Management consultant says frustration is a universal problem that has rarely been addressed

Feeling frustrated at work is a common feeling for many people, but for Mark Royal it is also an invisible killer of company efficiency. "As many as half of employees globally are suffering from work frustration that has long been overlooked, according to our survey. It is the same with Chinese companies," says Royal, senior principal of Hay Group Insight, at the launch of a Chinese language version of his new book, The Enemy of Engagement.

Royal, who has worked in the field of employee engagement for more than two decades, says many managers complain that their employees are ineffective, not devoted to the company, or quit easily.

"However, it is not that employees are not committed, but that the organizations don't offer enough support, which has caused their work frustrations," he says.

It took Royal and his team seven years of interviewing people at global companies and a further two years of piecing everything together to complete the book. Using material and cases collected from his company's work, he wants to share his insights with managers and help them "put an end to work frustrations and get the most from employees".

Although the book offers no China-specific experiences, Royal believes there are many truisms about work frustration that apply globally, and his research seemed to resonate with managers and management observers present at the book launch.

Royal believes research contained in the book will be relevant to many Chinese businesses.

"The Chinese economy is related heavily to productivity, so many Chinese companies have been thinking about being more productive, increasing employee motivation, or how to inspire people to work harder. I think this book could be enlightening to them," he says.

Royal says he began to notice differences between people who work for successful organizations and those who don't many years ago.

"People who work for successful, effective organizations are filled with enthusiasm and a sense of possibility, while people who don't lack that level of enthusiasm, commitment, energy and creativity."

His study about work frustration started nine years ago, when Hay Group Insight was working as a consultant to a pharmaceutical company that had invested heavily in employee engagement and enjoyed some success in improving performance.

While on the whole performance seemed good, Royal heard some discordant notes from leaders right below the senior management level and conducted a series of interviews to find out why.

That experience led Royal and his team to begin to research the concept of workplace frustration in more detail, and they soon found issues that are overlooked by many organizations.

"There's a lack of a basic awareness of the problem, and managers may not be hearing that frustration from employees as much as one might think," he says.

Royal says that many companies, even if they have thought about employee motivation, are not in tune with their employees and so focus on the wrong areas in an effort to motivate people. "When we talk about workplace frustrations, we are not talking about the dissatisfied, de-motivated, turned-off employees. Rather, we are talking about engaged employees feeling held back," he says.

These engaged but frustrated employees are motivated and aligned with organizational objectives, so they are not the kinds of people who want to create problems for the organizations or managers. Therefore, if their initial attempts to resolve their situation are not successful, many suffer in silence rather than continually raising the issue, which means that organizations may not be hearing from these individuals as readily as one might think, he says.

"And finally some organizations may just shy away from the topic altogether because thinking about the support factors that are necessary to help motivated people to be successful means that not only do employees need to respond through higher motivation to deliver performance, but organizations need to respond to create the conditions to make that performance possible."

After releasing the English version of the book in 2011, Royal says he is glad that it is not only a tool for managers, but it also connects with employees, many of whom have told him after reading it that they are the frustrated employee.

"By highlighting the problem that work frustration is easily overlooked, the book is a signal to managers that they need to be asking the right questions, but also a signal to employees that they need to speak up, and engage with managers with conversations that resolve frustrations," he says.

Royal says he hopes the book can help motivate frustrated employees to break through reluctance to speak up and resolve issues.

"Managers may see it as a problem when employees raise concerns without any ideas for a solution. But the book helps employees and managers think about some of the things that can be done to help with the situation, which can help employees become comfortable not just raising the issues but also suggesting ways that employees and managers can work together to resolve them."

Royal says that despite cultural and structural differences, the problem of work frustration is nearly universal. "We see it in every market we work in as a global company," he says.

There are common work environment themes for anyone who manages people, such as performance management, setting expectations, delivering feedback, defining authority and empowerment levels.

"What we encourage managers to do is to think about performance management, training, or work structures and processes, in terms of the extent to which they avoid frustration and help motivate people to be effective."

There are also consistent workplace themes that could help companies retain people, including creating a positive view of the future of the organization and giving people an idea of how they can advance within it.

"You want me to stay here as an employee, you need to give me a sense that I am playing for a winner, that the organization is well-led, heading in the right direction, is well aligned with market expectations and is going to be successful in the future," he says.

Moreover, they need to give employees a sense that they have somewhere to go in this company if they stay, that they have opportunities to learn and grow and progress and develop in their career.

"Employees globally have become very mindful of managing their careers, and giving people the opportunities to grow and develop becomes particularly important."

Another factor is to give people the opportunity to be successful. That is, putting them in an environment where they can do their best work and feel that they are accomplishing what they are capable of, efficiently and productively, Royal adds.

chenyingqun@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 05/24/2013 page21)