On a professional level, they’re experiencing workload issues (as we “do more with less”), they may have seen some colleagues affected by a RIF (reduction-in-force), and they may be constantly working with candidates who are feeling desperate and anxious. On a personal level, they may own homes whose mortgages are “underwater”, their retirement accounts have probably declined in value, and they may be down to living off a single income.
It is said that times of adversity can drive people apart or bring them together. Data from our sister program, the Corporate Leadership Council, suggests that employees are looking for the latter: the impact of their emotional commitment to their teams on discretionary effort has risen by 10% since 2004. In other words, now more than ever, employees are working harder when they feel attached to and supported by their co-workers.
If your fellow recruiting team member seems a little down and out, consider what you can do to help him/her. Here are a few simple examples that we’ve seen have some success:
- Offer to cover for your co-worker so he or she can run some urgent errands, or when (s)he has to leave early or arrive late.
- Encourage your co-worker to build on some of his or her strengths; it’s more refreshing than the constructive criticism you might be tempted to offer first.
- Find a moment each day to celebrate successes (professional or personal) as a team, even small ones.
- If you’re a manager, give your employees a little more informal recognition than usual.
- Build camaraderie by doing something together outside of work to help those who have fallen on even harder financial times.
If some of these ideas feel a little uncomfortable, just remember that at some later date you could be in the same position as your co-worker. What you give today may be what you get in return later.
Now, back to your normal, hard-edged daily business conversations …
Written by: Mark Van Buren
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