How often can you tell when an employee is anxious or behaving differently? Don’t worry, we won’t judge if your answer is never! 

We know how hard it is to notice these things, especially when you manage multiple teams single-handedly. With the hybrid model being the new ‘normal’ way of working today, it has become even harder to track how the employees are doing. 

As a result, employees start feeling that their employers don’t care about their well-being, making them less enthusiastic about work and hampering their productivity, eventually quitting their jobs. In fact, the “quit rate” in the US reached a 20-year high in November 2021.

This shocking yet eye-opening statistics should be your cue to keep your employees engaged and content, especially when you wish to retain the best talents. But the question is, how can you know that your employees are frustrated at work?

Five Signs that your employee is frustrated

Spotting anxiety in an employee isn’t a gift someone is born with. It takes a different kind of dedication and involvement to sense their uneasiness and withdrawal before it gets too late! 

Sharing some signs you should look out for in your employees and why they happen. 

1. Observe any changes in work habits

Wouldn’t it feel odd when a happy-go-lucky and usually responsive employee suddenly seems distant? Check for these signs in their work habits.

• Anything unusual from how they usually behave 
• Unresponsiveness to team communications
• Arriving late to the office
• Taking long coffee or lunch breaks
• Taking forever to respond to a simple request or email
• Keeping their video off during meetings

When you see these traits in an otherwise engaged and cheerful employee, chances are there might be something up.

2. Look for signs of irritability

Notice anyone whose emotions are all-time high these days, and you see people tiptoeing around that person? Well, we all have both good and bad days, but you know someone is not happy when they seem grumpy and distressed all the time and react to things differently than they used to. Their moodiness can be confusing and distressing for others around them as well. 

3. Increase in no-shows

One of the most significant signs of stress and burnout is when the employee takes many sick and casual leaves without prior notice. They’d rather stay at home or work from a remote place than be among their coworkers and bosses!

When they’re absent very often, this could mean they’re probably dealing with some personal problem or busy with job hunting. It becomes more alarming when more employees are making excessive absences without proper reason!

4. Missed meetings and deadlines

Handling meetings and deadlines, especially when working remotely, can get a little daunting for your employees. We get that! But communication is the key to effective collaboration in a remote workplace, and working in silos won’t get you anywhere!

In such situations, if employees start missing meetings and cannot be held accountable for their work deadlines, you know the matter is slipping out of hand. Of course, you can relieve them from a few meetings and extend the deadlines upon request. But then, they must initiate the communication beforehand and take charge—that’s the least they could do!

5. Decrease in work quality

Most managers are familiar with the style of working of their employees. Any sudden output or work quality decline should not be hard to miss. Observe the patterns in their work submissions—are these mistakes careless, or is it just their lack of skill? 

In this case, all you can do is assist in understanding the reason for their slacking and motivate them to increase their productivity.

Notice their response when offered assistance or training. Are they willing to improvise the work quality and take the necessary actions? Or are they showing signs of reluctance to be involved in it?

A reluctant employee who doesn’t seem very eager to improve is dropping you hints about being frustrated. 

What could be causing the anxiety?

A good approach to dealing with a frustrated employee is to have ‘the talk’ where you express your concerns and extend a helping hand to get them out of their situation. Basically, try to put out the fire before it spreads and burns its surroundings as well!

But to do that, you need to have a basic idea about the possible reasons this could be happening. While there can be many reasons an employee is frustrated, when it comes to workplace anxiety test, there could be three factors that greatly attribute to it.

Work culture

The employee-employer relationship isn’t only limited to working; it’s the employer’s responsibility to build a positive and healthy work culture. A culture where everyone can thrive and be their best version while getting rewards at every step of their journeys. 

The culture here implies how the employees interact with an organization. This involves appreciating and rewarding their good work, conducting activities to keep them engaged, and creating policies that help them stay motivated and feel respected and empowered.

Also, how clear are the employees about the organization’s goals and their role in it? Also, what does your performance management system look like? How invested are you in the betterment of their careers, and what can you offer to help them scale?

Management

“Employees don’t leave bad jobs, they leave bad managers!” – A quote that speaks volumes about the importance of good management in a workplace. 

Management has a huge role in determining whether employees will be committed to the work and the organization or not. For that, you must ensure that you’re actually exhibiting behaviors and skills that encourage your employees to give their best and go that extra mile!

Good management is the key to building highly-engaged teams. When they have a good relationship with their employees, communicate the requirements to them very clearly, and provide all the resources they can from their end, they will likely have engaged employees. 

All-in-all, an approachable and kind manager has more power over retaining their employees than someone who’s not!

Systems & processes 

Often, the problem is not the people we work with but the system that drives their day-to-day productivity. And often, it’s the tech stack that causes them the most frustration. A report by Gartner finds 60% of employees of the total global workforce to be frustrated with the software they use at work. 

Every organization needs to develop procedures that make an employee’s whole relationship with the company as seamless as feasible. For instance, employees are more likely to be engaged when an organization has a smooth onboarding process.

Employees will be more excited to work when proper procedures are in place for information exchange, with resources available for learning and development. Make sure that the tools you use are easy to comprehend by everyone in your team, not just the technical staff. 

Additionally, the requirements for moving up the corporate levels should be very explicit in the onboarding processes. This gets them motivated to work towards achieving a specific goal and give their best every single time from the beginning itself. 

Flexibility is another crucial factor, particularly during the age of hybrid work culture. Along with wellness programmes for staff, it’s critical to ensure that talent is adequately compensated for their efforts. If people feel their company doesn’t appreciate their efforts, they will likely be less involved.

Some team engagement ideas for you

Keeping an employee engaged goes a long way! However, according to a recent report, only 20% of employees are engaged globally. 

But, you can still be one step ahead in the game and bring better programmes and policies from your employees, so there’s never a bad day at work!

Here are some tips that might help.

• Set short-term and long-term goals for employees
• Give them the best onboarding experience ever
• Give and take regular feedback
• Train the leaders
• Conduct employee wellness programmes
• Seek their suggestions
• Conduct fun team-building activities. Offer exciting incentives like the ‘Fortnite Spiderman’ outfit for the gaming enthusiasts

These are just to give you an idea of what an engaged workplace should look like. Read more of such team engagement ideas in detail and make your workspace your employees’ happy place!

While you cannot always guarantee to retain your best employees, these initiatives will at least let them know that you care and value their work. You’ll not only see smiling faces at work but also notice a spike in productivity in your employees!

Summing it up

Understanding human emotions are very hard; even the best of us fail to notice tiny details. But, when it’s part of your job, it’s very much possible to create an empowering work environment where your employees feel engaged and motivated to work every day!

Do you have a team engagement tip up your sleeve or a workplace story to share?

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Author’s Bio

Deepali is an engineer-turned-freelance writer for B2B SaaS, writing actionable long-form content for companies in Marketing, Cybersecurity, and HR-Tech. When she’s not writing, she’s engrossed in a cozy murder mystery novel with a cup of hot chocolate!