What Employees Want from Their Job

Camaraderie, Achievement, Recognition, and Equity in the Workplace

Aug 19, 2007

How CARE -- Cameraderie, Achievement, Recognition, Equity -- spells out what employees want from their career and jobs.

If the saying, “Customers Are Really Everything, “ is true, then what about the internal customer -- the employee?

Most people probably agree that the average person goes to work each day with the expectation of doing a good job and being paid equitably for their effort. This does not, however, preclude the fact that they also want to enjoy what they are doing and the people they do it with, all in a comfortable, humanistic environment.

That’s why a CARE approach to employee management is just as important as the CARE approach to customer service. The only difference is in the descriptive use of the word CARE.

Without question, organizations are social entities. A group of people brought together to work as a team toward a common goal. And in order to be successful, there must be goodwill and rapport between team members. Part of the ability to bring camaraderie to the environment is the opportunity for employees to engage in open communication and to feel that peers and supervisors take an interest in and actively listen to their input and feedback.

The successful completion of something noteworthy through someone’s own skill, ability, talent and perseverance results in a sense of pride in themselves and the organization for which they work. Regardless of the size of the achievement, employees need to feel that what they do has worth and purpose, and that their participation means something to the good of the whole. An environment that encourages individual and team achievement while minimizing obstacles to productivity will go a long way in developing a culture where employee engagement thrives.

Receiving an “atta boy” or a pat on the back can go far in making an employee feel good about what they do and where they work. Employers can do this by building an environment that encourages mutual respect for one another and rewards appropriate behavior that models an organization’s values. Programs such as bravo boards (a white board where kudos and thanks can be written and shared with all team members) or remembering employee special occasions (i.e. birthdays, work anniversaries) help to create an environment where employees feel acknowledged and recognized.

Employees that feel they are treated fairly are far more likely to remain onboard than if they sense that an organization or its management team engages in elitism, nepotism, or favoritism. Employees want to feel that they are receiving fair pay and benefits in comparison to what the market has to offer. This feeling of equity is what motivates employees to put in an honest day’s work. According to management expert Peter Drucker and his Equity Theory, the most highly motivated employees are the ones that feel their contribution is most closely aligned with what they receive in return.

It's really about about creating the kind of environment where as much CARE is provided to the internal customer as to the external customer. Then employees will care, too.

The copyright of the article What Employees Want from Their Job in Human Resources Management is owned by Deborah S. Hildebrand. Permission to republish What Employees Want from Their Job in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.