The Key to Boosting Employee Performance and Well-Being?
Previously in this blog, we discussed the importance of meeting your basic needs at work in order to minimise the negative consequences of stress at work. In this article, we go a bit further into this and explore the one thing that managers can do to boost the performance and well-being of their employees.
Firstly, in case you didn’t know, managers matter. The behaviour of managers directly impacts the motivation of their employees. So if you are a manager wondering why one of your team just isn’t motivated in their role, look in the mirror and the problem might be staring at you. Now of course, motivation is complex and someone might be in the wrong job, going through a tough time or just not suited to your company. But overall, managers have a huge impact on their team's performance and well-being and can make changes that positively affect motivation.
In Recovery from Work Stress we explored self-determinism theory and how employees can act in ways to get their basic needs (competence, autonomy, relatedness) at work met in order to reduce stress. But what about managers themselves? If you have a manager or are a manager who focuses on meeting all three of these basic needs for your employees, as best you can, stand up and take your applause. It’s not easy and time and time again we see well-intentioned managers fall short. So how about instead of focussing on all three you just focus on one? Sounds easier right?
Why? Well, managers who support autonomy naturally tend to be attuned also to the needs of competence and relatedness. It’s a good indication that they are interested in the development and well-being of their staff. Focussing on autonomy also has the effect of empowering the employees themselves to look after their needs. So if an employee has autonomy but doesn't have competence or relatedness they will find ways to meet these needs.
Giving autonomy doesn’t mean you get to sit back and be a passive manager. It's an active role that can be more work that the alternative! If you want to give more autonomy to your team, try these three things:
Take the employee’s perspective
Listen to what they have to say, ask them for their views and try to understand their emotions.
Facilitate employees taking initiative
Involve them in group decision-making and get them to make choices about how they conduct their role.
Give information rather than demeaning feedback
Provide positive feedback that builds on strengths over weaknesses and formulate negative feedback as a joint problem to solve.
If you need more help in developing your managers to give more autonomy, speak to us about our 2-day mastering management programme.
