5 popular HR practices that will make your employees unhappy

The human resources department is responsible for upholding people practices. Unfortunately, they do not always get things right which causes employee unhappiness. When HR practices go wrong, job dissatisfaction is inevitable; if left unattended, companies suffer huge losses because they depend on people to achieve their bottom line. This article walks through five HR practices that decrease employee happiness in today’s workplace.

Poor traditional performance management systems

Some HR executives still use traditional performance management systems, such as forced distribution method which grades and ranks employees against each other—and not against standardized goals. This creates unhealthy competition and unnecessary animosity amongst employees ultimately making them unhappy. When performance reviews are not tied to specific project objectives but rather the performance of fellow employees, job dissatisfaction is inevitable.

Another poor traditional performance management practice that is still common in human resources is the field review method. The method relies only on the performance assessment from the superior's perspective. Peer reviews are not recognized here, and neither are the actual output results. This method is subjective and many times it gives unfair results that are demoralizing to employees.

Conventional performance management practices include delayed feedback, inconsistency and unclear goals. The presence of these drawbacks makes employees unhappy, thereby counteracting any employee engagement strategies the company has in place.

Micromanagement

To avoid mistakes in operational processes, some HR practitioners adopt micromanagement. This is a management style that involves excessive control and monitoring of every aspect of an employee’s job. It’s frustrating to work in a micromanaged environment. Over-controlling behavior in the workplace reflects a lack of trust towards the employees. When you control every aspect of their jobs, leaving them little room for autonomy, they will not enjoy their work.

Furthermore, not only is a micromanaged work environment stressful, but it’s also a catalyst for employee resentment, anxiety and fear. A working climate filled with suspicion is a joy killer and it cultivates a culture of hostility. It does not encourage creativity and innovation because it limits employees’ abilities, voice and expressions. The end result is high labor turnover. People leave difficult managers, not difficult jobs.

Poor career development practices

One of the major issues employees face today is limited access to career development opportunities. When a person joins an organization, they expect to grow together with the business. Challenges come when businesses keep growing while career progression lags behind. Not only does this stunted growth frustrate employees, but it’s also one of the biggest drivers of voluntary turnover. 

No one wants to be stuck with a company that does not offer attractive career development opportunities. HR departments that do not curate clear career paths for employees leads to stagnation; thereby affecting employee happiness.

Furthermore, many companies offer training and development opportunities without accounting for individual employee needs. A mismatch between available development opportunities and employee’s interests brings their zeal and morale down. People learn differently, some prefer internal workshops, while some prefer conferences. Career development opportunities that do not embrace employee diversity lead to dissatisfaction. Training opportunities that do not align with the personal goals of employees diminish employee satisfaction because they limit the employee experience.

Lack of employee recognition

Organizations rely on their employers to achieve their ambitious business goals. People are the key to business success and they crave recognition whenever they reach milestones. If these small wins are not recognized, engagement suffers due to poor morale. A lack of recognition by management or the company undermines the talent and performance of employees.

For most employees, work is much more than money, so when they do not get a ‘thank you’ for their daily achievements, they may feel unappreciated. Unrecognized employees feel lost in a team—they lose the team spirit. They begin to feel like they are not part of the team or company. In fact, when they lose enthusiasm for their jobs, it’s most likely they’ll leave the company.

Without a positive review from superiors, employees may find it difficult to remain happy and committed to the company. Insecurity also increases when employee achievements aren’t recognized. Human resources practices that lack meaningful ways to express employee gratitude aid to employer unhappiness.

Poor pay practices

Pay is also one of the major sources of employee unhappiness, especially when there are discrepancies between the labor market rate and the wage given to employees. Or between top executive salaries and low-level workers' wages. When employees` wages do not match those offered by other similar businesses, they feel cheated as they see this as unfair. A high wage gap between top employees and lower-level employees creates divisions in the company. Even worse, high wage gaps between employees at the same level also cause resentment and bitterness. Employees view pay differences without justifiable reasons as discriminatory. 

Paper-based payroll systems such as manual pay stubs can cause discontentment amongst employees because they are more prone to calculation mistakes and they slow up the process. Not only are they tedious to prepare, but there is also the presence of human error. Thus, the absence of automated payroll technology such as an online pay stub generator affects the business operations. These days people want easy access to their payroll information wherever they are, hence the need for automated payroll processes. 

Conclusion

Employee unhappiness drives the attrition rate, therefore HR practitioners must devise strategies to foster positivity and job satisfaction. Human resources practices must be consistently reviewed and updated. It is important to consistently gather employee feedback to make sure that your HR practices are not combating employee happiness. The goal is to strive for a satisfied and fully engaged workforce as a way of supporting business success.