HR Brief: October 2019

This month’s HR Brief discusses how stay conversations can keep employees engaged and ways to help workers overcome the Sunday blues.

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Hold on to Talent With Stay Conversations

Some people think employment is all about the money, but they’re wrong. For many, it’s about the opportunities.

In fact, Gallup cites “lack of development and career growth” as the number one reason employees leave their workplace.

Employees expect some development opportunities, so ignoring this outright can quickly lead to an exodus.

How can you ensure you’re offering suitable opportunities to keep your employees happy? “Stay conversations” are a good way to start.

What They Are

Stay conversations are ongoing, informal meetings between employees and their supervisors. They are intended to provide the employee time to discuss their motivations and attitudes toward their job.

In other words, you’re checking in with employees to make sure they feel fulfilled and working together to find growth opportunities.

Questions you’d ask in a stay conversation might include: What about your work is most exciting? What aspect of your job are you most passionate about? Do you feel like you are getting the recognition you deserve? What are some of your career goals?

Planning for Them

Stay conversations should be informal, but they should also be scheduled in advance, so as to not startle the employee. They should also be ongoing to show that you truly care about employee growth.

Don’t wait until employees are halfway out the door. Start having these conversations right away!

Help Employees Overcome Pre-work Stress

It’s 8 p.m. on a Sunday. You spent the last two hours dreading the upcoming workweek. As the night progresses, your anxiety only gets worse.

Even if this doesn’t sound familiar to you, it does to about 75% of U.S. adults, and likely many of your employees.

According to a Monster survey, three quarters of the country consistently feel “really bad” anxiety on Sundays, the day before work starts.

This perpetual stress can spread through the workplace and wreak all sorts of havoc, leading to lower productivity, higher absenteeism and poorer mental health.

What Can We Do?

Pre-work stress, or the “Sunday blues,” can be brought on by a number of factors.

While there’s no blanket cure, you can still work to reduce employee stress. Here are some tips:

• Sit down with employees to discuss workloads and reassign tasks as needed.
• Track employees’ accomplishments publicly and recognize hard work.
• Implement a “no work after work hours” policy to promote a better work-life balance.
• Help employees form and execute meaningful career goals.

Above all, encourage employees to come to you if they feel stressed. An open-door policy can help address issues before they get out of hand.