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All too often we push our employees more than they can handle. Indeed sometimes it’s good because we push them beyond what they think they can handle, but they find out they are much stronger than they gave themselves credit for. But other times we push them away from us and they begin to slowly drift. This can be in the form of the employee no longer showing loyalty to you. This could be merely showing indifference. Employees that simply do as they are told all the time are not good employees. If they don’t give some kind of back push or question your motives, this means they aren’t showing their passion for getting it right or understanding. You want people to ask you questions and get answers, rather than silently nodding or becoming a bunch of yes men. But as small business owners, we can often find ourselves not wanting to hear their problems. We’re already highly strung and sometimes we just need people who will follow us no matter what. But if you give them outlets to voice their concerns, their mood can drastically improve.

Complaints about coworkers

Before fights and arguments occur in your business, allow employees to let off some steam about each other. Many employees will keep their resentment of other workers bottled up because of a few reasons. They know that the HR department will get involved and make a big thing about it with paperwork. They will fallout with someone who they admire but don’t really like. They might ruin their chances of getting ahead in the industry and business. Therefore, things can build and build until two coworkers end up having a giant dispute or fracas. You should allow your employees to make complaints about each other in private to your managers and heads of departments. Insure them that it won’t be taken to HR if they don’t want it to and that the seniors will handle the situation instead. This gives everyone a chance to make low level or concerning complaints without having to make it official i.e. on their record.

Talking always shines a light

One thing in the modern world that all businesses are now concerned about is the mental health of their workers. There should always be a professional outlet for workers to talk about this issue. Take for examples the services of telehealth where they work with companies and allow employees to take to medical professionals online and in a one on one video chat. Here your employees can let off some steam and talk about things that are really frustrating them. It’s better to have this outlet than wait until someone finally snaps and does something horrible to themselves or other people. On the surface we never know if things are truly okay with somebody so don’t think someone who is always smiling is actually content.

When employees have a chance to thrust out their opinions on each other and even make complaints, they don’t feel trapped. There will be less of the fake camaraderie and more open talk. Mental health is a serious issue that employers need to get a grip on and provide an outlet for their workers so they can deal with modern professional lifestyles better.