Each new year celebration brings upon us chances to make new year’s resolutions. A resolution is a commitment one makes that when kept, is believed to make one’s life better than the year before.
Employee Expectations of Employers
One resolution to employ to improve one’s quality of life is to maintain high expectations. In fact, the Gartner study of top human resource leaders show that employees hold high expectations as the new year approaches. Here are the four 2023 Employee Expectations of Employers according to Gartner:
- Flexible working arrangements like remote, hybrid and work from home.
- Employer involvement in special interests of importance to employees.
- Expanded benefits for health and well-being.
- Validation of individual characteristics of each employee.
But, as experienced remote workers or aspiring workers in search of a remote job, holding high or even reasonable expectations of our employers may not be sound psychologically.
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Expectations Met Does Not Lead to Happiness
For instance, Psychology Today, suggests “unrealistic expectations can lead to premeditated resentments.” What is meant by this statement?
The author theorizes humans have a innate need to believe that happiness will come about when our expectations are met.
Boy, in living our daily lives, we have found:
- Getting others to meet our expectations is pretty hard if not down right impossible,
- Even when our expectations are met, we are off to the next shiny object keeping our happiness at bay for another place and time.
John Johnson further explains in Psychology Today the phenomenon espoused by many, is the belief,
“Yet many of us at some point have mistakenly believed that expecting other people to behave the way we want will actually make them behave that way.”
Um, I don’t think I have ever thought this, nor have our readers. However, just in case. Let us emphatically state here, “believing your employer will magically meet your expectations is not realistic.”
The Employer Cost of Employee Resentment
The author concludes when our expectations are not met we are saddened to the point of becoming morally indignant, and resentful. He further explains that these unmet expectations can eventually transform into premeditated resentments.
And, employee resentment is a big deal in business. Resentment can cost hundreds if not thousands. Chron writes, resentful employees can lower morale of other staff members and colleagues. The negative attitudes of resentful workers can lower productivity and undermine organizational goals.
Related articles you might like:
Lonely and misunderstood remote workers
How working from home changed consumer behaviors
So, if you are a remote employer, it is imperative to moderate the expectations of employees.
Some of the unintended organizational slights that may cause employee resentment are:
- lack of recognition
- lack of promotion
- overwhelming workload
- undesirable work assignment
- envy
Be Resolute in Being the Driver of Your Destiny
So, what are our options?
Perhaps we should be resolute in being the driver of our own destiny? In so doing, we can focus more on the things we can control and less on what we can’t. Joel and Michelle Levey in their book, Living in Balance advocate a third way. They posit that “our ability to control our environment is limited.” It is further argued, the wise ones among us have learned to stop exhausting themselves by trying to change the river of change.” P.18).
The force and rate of change is speeding rather strongly about us (think Covid-19, mandated closures, travel restrictions, small business collapse, and supply chain bottlenecks). In the face of this frantic out of control world, the holy grail, they argue is to be more consciously alive and more aware of what gives true meaning to our world.
You may find, in the end, it isn’t easily met by one corporate entity; rather it is the still, soft, minuscule movements we make each second, minute, hour of the day toward the advancement of our own personal and professional goals that brings true happiness and fulfillment.
