There are many challenges that both employers and employees face in the current position over the past few years. We see a different mindset from employees, they are facing more stresses in their everyday life and sometimes, this moves into their work life experiences. Is it a case that these two areas are crossed over unfairly especially towards work.
How do employers deal with this.
From the sometimes-overwhelming feeling of being overworked to the hidden stressors. However, there are ways to overcome these obstacles and get more out of your workday.
The most common issues are listed below in these 12 Workplace Challenges and Solutions
If you look at most challenges in the workplace, they’re not unique to any one business.
1. Insufficient Training
A lack of training leads to several workplace issues. The most obvious one is that employees can’t do their jobs as well as they would like.
Poor training is a leadership challenge in the workplace that can also lead to increased frustration because employees don’t know what it takes to improve their performance or excel in their roles. If left unchecked, this can lead to employee burnout, which can be very damaging for the employee and the business. Eventually, this may turn into the biggest challenge at work.
Solution:
It’s important to see training as an investment. When you make training a big part of your culture, it will come back to you in improved efficiency and productivity.
Make sure it’s an open process by involving your employees in the conversation. Ask them what skills they think they need to work on.
LBJ Consultant offer a package of e-learning courses, our new service allows clients unlimited access to these courses. The charge is based per employee.
2. Schedule Inflexibility
People lead complicated lives that don’t always fit with the Monday to Friday, 9-5 work schedule. While some businesses need their employees to work a fixed schedule, there are many that don’t.
Scheduling inflexibility can lead to higher stress levels and affect your workers’ ability to do their best work.
Solution:
Employees should be able to easily request time off, swap shifts, or be allowed to work a TOIL system. Speak to employees find out what they would like this will enforce that they can have a great sense of flexibility in the workplace.
LBJ Consultants HR management system allows employees to use TOIL.
3. Poor Work-Life Balance
If you have a work-life balance problem, it is the biggest challenge at work. We all know balancing work-life balance is tricky. From the CEO down to the new entry-level employee, we can all find it tricky to get this right.
As a business owner and manager, important thing to remember is that more time spent at work doesn’t necessarily mean you get more work done, and it certainly doesn’t guarantee quality. If you’re expecting your employees to spend all their hours at work and rarely grant time off, then it’s going to start to affect their health and their performance.
Solution:
Work-life balance starts with culture. If you’re conveying a message that the way to success is to spend as much time as possible in the office, then it’s not surprising that people are going to lack a proper work-life balance even if flexibility is available to employees.
Celebrate time off and the idea that rest and relaxation are essential to peak performance and invest in employee wellbeing
LBJ Consultants can provide employee surveys to help monitor employee wellbeing.
4. Lack of Motivation
Motivation isn’t something you can just magic up. There will always be some days where your employees feel motivated and others where they don’t.
What is a problem when there’s a persistent lack of motivation across your entire workforce?
Motivation is a common workplace challenge, and thankfully there are lots of solutions to it.
Solution:
Communicate with your staff! A great place to start is by asking what factors they find most motivating. Create a list of factors such as pay, time off, goals, and bonuses, and ask them to rank them in order of importance.
This will help you understand what gets the most out of your employees, allowing you to implement new motivation techniques.
5. Lack of Communication
A lack of communication is a common problem in the workplace. But without communication, it’s difficult for employees to know what’s expected of them. It also means that other problems go unreported, rather than getting fixed, they begin to stack up.
Poor communication will hurt productivity and lead to more errors, so it’s important that businesses find ways to improve in this area.
Solution:
Sometimes this can be as simple as finding the right platform to communicate on. For example, you might be doing everything through email, when instead, what you need is something different. Again, finding out what the issues are with employees is vital, discuss the issues and agree the solutions.
6. Trust Issues
When it comes to workplace challenges and solutions, trust issues can be one of the most difficult to solve. This is because trust is generally eroded over a period, and it takes time to win it back.
If employees feel like their employers can’t be trusted, or that they’re not trusted to do their job, then it’s a recipe for unhappiness.
Solution:
One of the easiest ways for trust to break down is through a lack of communication. People can’t read minds, so when they’re not getting the information they need, they start to fill in the blanks themselves, and often not in a good way.
