We all need appreciation and respect instead of feeling invisible at work. It’s how I defined it for a leading global company: Respect honors individuality and serves as a catalyst that enables employees to embrace their personal brand, represent themselves and prevent burnout.
Disrespect can range from subtle ways, like talking about someone in a meeting or ignoring their comment, to more obvious forms, like acknowledging someone else’s work or a micro-aggression. But regardless of how it manifests, we need to reflect on ourselves and work hard to make sure no one feels unnoticed and disrespect is stamped out.
Recent data from Workhuman found that nearly 30% of workers have felt invisible at work and 27% feel ignored. In addition to the sense of invisibility, there are also the following “invisible skills” that go unnoticed in the workplace:
- Empathy and compassion (27.4%)
- A sense of curiosity (19.8%)
- Listening comprehension or emotional intelligence (15.4%)
When asked which groups received the most recognition in their workplaces, workers ranked the following in the top three:
- Leadership (managers, executives etc.)
- Persons with longer tenure
- People who have a large network
I recently connected with Meisha-ann Martin, Ph.D., Senior Director of People Analytics and Research at Workhuman. We talked about minimizing employees’ feelings of invisibility, building connections and belonging, and the role of learning and development in creating cultures of respect.
Rachel Montañez: What day-to-day changes can leaders make to ensure people are on their team? don’t you feel invisible
Meisha-Ann Martin: Make appreciation an everyday act and it becomes culture. Another daily change executives can make is weekly check-ins with their direct reports. Not only does this give them another space to show gratitude, but it is also an opportunity to build trust; According to our research, employees with these weekly connections are twice as likely to trust their manager and feel a sense of belonging at work. In order for a business to grow sustainably and successfully, leadership must address people’s needs to remove that sense of invisibility and foster a sense of belonging. People are at the heart of any business and it’s time to take care of them.
Montañez: What are some specific things employees can do on a daily basis to stay connected?
Martin: Our research found that 66% would like more opportunities to celebrate life events at work – and 54% of companies are currently not doing so. Take the first five minutes of a team meeting to talk about weekend plans, favorite shows, and other personal highlights. Recognize and celebrate a colleague for a personal milestone the same way you would celebrate a professional one.
Find opportunities to network through hobbies and activities outside of work that allow you to deepen those connections. By reaching out in small ways at first, employees can build better relationships with their peers and feel that bringing their whole personality to the table adds value to their organization.
Montañez: “Learning and development” has thus become a more strategic organizational function 72% of the professionals surveyed. What specific role can learning and development leaders play in creating cultures of respect?
Martin: Learning and development in the workplace should not be limited to just learning about subjects; it should also include learning from each other – what works, what doesn’t, and perhaps most importantly, how to create a psychologically safe environment. Prejudice and stereotypes play a role when it comes to receiving gratitude or recognition. Our research supports this, as black and Hispanic employees are less likely to report fair recognition than white employees.
Only 19% of Black and 21% of Hispanic employees totally agree that they receive recognition similar to that of other team members. Learning and development leaders should enroll employees in courses on what psychological safety looks like, and then use the recognition to reinforce those behaviors. Then, later in that cycle, use an employee engagement survey to see if the courses are actually working. By assessing and correcting course based on this data, companies can: a positive work environment that values respect and equal treatment for all.
Montañez: Sponsorships are a way for high performers and emerging talent to gain visibility and be endorsed by business leaders and influencers who can help them advance their careers. But despite the level of demand Only 5% of rising black employees manage to win a sponsorship compared to 20% of their white colleagues. What are some best practices to increase sponsorship for people of color?
Martin: Many companies tend to believe that representation equals success when it comes to DEI goals. However, there is so much more to consider and measure if companies really want to identify and retain top performers. To that end, sponsorship should be viewed as a form of affiliation: leaders should be encouraged to find the promising, diverse talent that can lead them to success. Studies show that 62% of women of color feel disadvantaged because they don’t have an influential mentor. Employers should consider sponsorships to engage their diverse workforce, strengthen their leadership pipeline, and nurture and retain talent that may have previously gone unnoticed.
Perhaps most alarming of all the WorkHuman data debated is that only 3.4% of workers who felt invisible sought outside help, such as coaching. Disrespect is so crippling, and if we don’t employ upstream strategies, we risk quitting quietly, burning out, and limiting creativity and impact. Respect is the lifeblood that circulates in every organization. Without them, engagement stops.
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