The workplace trend, quiet quitting, has gotten a lot of attention lately. Instead of going above and beyond, employees are demanding more from their work-life balance. Likely suffering from pandemic burnout, more and more employees have stopped working so hard.
Liz Griffith with Encore Consulting says at first, she thought, “Great, we are giving employees another reason to not work too hard.” However, after reviewing, she says it really comes down to the reality that the employee has the right to say no.
“Especially when they are being asked to do way too much or something they are not trained for,” she says.
Griffith says that inadvertently owners add additional ‘assumed’ tasks that may not be part of the job description nor ever discussed as something that may be additional.
“Don’t get me wrong, we can’t foresee every task that needs to be done on a working dairy,” she says. “It’s best if you explain why you need help with this or why this task needs to be added to their duties. Essentially, don’t take advantage of good people who can’t say no just as easily.”
How Does This Relate to Today’s Operations?
It is important for producers to discuss roles and responsibilities and to train employees properly, Griffith says.
“Often, I find that the ‘role’ is not well defined,” she says. “When I sit down to interview the manager and the employee separately, we discuss the job description. Nothing is ever as it seems and many times the amount of work the role requires is not actually something that can be effectively done in the time allotted.”
Sometimes this leads to employees feeling rushed when working or skipping steps. Or in some cases, not getting the job done.
“Employers unintentionally hand over extra duties. It’s a working farm after all,” Griffith says. “This is where I can see current employees getting fed up.”
The whole attitude that ‘it’s not my job’ can seem like the employee is being lazy, but Griffith says that often past employees had no issue with taking on extra duties.
“It really was just assumed that they would take on more,” she says. “However, as we continue to hire ‘newbies,’ we must understand their perspective has changed on how much they are willing to take on. Personal time and family life is much more important to them than spending extra hours at the farm.”
Tips to Keep Employees Motivated
Whether you are working with new labor or employees who have been around for a while, Griffith outlines five tips to help keep employees motivated.
- Create specific job descriptions along with a daily task list. Review expectations with the employee. Verify they have the knowledge and the tools to complete the tasks. Make certain what you are asking them to do can actually be completed in the time allotted. Remember to leave room for breaks and unplanned circumstances.
- Discuss the responsibilities in depth. Go over how they will be held accountable. Make sure they fully understand what they are responsible for. Also, outline where and when they can make decisions that won’t be second-guessed.
- Foster constant communication. Organize daily huddle meetings to keep abreast of what each person needs to accomplish, who may need additional help and what obstacles may be in their way. Discuss progress daily. Provide help, tools and training. Don’t wait until an employee has struggled for weeks or months to talk to them.
- Show you care. Provide daily feedback. Ask how you can make their job easier. Employees usually have some of the best answers that can streamline their process.
- Repeat. Don’t just have one meeting. Don’t just ask them once. Don’t just tell them or show them once. Repeat.
“Employees are motivated by feedback and respect. Employers who don’t communicate with their employees have less engaged teams,” Griffith says. “I am not saying that we should automatically expect less from our employees; but we need to be considerate of their time, talents and expectations. And verify they are realistic.”