Sometimes businesses will deliver bad news, but if you’re open and honest about it, it’s going to help build trust.
One way to get people to communicate and trust each other again is to encourage team building activities.
7. Little Recognition
It’s natural that people want to be recognized for the hard work they do. It’s easy to get into the mindset that an employee’s pay is their recognition, but often it’s the small details that really matter.
When someone does great work, it’s an excellent opportunity to boost morale and build trust, so don’t miss out on it.
Solution:
Create employee rewards like employee of the month and keep track of milestones like birthdays and work anniversaries. Demonstrate that your employees are valuable to your organisation, and recognition shouldn’t be a problem at work.
8. Staff Conflict/ Bullying
Staff conflicts happen, it’s a part of life, and it’s a part of the business. People have different opinions, and that’s a great thing, but it’s how communication is handled that matters.
When differences of opinion spill over into outright conflict, and even bullying, it can be terrible for employee morale, performance, productivity, mood, and everything else.
Solution:
You can overcome this common workplace challenge by creating an open environment where employees can express themselves in a structured way. By promoting teamwork, encouraging feedback, addressing negative attitudes, and asking about the biggest challenges at work, you can create a more harmonious environment.
9. No Potential Growth
Everybody has goals. As much as your employees might enjoy their jobs, they also want to progress their careers and take on new challenges in the workplace. If your business doesn’t appear to offer these opportunities, then it’s going to be a top issue in the workplace.
Solution:
Set a career progression map that shows your employees the opportunities that are available. Discuss what criteria need to be met for raises, and help your staff plan their career trajectory.
The other important aspect is to follow through with what you talk about. Show that you promote from within and offer raises to high-performing employees.
Consider looking at job profiles and salary structures within your organisation.
10. Lack of Technology
It can be endlessly frustrating when you don’t have the right tools to do your job.
Choosing the right technology can be difficult, particularly for small business owners who have limited resources. However, there’s some technology that pays for itself in the long run, and without it, you just can’t keep up with the competition.
Solution:
One of the best things you can do is create a technology plan. This looks at your current and future needs to decide which technology is a priority and which can wait.
Make sure to get feedback from your employees, as they’re the ones that will be working with the technology daily. Ask them what problems they have faced during the work and what technology can help resolve that.
11. Overwhelming Workload
An overwhelming workload can lead to burnout, decreased productivity, and a negative impact on employee health and happiness. It’s common for some employees to feel burdened by the sheer volume of tasks they’re given, leading to a decline in workplace satisfaction.
Solution:
The first step is to check if the workload is evenly distributed among employees. Are there any team members who are consistently overloaded with tasks while others have a lighter load? If so, it may be time to redistribute tasks to create a more balanced workload. This can be easily done through a visual project management tool like Trello or Asana.
Once tasks are evenly distributed, consider implementing time management strategies and setting realistic deadlines for projects. Encourage employees to take breaks and prioritize their mental health to avoid burnout.
If the problem persists, consider hiring additional help or delegating tasks to other departments.
12. Boring and Unfulfilling Work
People want to feel like their work matters and they make a difference. If employees are stuck doing monotonous tasks that don’t challenge them or align with their goals, they may become disengaged and unproductive. This can also result in high employee turnover rates as your team seeks more fulfilling opportunities elsewhere.
Solution:
One way to combat this is by providing employees with opportunities for growth and learning. Encourage them to take on new challenges and offer recognition when they go above and beyond.
Another way to combat boredom in the workplace is by promoting a positive work culture that values creativity, innovation, and fun. Plan team-building activities, celebrate achievements, and encourage collaboration among team members.
Final Thoughts
Leadership challenges in the workplace are a part of the business. There are always going to be new workplace issues, but the important thing is that you can work through them in a logical, timely way.
These are some of the most common workplace challenges and solutions. As you can see, they’re very solvable. Often, the key is communication, and with the right technology, you can normally find a simple solution.
If you have any unique challenges at work examples, please comment below. We shall try to address them with the best possible solution to resolve your workplace issues.
Contact LBJ Consultants on 07375 097443 or e-mail enquiries@lbjconsultants.co.uk for all enquires, regarding our services.
