I want you to just take a second and read that title again. You deserve to feel valued at work. You deserve it. Not some proverbial people that you’re not sure if you’re included in or not. Also notice there is no asterisk at the end of that. There is no qualifier of if you did well on the last assignment, if you’ve been there X number of years, etcetera. This is one of those constants. You deserve it because you’re an employee. You deserve to feel valued because you’re a member of that organization. Finally, notice that I am not shoulding on you here. I want you to know that you deserve it, not telling you how you should feel. Let it sink in. You deserve to feel valued at work. Ok, ready?
Now that we got that out of the way, when was the last time you did? Are you one of the lucky ones who feels valued just by walking through the doors (or logging on to the system)? If you’ve been with an organization for a while, you may have felt more valued years ago than you are today. You may feel like the fresh faces and those just starting out are more valued than you are. Deeper than that, you may not be aligned with what your organizations sees as valuable causing frustration and pain.
Travis did not feel valued at work.
I had a client a few years ago who was in a really painful spot. He had been doing the same type of work, at increasing levels of responsibility and success, for about 10 or more years. He always thought his pay and benefits were fair. There were development opportunities available to him. He was even viewed as a leader within the group. This resulted in taking on special roles and learning new specific skills to act as a go to for the department. He was feeling pretty good about the trajectory of his career when he met his new boss and started filling him in on what he was working on.
Travis was knocked off balance a little when his new manager asked him to take a step back in projects. He ultimately chocked it up to this new guy getting up to speed. That continued to devolve however when the manager hired a new employee who did not have the skill, experience, or work ethic Travis did but seemed to be getting all the choice assignments, and the boss’ ear, regularly.
A few months later. things came to a head. The boss threatened performance action to Travis after receiving a complaint. This complaint came from another department who was seen as a customer to their group. While the complaint was the result of something true, Tit was still unfounded. Travis handled the situation exactly as expected. Meaning, there was disciplinary action threatened because Travis was doing his job and the customer didn’t like the result. The boss seemed to be unphased to how this would impact Travis in the years to come.
How would that impact you?
Now you could look at this a couple of different ways. The first might be, whoa this is clearly not going to work out. Travis should hightail it out of there as soon as he can. Another could be, nothing actually happened. The performance action never actually occurred it was just discussed. He is probably just jealous of the relationship with new employee and the boss. Sure, Travis is on hold for a couple of the little side projects he was leading but he’s still employed. Besides, it doesn’t sound like he was getting paid for those anyway.
Your perspective on this is most likely based on what you see as valuable, or how your organization values you. For Travis’ point this is a major problem right, I mean, he sought out career help as a result. He clearly saw this situation as a deal breaker for him.
My personal opinion is, based on the way organizations show value, Travis is moving his way down the pyramid. The hierarchy that companies use to show they value their employees really only starts at pay. To go from being a leader within the department being trusted to hold and juggle so many balls to being paid for the hours you’re putting in. Period full stop. Is not a good sign from the outside looking in.
What to do if you’re feeling under valued at work?
Even if you aren’t exactly in Travis’ shoes, you might have felt a twinge of commonality with him. Should you be grateful that you’re not exactly where he’s at? Did this story help you to see the writing on the wall in your own situation? Or maybe you just had a passing moment of feeling undervalued and you want to ensure it never gets to that level. Regardless of if you fell into one of those camps or somewhere in between, there are three very critical steps that can help you get there.
Figure out what would make you feel valued.
We are all wired a little differently and are in different stages in life. What demonstrates value to you may not do it for me. What you saw as valuable five years ago may not cut it today. Do some reflection and write out what communicates value most to you. Is it the opportunity for time off? The ability to make decisions and influence others? Could it be a window seat or an office? Maybe you love the opportunity to travel and learn from others in the industry? Perhaps you want to be mentored and developed specific to your role or career as a whole? None of that may be on your list but I hope that it sparked you to consider what would show value to you.
Whatever it is, you need to know what it is for you and have a clear assessment of where you think you currently stand. For example, if traveling for work is the top for you, are you there? How would you, in your mind, be ready for that and how could you show you were ready for that?
Understand how organizations show value to employees.
Now that you’re clear on what being valued looks like for you, consider what the organization uses to show value and how. I referenced above the hierarchy that organizations use to express value to employees. This is an underlying framework that is widely used throughout many industries though in nuanced ways. Explaining it is a bit more conversational so if you’re interested in understanding it better, click here to get access to the podcast series that walks from the baseline to the peak. The series will help you understand where you stand with your organization and what to do about it.
Make your desires and expectations known.
The final step in impacting how you’re feeling valued at work is analyzing and communicating. Compare how you would like to feel most valued and where you stand with your organization right now. Uniting them will allow you to develop an action plan with your manager with clear understanding of what you want and how you’ll get there that you both agree on. You can do this. Remember, you deserve to feel valued at work. Let’s take some action to ensure that you do.