Over the past couple of years some employers have taken advantage of the down economy and high unemployment rate by increasing job responsibilities, not honoring employee requests, or not providing yearly pay raises. Many employers are starting to notice the effects of doing so.

One company recently offered pay raises to their employees because they were experiencing a large turnover. While they may not have been upset, at least financially, to see one or two staff people leave, they became concerned when there was a large number of employees leaving for higher paying positions. To solve the problem they responded with mid-year raises.

Sometimes when you are an employee you have little say in what projects you are given or your schedule. I know a woman who left her job because her employer would not honor a request to change her schedule to make the working hours more “fair” between her and the other people who were in the same position. They were surprised when she gave her 2-week noticed and asked her what they could do to entice her to stay. She informed them she had requested a change to her schedule and because no change was made she found another employer who offered her the schedule she desired. They promised her a better schedule, but it was a little too late as she didn’t trust them to follow through on their promise.

Another person was given a project they were not truly skilled for. There are other people in her company who have more experience and skill in the area. In addition, her to-do list was really long and she had asked work be allocated to other people, when possible. The fact that she was given a project where she is not the expert will require her to work additional hours to complete the job. While she plans on completing the project, she is frustrated.

Small business is the driver of our economy. It is understandable that some companies are having to make due with fewer employees to get the job done. Which means some employees are being given tasks/projects that they are not skilled in or are required to work additional hours. But hopefully many employers recognize the demands they are making of their staff and acknowledge the efforts being made by their employees. A simple “Thank you” or “You are doing a great job!” can go a long way in keeping people satisfied. When the economy improves hopefully your employees do not go looking for a better working environment, as turnover is very costly, even in a good economy.