A strong workplace culture is strongly tied to how well the company engages its employees. Employee engagement impacts employee performance and to a certain extent career growth. What is the point of looking terrific on the outside when you make your employees stay late, attend long meetings and push them to work till midnight?

When a workplace culture is toxic, you cannot expect your employees to stay in a job because it destroys their morale. This hampers employee engagement as well. When we talk about millennials at the workplace, they would not stick around places where there is a lack of employee engagement, the culture is toxic and zero psychological safety.

There was a time when our predecessors would continue to work in such places due to financial needs and job security. Half the time, people quit their jobs because they have terrible bosses. Bosses and leaders are the faces of an organization and when employees work with terrible bosses, they harbor a negative feeling towards the organization which ruins the reputation of the company consequently.

Bad leadership strategies and poor employee engagement practices tend to affect employee morale because bad leaders mistreat their employees and take them for granted. They do not give employees credits when deemed necessary. Plus, employees often do not feel appreciated for their contributions.

This causes feelings of anxiety and low self-esteem in employees. Occupational burnout is a major concern today that pushes employees to quit their jobs because they are put under so much pressure because of their jobs. Pushing your employees might bring you profits for the time being, but eventually, they will become withdrawn because such unhealthy practices affect their performance.

They will no longer be satisfied with their jobs. Occupational burnout sabotages employee engagement and retention. Providing a positive workplace culture and employee engagement must be the top priorities for organizations but sadly these terms end up being jargon in the corporate dictionary.

Why would employees work in a place where they are being devalued for their work through manipulation, negative criticism and sometimes even threatening? In this article, let us discuss some of the ways to engage millennial employees: 

Respect your employees 

Regardless of the work that they do, you must always show respect to your employees. They are investing their time and energy into the work that they do, therefore, respect them for the work that they do and their skills. At the same time, it is always better that you draw some boundaries with your employees. 

It is not only about compensation 

You need to understand that employee performance and engagement are not just confined to compensations. Your employees have more to that. They possess incredible skills and capabilities required for their job. Believe in them and let them do their work on their own. Do not intervene too much into their tasks. Take a leap of faith and help them when they need your help. At the end of the day, you must make them feel accountable for what they do. 

You care for them 

Your employees must not feel that they are being taken for granted. Just as we mentioned above, what is the point of an employee doing his job when he is not getting anything from it. Therefore, do not undermine their personal issues and emotions because they are going to impact his performance. Show them that you care about them and treat them the way you would expect anyone to treat you. Sometimes you need to put yourself in their shoes and understand where they come from. 

Recognition 

For effective employee engagement, it is necessary that you create a workplace culture where you could bring in rewards and recognition. Employees put a lot of their hard work towards their goals, the least you could do is to praise them for their hard work. Your employees need to know that they are being valued for their effective contributions. 

Frequent conversations 

When you are a manager, you need to remember that your role is not just confined to be the manager. You must also act like a mentor or a coach to your employees. This is only possible when you bring in a culture of continuous feedback, where you can give constructive feedback to your employees. Feedback helps employees understand their goals and help them in terms of aligning whatever they do with the organization’s success. 

What have we learned so far? 

In conclusion, employee engagement is the cornerstone of every company. Therefore, you need to create a workplace culture where employees have the freedom to think independently, be innovative and take risks that are worthwhile.