Winning Hearts Through Good Office Etiquette Of Bosses

Workplace strategies and retaining employees

The picture above is of a smiling pleasing boss. How do you feel when you see someone like her? A feeling of comfort and a pleasant environment and a workplace that is safe to work in. Maslow’s theory states that when the basic needs of a person to survive are fulfilled he has the psychological needs of fulfilment.

I have a long experience of work-life and have been a boss, had many bosses and many colleagues and friends who have also been bosses.

I have lots of students and friends who have bosses and they have many tales to tell me. Often, there are tales of bad bosses and looking for a change because the boss calls them bad names, is never satisfied with their work or is always in a bad mood.

Just like people talk about their bosses and there are many who do not fall in their expectation level, there are many subordinates also who do not work well and bosses talk about their inefficiency.

Let us see what is lacking and what we can do about it?

The Tolerant Boss

The first example is that of a boss who did not acknowledge or appreciate anyone’s work.

In an office, a girl was working peacefully. The boss called her and gave her some work. The work was quite tricky and the girl took some time to do the work. She could not finish the work and left in the evening without completing the work.

The next morning, the young girl tried hard to complete her assignment. She was new to the place and did not know whether the work that she completed was right or wrong.

She went to her boss and showed her the work and most of it was far above the work that the boss expected from a new employee. She was very pleased but did not appreciate her or acknowledge her work.

The young employee went on to do her work and continued with her work. This was an example where the boss got her work done and the employee was satisfied that she could complete the work.

If this boss had appreciated the work of her employee, there would be an environment of friendliness between them, but the boss chose to avoid it. She neither did any harm nor did she gain a friend at the workplace.

The message was very clear. Do your work well and the boss will not say anything. Such bosses are the tolerable kind.

The Angry Intolerant Boss

Another kind of boss is the type who calls his employees and distributes the work among them. Then he calls them and looks at their work. He does not like the work of one of the employees. He shouts at the employee in front of all the other colleagues of the employee and throws the work calling names and blasphemes heavily.

The employee will only continue to work because he has no other job or he or she lives close by or there is some strong reason for it. Behind the bosses, back he will tell others that the boss is of the worst kind.

To win hearts, the boss should have never scolded and shouted at the employee in front of so many other people. He should have called the employee alone in his room and asked the person to sit down quietly and then scolded the employee to his heart’s delight and got the person to complete the task. The voice should never go to the next room.

The golden rule is to never shout at an employee in front of others. It should be done very quietly.

The message here was, you are a stupid fool and don’t know how to work. All the peer group also came to know about it and lived in an environment of uncertainty and unhappiness.

An incident happened when I joined an organization, where the Director I had heard used to shout a lot at employees. I saw this happen soon enough. The administrative officer had failed to get the reception area cleaned properly and the director shouted so much at him in front of me that I felt sad for the poor fellow.

The Director’s hands started shaking and the administrative officer was trembling. It did no good to either of them and I could neither get up nor leave. Sure enough, the employee left at the end of the month.

The message from the emmployee was I cannot tolerate you so I am leaaving.

The Friendly Boss

Another organization where I worked was a very friendly place. The Chairman won the hearts of all his employees. He knew the names of all the senior employees. He would send a birthday wish to each one of them and never failed to send them flowers also from the organization. His secretary on a daily basis was to let him know if the flowers were sent or not.

I remember I fell sick with a deadly illness called chikungunya that he also suffered from around the same time. It is a sickness transmitted by mosquitoes. The muscles and joints both pain a lot. The moment he came to know about it, the secretary was asked to send an ayurvedic medicine to my house as it was very good for the pain.

I could not but thank him for his kindness. Another act of kindness was when he wanted to reward people. I had got the employee of the month award and he came for the program himself. He was handed the medal of honor that was a silver coin with a certificate.

The Chairman specially handed the medal with his right hand and then waited for me to keep it after a picture was taken and then shook hands with him again with his right hand. He said the right-hand I believe, honor people.

The Director-General of this organization too was a very good person. If I was on leave, he would try not to call me. He would tell his secretary the work is not so important and let us wait and not disturb her when she is on leave.

I also remember that the Director-General would always introduce me to the guests who came to the office with a lot of respect. He would tell them of my credentials and proudly say that I was the Head of the Department. This gave me a feeling of elation and motivated me to work hard and with great sincerity.

These acts of kindnesses certainly make everyone happy. These are winning strategies that win the hearts of people and motivate them to work better and with greater zeal.

The takeaways

#1. A friendly boss wins the hearts of his employees. In order to retain employees in an organization, the golden rule is to unburden others.

#2. It is important to appreciate people and honor them for their achievements. You do not become small by praising others. You only rise in other people’s esteem.

#3. When a boss respects his employees, in return he commands respect. He does not have to demand, it is already reciprocated.

#4. With love and affection, you can break barriers and win the hearts of people. Good office etiquettes are a must for success.

#5. Always learn to respect people working with you or under you to get good results.

To conclude

Bosses with good office etiquettes attract employees and retain them for a long duration. They encourage a friendly environment and motivate people to give their best. They win the hearts of their employees. A boss who maintains good etiquettes gets respect and love from his employees.

Moreover, winning strategies help in a long way to retain employees in an organization