Do "Little Things" Factor in Our Workplace Engagement?
You bet that they do.
26 years ago this summer, my wife took suddenly ill. Having suffered a miscarriage, her belly turned septic. And within a matter of hours, she was in the fight of her life.
I was a year in to my recruitment career. And my colleagues stepped up for me, riding point on my open assignments so nothing slipped. Their leadership allowed me to give my entire focus to my wife and to help her to completely recover.
On the flip side was the harsh workplace experience that I had early on in my career.
My bosses--yes, I had two at the time--saw that I turned suddenly green-in-the-gills with Norovirus. And yet they demanded that I remain seated at the weekly account status meeting, a commitment that usually ate up hours of my time listening to status updates and minutiae that didn't impact me directly.
At about 45 minutes in, I dashed from the conference room. And the next thing I remembered I was coming to after passing out in a restroom stall.
Once I was well again, I started seeking a new job.
Both of these workplace experiences for me were "little things;" one of them led to immediate support so I could focus on my critically ill wife's care and the other dismissed my sudden illness and sent me running for the exit.
With so much work now done on teams, it is critical for team leaders to tap into their team members realities and respond swiftly when they determine that they need immediate help.
Responding well, and thoughtfully, when a team member needs support helps to extend their positive employee experience and on-the-job ROI.
By contrast, scoffing at a team member's sudden illness or misfortune can send that team member packing, and, dragging down the dynamic of the entire team.
Responding to the little things that happen to team members with small but powerful kindnesses are critically important to ensuring a well supported, psychologically safe workplace.
And when we respond well with such "small things" our best days lie ahead.
Image credit: Canva
I’m Dan Smolen. As host and executive producer of WHAT'S YOUR WORK FIT? I help you make your work and workplace decisions result in better and more satisfying professional experiences and outcomes. I am also a Founding Member of The Future of Work Alliance.