My employer does not care about the well-being of employees

My proposal to the board on a motivation programme has twice been shot down, the explanation being that the financial burden that would come with the programme would be unsustainable. PHOTO | FILE

What you need to know:

  • What differentiates outliers in any situation is their ability to not give up. They are driven by a deep desire to see positive change take place, and so they seek different ways, views and opportunities to make their proposition more attractive. And they try again.
  • You are feeling discouraged now because you have a good solution to solve a serious problem at your workplace, but your bosses won’t listen.

Q. I am in administration at an advertising firm.

Employees here are hugely demotivated. My proposal to the board on a motivation programme has twice been shot down, the explanation being that the financial burden that would come with the programme would be unsustainable.

Should I back down?

 

It hurts when our ideas are rejected. It does not matter whether this happens at the workplace, with friends or family, it still hurts.

What differentiates outliers in any situation is their ability to not give up. They are driven by a deep desire to see positive change take place, and so they seek different ways, views and opportunities to make their proposition more attractive. And they try again. You are feeling discouraged now because you have a good solution to solve a serious problem at your workplace, but your bosses won’t listen.

I challenge you to think harder and explore more ways to make this good solution better. I have some ideas to start you off.  

Seek specific feedback from the management on what their fears are. One such fear, as you have stated, is escalated cost, but perhaps what they fail to see clearly are the benefits accruing from such investment. Seek ways and data to demonstrate value, providing convincing answers to the why, how and when questions: “Why must we do this? How is spending this much money going to bring value. How much? By when?”

In demonstrating value, do not restrict yourself to financial value only. Show how a motivated team is key to exceptional performance. It is common knowledge and indeed proven that employees who love their jobs and are highly engaged in what they do, their performance is top notch, reason being that when we love something, we give it our all. At the workplace, this is called discretionary effort, when employees go out of their way to deliver their objectives even when the demand goes beyond regulated hours of work. Many employers desire that, and yet not many are willing to pay the cost.

Seek out others who are like-minded to help you to explain how your proposals may add value. At every workplace, there are people whose opinions and suggestions are listened to a lot more; perhaps their approach to selling their ideas is suitable at certain environments. Such influencers are great in opening doors for robust discussions. Lastly, you could change your strategy and sell your proposal in phases. As you demonstrate value at each level, it becomes easier to get buy in.