It may sound strange, but childhood experiences play a major role in how a person behaves at work. Values such as discipline and self-control are learned in early childhood. Children who met their goals as kids, or rather performed to satisfy parents in the childhood, usually have stronger work ethics as grown ups. Such employees are highly disciplined, take initiative on their own, and adapt to work culture faster.
Parents with authoritative traits help develop work ethic in their children. These kids become self-reliant and initiative-takers in their career. Family background traits shown by the parents help to develop work ethic in children.
Here is a short list for supervisors in developing effective work ethics in employees:
- Create and maintain a positive working environment that boosts employee morale and help them excel their tasks.
- Set working norms for the group and encourage the team and the supervisors that excel in their tasks and meet organizational goals.
- Set out detailed goals with regards to productivity, craftsmanship quality etc, so that each individual is clear about the organizational expectations. The goals are clearly laid down right at the time of hiring a new employee, and taking him through the orientation process. Also, while delegating work to the employees, the expectations are clearly given. If there is need, the supervisor may also provide training, and explain how a task is to be handled. For example, while creating a new design for a label, the supervisor will clearly mention the prefer color schemes etc,
- Create an ambiance that the supervisees will enjoy working in the environment. This is not to say that the organization will relax the norms or standards, but it means that the atmosphere will be such that the supervisees will not have any fear while voicing their opinion.
- There should be effective delegation and individual work accountability.
- The supervisor should ensure that each individual in his team is allocated work as per his abilities, and also he should help cultivate commitment amongst the team members by being totally committed to organizational goals. He should motivate the team members and seek active participation of each individual.
- The supervisor should also carry on performance appraisal periodically within the department and feedback should be given to the supervisee. The evaluation should be comprehensive and should involve all the aspects such as quality of work, on time delivery, punctuality, attendance, work attitude, behavior, strengths, weaknesses, ability to think out of the box, and so forth
- The employees that excelled in performance should be suitably rewarded, in terms of recognition and appreciation and even be paid better emoluments to keep him motivated.
- Motivate supervisees through words and action.
In a nut shell, work ethic would depend on several factors, some beyond the control of a supervisor. Yet, a supervisor can contribute to better work ethic amongst his subordinates by following the guidelines mentioned above.
