Employees are more unhappy at work than they have been in years, and currently more than a quarter of Americans are looking to change roles — the highest in a decade. So for those running a new small business, when hiring a new employee is an especially timely, costly, and pivotal practice, creating a culture of contentment has never been more important. More than ever, employers are dealing with quiet-quitting and employee burnout.
MORE NEWS: The 100 best doctors in Arizona for 2025
To help new business owners boost employee satisfaction, the experts at Wix.com have provided their advice on how business owners can create a positive work environment, and how to spot when employees might be losing morale.
Key findings
- Employees were happier and more satisfied at the height of the pandemic than they are today
- Over 80% of Americans are dissatisfied with the way things are going at work
- Flexible work results in higher employee satisfaction amid increasing RTO mandates
How to create a positive work environment from your company’s inception
- Build a company based on trust, honesty and fairness
Regardless of company size, employees expect a work environment where:
- People are held accountable for their actions,
- Respect is shown for others’ ideas, values and beliefs,
- There is overarching trust and a sense of community between staff and management,
- Difficult situations are addressed efficiently and effectively
- Establish backend processes early on
While startups often expect their first employees to wear many hats, failing to have processes in place around job roles and the specifics of what is expected of employees can ultimately create a negative working environment.
Similarly, if you’re making fundamental changes within your business, make sure you’ve planned out a protocol to communicate this to your staff and keep them in the loop. Additionally, processes around mental health, dealing with difficult situations, and day to day operational procedures should also be in place so that you can deal with issues in a standardized way.
- Give hiring decisions the attention they deserve
Hiring the right people is always important, but especially significant for newer businesses and startups, as they’re often the people that are going to drive your organization forward.
Hire people that align with your mission and business values. In a smaller company, these are equally important to employees as it is to senior stakeholders. Hire for attitude as well as skill (it’s vital to have people who are respectful and easy to work with), and ensure applicants are aligned with the company and invested in its mission before signing on the dotted line. An aligned vision keeps employees happy, and as a smaller team, being on the same page and having the same end goal helps to avoid friction.
- Build a work environment that encourages support and development
Employees want roles that are both personally and professionally fulfilling, allowing them to receive fair compensation while working on projects that challenge them and align with their personal values. Creating an environment that supports this development – whether that’s through in-house training, budget allocation, or mentoring amongst colleagues -, – helps employees feel nurtured and respected in their role.
- Prioritize work-life balance from the beginning
Expectations should be clear around working times, but as is often the case in work, employees will be expected to work beyond these times where required. Where there is adequate work-life balance in place, and employees are aligned with their company’s mission, staff often don’t resent working beyond their assigned hours (so long as this doesn’t occur week in, week out). Leaders should show respect for employees’ personal lives and passion projects by monitoring workloads, and if a member of staff is consistently working overtime, conversations should be had around whether there is too much work assigned, or whether there are other reasons why they cannot complete this within their usual working hours.
- Invest in good leadership
While founders are typically excellent at what they do, leadership often doesn’t come naturally. Focus on investing in leadership training, promote those who lead by example, and be prepared to challenge instances where leadership could be improved or acted upon differently. Poor leadership is one of the greatest performance-killers for highly-motivated employees, and once this relationship diminishes, it can be easy for employees to lose morale.
How to spot when employees are losing morale
- Decreased productivity and poor performance- this may be evident when employees aren’t getting as much done as they used to. They may miss deadlines or demonstrate a reduced quality of work.
- Increased absenteeism, lateness and time off- When your staff are disengaged, stressed or burnt out, they may begin to call in sick more often, show up late, and leave early.
- High employee turnover- if employees are leaving in droves, it can be due to lost morale and general disengagement from the workplace. However, this also creates a vicious cycle whereby employees that remain at the company become equally low in morale and skeptical of management and the organization as a whole.
- Lack of enthusiasm and innovation- when staff begin to feel as though their work is boring and meaningless, you’ll find that they are uninspired, perhaps less creative and less likely to take initiative.
- Lack of teamwork and camaraderie- if you’ve noticed a team member being less active in team activities or conversations, whether remote or in the office, they’re likely suffering from low morale.
- Doing the bare minimum- staff may meet deadlines and quality standards but won’t go above and beyond, they’ll complete the minimum of what is expected of them and nothing further. This can also be seen as ‘quiet-quitting’, ie. not doing so little that it’s brought to management’s attention but also not going above and beyond.
- Avolition- if an employee struggles to start or finish a task without constant supervision, they may feel disengaged from work. It’s important to determine the root cause of this and provide appropriate support.
