Empowerment is one of the greatest feelings that mankind can ever experience. Every war that has been fought in the history of mankind was about power play. However, psychologists found a very productive way to mold the essence of power into productivity. So, theories say human capital needs to feel appreciated and empowered to give effective returns. A meta-analysis states workforce that works under an empowering manager is expected to perform better.
A study took place, where two hundred employees are divided into two groups: A and B. "Positive criticism" and "alternative reinforcements" were used by Group A's manager, which had better results as all employees were able to generate more than their targets. On the other hand group B’s manager only used to communicate to the employees on a minimalistic level as a result the employees were able to reach their target. In contrast, group A achieved more than its target. Hence proved that empowering managers can help humans. However, the fundamental step to empowering your workforce is to appreciate them. And here’s how you can appreciate and empower your employees to increase revenue:
Why and How To Appreciate and Your Employees?
It is important to appreciate your employees as a very similar study was conducted that proves that gratitude and work engagement are in direct relationship with each other was proved by an experiment collectively done by Harvard Medical School and Wharton School, where both the schools conducted the fundraisers, and students of both the schools were asked to participate in the fundraisers.
Both the schools were divided into two parts, where one group received regular pep talks and the group director appreciated the students. Hence that group collected 50% more funds when compared to the other. This particular experiment continued for 3 months and the same results were observed. So, the experiment proves that appreciation from mentors or managers adds to an employee's productivity. At the end of the day, employees are what make an organisation what it is. That is why keeping their employees happy is so important for an organisation. Here’s how you can appreciate your employees:
- You can reward your employees with time to time words of appreciation. A “Well done” and “Good Job” can make someone’s day.
- You can also appreciate your employees by giving them a longer break during their working hours just to show that you appreciate all the hard work they have been putting in.
- You can any day reward your employees with a raise or bonus to keep them motivated.
Why Is It Important To Empower Your Employees?
According to western management culture, the human body responds to empowered behaviors differently, in layman's language empowered employees are “Pumped Up” and this happens because of the functioning of the hypothalamus the study proves that when humans are appreciated for their actions, their hypothalamus which is responsible for the daily functioning of the body stimulates the “Reward Neurotransmitter” which helps our body to regulate dopamine and serotonin which are considered as happy hormones.
And these hormones avoid the secretion of melatonin which results in brain fog and low energy.
So, there are psychological plus scientific reasons that prove that appreciation can boost employees' productivity. Not only external validation, but self-validation is equally important in an employee's life. If employees are seeking external validation, but do not feel good about themselves, then it can affect their productivity as well as their mental health.
How To Empower Your Employees?
Supporting is the fundamental feature to empower your employees, you can support them by appreciating their idea or explaining to them why their idea can’t be included, instead of just rejecting them. This way they will learn something new which is any day good for their own growth. There are other ways how you can empower your employees:
- Positive criticism:
This is a technique that has been working for years, as positive criticism allows the employees to grow and give you the space to check them. Employee Monitoring Software is one such tool that will help you to be a boss and a friend to your employees at the same time. This way you can monitor and mentor your employees.
- Empowering leaders:
Leaders helped a complete economy to gain its freedom, then this is just a company that is trying to survive the competitive corporate world. As the above mention study also stated an empowering leader can completely optimize your workforce’s productivity. And it is equally important for all the managers to empower their teams for better results.
So, it is a proven fact that employee empowerment can lead to the betterment of the organisation and today’s employees are future team leads or managers, if they will see a leader who empowers them, then this will be a characters take that your organisation will hold.
