A Guide to the Ninth Element of Employee Engagement: A Company Culture of Hard Work

Perhaps one of the most surprising aspects of employee engagement actually has little to do with themselves: 

• “My associates or fellow employees are committed to doing quality work.”

In any workplace, it doesn’t take long for employees to notice when someone’s not pulling their weight. Whether it’s the colleague who’s mysteriously “busy” every time a deadline looms or the one who seems to spend more time in the break room than at their desk, slacking doesn’t go unnoticed.

Employees want to feel that their efforts matter and that everyone contributes equally. When this balance tips, frustration sets in, and resentment (and office gossip) soon spread. So, how do you keep those sentiments in check?

Create a workplace that prioritizes a culture of hard work. 

The Ripple Effect of Slacking

In any team, it only takes a few employees slacking before hardworking employees start to feel the strain, especially when they’re forced to pick up the extra weight. Over time, that burden feels less like “helping out” and more like a pattern or expectation. Inevitably, morale plummets, and employees who once felt engaged may start questioning why they should bother working so hard when others get to just coast by. 

Unfortunately, morale isn’t the only victim; So is your bottom line. 

Waning motivation results in tanking productivity as work quality slips and deadlines are missed. When the load is unevenly distributed, high achievers are the first to feel the burnout, and they may start looking for an exit strategy. A revolving door of talent can severely disrupt the consistency and success of your business, so you have to make sure that you nip slacking in the bud before it spreads. 

Identifying and Addressing the Imbalance

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, especially when it comes to keeping your team on track. While every workplace’s needs will be different, here’s a general action plan to serve as a starting point for building a more personalized anti-slacking strategy.

Create Transparent Performance Metrics

Even if you’ve noticed some underperforming employees, consider giving everyone a clean slate by restating expectations and providing clear, measurable goals. This method not only gets your team on the same page but can also limit the number of uncomfortable conversations you’ll have as people right their own course. 

Clear goals also level the playing field, making evaluating everyone’s performance more straightforward. It’s hard for someone to claim they’re pulling their weight when there’s a glaring gap between their output and the agreed-upon targets. 

Keep Micromanagement in Check

If you haven’t been particularly attentive to performance metrics in the past, starting that process now can feel a bit like micromanagement. But it doesn’t have to! Instead of hovering over their work, think of it as creating a structure where everyone understands what success looks like. 

On the other hand, if you find yourself prone to micromanaging, remember that over-scrutinizing your team can also create problems with performance and retention. The trick is to identify disengagement and underperformance by paying attention to patterns: missed deadlines, frequent absences, or others becoming less enthusiastic about working with a particular person are all signs that someone isn’t contributing their fair share. 

Creating open feedback channels where managers and employees can address workload issues is also important. Listen when team members voice their concerns, then get ahead of any imbalances before they grow into a bigger problem. 

Encourage Accountability

While accountability should start with leadership, it has to trickle down to the entire team. When employees feel responsible for their own performance– and know that others are holding them accountable– they’ll develop self-regulation skills that will eventually coax even the most reluctant underperforming employees to get in line. 

One way to promote accountability is through a peer recognition program, where colleagues can acknowledge each other’s efforts. When everyone is invested in the outcome, the chance of people slacking drops dramatically. 

Rewarding Hard Work 

One of the simplest ways to reinforce a culture of hard work is to recognize and reward those who consistently go above and beyond. This shows your team that you know the effort they put into their work and appreciate their willingness to maintain their good performance. 

That said, do not promote or create unhealthy competition between your employees. Instead of pitting them against each other, encourage collaboration with team-wide incentives. For example, you can offer bonuses when the entire department hits a milestone so that collective achievement matters over individual rivalries. 

Another pitfall to keep in mind is that recognition can backfire if it turns into favoritism. If only a select few are getting the rewards, it’s one of the quickest ways to destroy trust within your team. 

If you took the time to create transparent performance metrics, this shouldn’t be a problem because you can tie rewards directly to measurable criteria. Everyone knows how rewards are earned and have a fair shot at rising to the occasion. 

Maintaining Fair Workloads 

Once you’ve started cultivating a culture of hard work, you need to maintain it. The last thing you want is for high performers to strive to meet the goals everyone is expected to meet and then be forced to take on a bigger burden because some choose to contribute less. 

The best way to avoid an uneven workload is to assess who’s doing what regularly and adjust responsibilities when necessary. Instead of just saddling others with more tasks, invest time into finding the right fit for each employee’s skills and capacity. 

In many cases, underperforming employees don’t want to underperform. It often stems from struggling against an impossible workload for so long that they don’t feel it’s worth trying anymore. So, instead of adding work to a top performer’s plate, offer additional training and support to help others catch up. You might be surprised by how willing they are to become overachievers themselves. 

This phase of creating a culture of hard work also requires ongoing conversations. Regular one-on-ones and team meetings let you check in with employees about how they’re handling their responsibilities. Listen closely for hints about hidden issues like an overwhelmed team member or someone who’s quietly been cleaning up after others. Your ability to make adjustments to minor issues before they turn into bigger problems will only benefit everybody in the long run. 

A Culture of Hard Work Isn’t Built in a Day

When everyone knows their contributions are valued and the workload is balanced, teams work better together, with fewer headaches for everyone involved. But building and maintaining this kind of culture requires regular check-ins to ensure things stay on track.

If you’re looking for extra support through mentorship and leadership coaching, consider booking a few sessions with Lori Moen of Catalyst Group ECR. She’ll guide you through the process, offering insights and feedback while holding you accountable to your team.