How to Meet Employees’ Expectations and Build a Thriving Workplace

There was a time when people went to work, punched a time-clock, did their jobs with very little interaction with coworkers, and punched out at the end of the day. They asked nothing of their employers besides a meager paycheck. How dreary those days must have been. Thank God they’re over! Today, workers expect more from their employers and their workplaces. Workers want flexibility, work-life balance, growth opportunities, appreciation, respect, healthy work environments, and employers who care about their overall well-being. But workers don’t just care about themselves, they also care about others and the environment. When we say they want respect, that means they want respectful treatment for all employees at all levels. They want compensation that’s equitable for all, not just high pay for those at the top. They want a level of trust between employees and senior management. They want work that’s meaningful, purposeful, work that has a positive impact on society. They want employers to care about the environment, to use resources that offer sustainability for future generations. This article discusses employees’ expectations and offers several suggestions to help employers discover ways to meet them.

Yes, today’s workplace operates quite differently than it did decades ago. Much has changed over the years, including employees’ expectations ─ and employers cannot ignore these expectations. Employers can no longer assume that if one employee won’t except poor working conditions, that another person will. We’re living in a time when almost all workers have basic, common needs that they expect their employers to acknowledge. In fact, some of these common needs have been mandated by law to be satisfied. Workers have legal rights and employers have a responsibility to address them. Setting laws aside, employers will discover that if they don’t strive to meet employees’ expectations, odds are the workers will look for employment elsewhere, especially if the company culture leaves something to be desired. This next article discusses the benefits of building a positive workplace and suggests several ways employers can improve the working environment so that employees and the organization both thrive.

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