The Importance of Feeling Understood and Valued at Work

Feeling understood and valued at work is not something everyone experiences. I once had a manager say to me that they didn’t do emotion. This wasn’t about someone getting upset it was about discussing how people felt. It wasn’t someone that I reported to, but I was left wondering how anybody could speak to them openly and honestly if that was how they felt.

I knew that there were some unhappy people in their department but how would the company ever be able to do anything about it if the manager wasn’t willing to have a discussion? Their reports couldn’t discuss certain issues and stopped bothering. It wasn’t healthy and it led to people talking negatively and eventually leaving. I wondered how people were ever going to feel understood and valued?

Why is it important to feel understood and valued?

It all boils down to employee engagement – how committed employees feel to an organisation’s goals and values, whilst enhancing their own sense of wellbeing. It has been found to be one of the main influences of the success of an organisation.  Simply put, if people don’t feel understood and valued they will disengage – as evidenced above.

Feeling understood is said to be one of our greatest psychological needs, in fact Psychology Today writes that if people don’t feel understood then they are likely to end up feeling estranged. Whilst, according to the American Psychological Association, feeling valued at work can be linked to improved physical and mental health as well as increased productivity. These assertions are backed up by Forbes which reported that 66% of employees say they would be more likely to resign if they didn’t feel valued.

It’s also important to understand that emotion at work isn’t a bad thing. According to Forbes, it can be a powerful trait – they cite research undertaken by Google which found that teams in which everyone felt safe to express themselves fully are more innovative and productive. When people feel unable to express themselves, they tend to disconnect.

Organisations that fail to demonstrate an understanding of the importance of feeling understood and valued will have lower employee engagement, along with a relatively high turnover of people and will not be performing at its optimum.

How can an organisation make people feel understood and valued?

Essentially, the answer to this question comes down to having a healthy organisational culture and employing good managers. A good manager will have a high level of emotional intelligence which gives them the ability to identify and manage their own emotions and the emotions of others. Here are some tips for creating a culture of understanding and value:

1. Take time to understand individuals. Create an open and safe environment and actively listen to employees, show empathy, and be willing to have real and/or difficult conversations.
2. Deliver regular feedback in a constructive way. Generally, people respond well if they know what to do in order to improve, but if you know someone thrives on praise don’t forget to deliver well earned praise too.
3. Understand what motivates When a manager knows what drives someone to do their best work, they can focus on using corresponding techniques.
4. Manage change in a positive way. Not everyone embraces change and for some it’s unsettling. If you’ve taken time to understand individuals, change can be managed accordingly.
5. Follow through on commitments. If an organisation or manager says they’re going to do something, they need to do it.
6. Demonstrate trust by giving people autonomy to manage their workload and time.
7. Notice and give recognition when someone has gone over and above the call of duty.
8. Create inspiring workspaces. Working in spaces that makes people feel like the organisation doesn’t care about them is never going to motivate someone to do their best work because they won’t feel valued.
9. Be transparent about all aspects of the business. This creates an environment of trust and understanding. When people understand why certain things are being done, it can also help them adopt, and adapt to, changes.
10. Celebrate important occasions within the whole organisation or team. Events such as reaching a sales target or work anniversaries/birthdays.
11. Whilst research has shown pay isn’t everything, if someone feels they aren’t receiving fair pay for the job that they do they won’t feel valued.
12. Fair treatment – if a person feels like they are being treated unfairly in comparison to one of their colleagues it is likely to demotivate them and make them feel less valued.

The first time an organisation might learn of a problem in this area is when people start leaving. However, employee engagement surveys can help organisations tackle problems before they affect the business. If you would like to know more about how The Survey Initiative can help your organisation assess and improve employee engagement call us on +44 (0)1255 850051 or email: info@surveyinitiative.co.uk