things, making it safe to share ideas, learning from mistakes, and growing individually as well as collectively. Following are a few qualities that employees demand in a good boss:
Encourages Improvement
Employees need a leader that inspires them to grow. For example, they would allow and arrange for training programs to polish, or develop new, skills. An amateur manager might fear that if an employee develops a skill, they will leave their job or broker a few revisions in their job contract – in the form of a new position or better pay. In contrast, a leader would encourage the interest for their improvement. This promotes loyalty and gives them the feeling that they are valued.
Recognition in workspace
This is one of the most important features employees look for in their bosses. Often appreciation is not given, and great work is still expected. It is always nice to receive some form of gratitude from managers as it prevents the feelings of being taken for granted. 87% of employees wanted their bosses to show appreciation of the staff or their work but only 60% did so.
According to a survey conducted by Globoforce, a massive amount of 40% of employees stated that they did not receive any kind of appreciation at all, from their bosses, for the past year. Such simple a task takes no more than just a few minutes a day. Employee appreciation helps in improving trust, worker satisfaction, well-being, and the overall spread of healthy and positive vibes in the workplace.
Also read: Recognition In Work – Happy, Motivated and Satisfied Employee
Acknowledging improvement
Acknowledging the difference in the level of skill of the employee goes a long way. It gives a sense that the boss values their employee and is well aware of their personality. The boss acknowledging that the employee has improved their skills from when they started out or from a previous time proves as a significant motivating factor for the employee. More than 70% of employees want this trait in their bosses.
Realizing their own mistakes before criticizing
Employees want to feel at ease in their job and not be threatened even if it was their fault. Having a boss who, instead of calling them out, is true to the employees, and admits their own mistakes, develops feelings of mutual trust. 68% of employees felt motivated when bosses admitted their own shortcomings rather than criticizing employees.
If you are a good boss, let your employees know that you have made a mistake, you are a human after all. Talk about how you need their help in rectifying the mistake. It will eliminate ill will and motivates the employee to work harder. Besides, having open communication improves productivity. And in case the employees made a mistake, they would feel at ease to come to you. According to the study, 84% of employees want bosses to admit their mistakes, while only 51% do so.
Discourages Calling Out
Nobody likes to be called out on their mistakes in public. It is a common courtesy to be given at least a chance to work on the mistakes. Similarly, employees want bosses who do not call them out in public but instead discourages such acts within the employee’s colleagues. Instead, they give them a chance, allowing them to rectify. Everyone hates embarrassment and demand respect where they are. Being called out promotes the opposite and harbors feelings of hate and negativity.
Conclusion
A good boss is directly responsible for productivity in an office. They have a significant impact not only on efficiency in the workplace but also on the employee’s personal life. What an employee wants is a boss that supports them and has their back. A boss who motivates them and inspires them to improve. It is not even that much of a demanding task. Besides, if an employee performs well, it will directly benefit the firm. It is worth investing in the qualities that an employee would demand.
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