On the Job by Anita Bruzzese Why Some Employees Love Their Jobs More Than Others

On the Job by Anita Bruzzese Why Some Employees Love Their Jobs More Than Others Thoughts of love are in the air around Valentines Day, but Cupids arrow may be absent from many workplaces this year as employees feel anything but gaga over their jobs or employers. Overloaded and overstressedfrom the economic downturn, many workers are now starting to consider leaving their current positions as the job market improves. Like spurned lovers, these employees are ready to pack their bags and make employers sorry they didnt treat them right. So how can employers rekindle the spark with workers and get them to fall in love with their jobs and their companies all over again? The key, say career experts, is taking steps to show the employee that the company is not a selfish significant other. By offeringcareer developmentto an employee, the company can prove its commitment to helping the worker grow and thrive in the relationship. That can generate such fondness, experts say, that workers are likely to embrace their job commitment wholeheartedly and start being more productive, innovative and loyal. Without it, employees are likely to view an employee as a slimy frog they have to put up with until their prince of a job comes along. Watch them grow Beverly Kate, co-author ofHelp Them Grow or Watch Them Go,says there must be constant mini conversations with workers about how theyre developing their careers, focusing on lessons learned and how they can be applied to their professional growth. You cannot wait for the annual performance review. Managers hate doing career development, anddo it badly, she says. So employees end up thinking it means nothing and its just an exercise. She says a better way to handle career development, for example, is for managers to use daily opportunities to have career conversations with a worker. For example, an employee may say she lost sleep over a presentation that actually went very well. Instead of the manager simply offering Good job! she should agree that the presentation went well, but then ask (read more here)