Tag: mental-health

4 Workplace Trends to Embrace

The last four workplace trends from our quiz highlight positive employee behaviors. These include unbossing, job crafting, career cushioning, and acting your wage.

Each trend represents steps that employees or employers can take to foster growth, balance, and long-term satisfaction at work. As a business owner or manager, understanding these trends—and encouraging them where appropriate—can help you create a positive workplace culture and retain top talent.

Unbossing

Unbossing was popularized by the CEO of Novartis to promote servant leadership and empower employees. Today, many companies use it to replace rigid hierarchies with more flexible, collaborative structures. By removing layers of middle management, employees gain more autonomy, which often leads to higher engagement, better mental health, and increased innovation.

Key benefits of unbossing include:

  • Employees decide how and when they work, with accountability tied to outcomes and deadlines—improving work-life balance and motivation.
  • Teams self-manage workflows, goals, and performance, leading to faster decision-making and greater innovation.
  • Fewer management layers reduce payroll and overhead costs.
  • Leaders act as coaches and mentors, and employees communicate directly with leadership, reducing miscommunication.

Challenges for small businesses include:

  • Owners may struggle to let go of decision-making.
  • Without clear accountability, deadlines can be missed or productivity may drop.
  • Unclear authority may stall progress when final decisions aren’t made.
  • Small teams may lack experienced leaders who understand coaching-based leadership.

How to succeed with unbossing:
Clearly define goals, implement accountability measures, and encourage transparent communication. Tools like Teams, Trello, Slack, Zoom, or Monday.com can support collaboration and alignment.

Job Crafting

Job crafting occurs when employees reshape their roles to align with their strengths, passions, and values. This can include:

  • Task crafting – taking on projects that spark interest, using new tools to improve efficiency, or delegating less enjoyable tasks.
  • Relationship crafting – working with colleagues, mentors, or clients who inspire growth.
  • Cognitive crafting – reframing how one thinks about work to make it more meaningful.

Steps to begin job crafting:

  1. Reflect on your strengths, interests, and values.
  2. Choose one specific change to improve your role.
  3. Discuss changes with your manager if they affect tasks or clients (cognitive crafting is more personal).
  4. Test the change, measure its impact, and build from small successes.

Done well, job crafting boosts fulfillment while maintaining or even increasing productivity.

Career Cushioning

Career cushioning is the practice of preparing for your next role while still employed. Think of it as career insurance. Employees who career-cushion are proactive about growth and resilience.

Key practices include:

  • Keeping your résumé and LinkedIn profile updated.
  • Building professional relationships through networking and events.
  • Staying aware of job market trends and openings.
  • Upgrading skills and learning industry developments.
  • Developing side income streams to provide stability in case of job loss.

For employers, career cushioning shouldn’t be viewed negatively. Employees who stay sharp and connected often bring new skills and perspectives that benefit their current workplace.

Act Your Wage

“Act your wage” is a workplace trend where employees set healthy boundaries by working within the scope of their responsibilities and protecting their personal time. They push back against the expectation to constantly work overtime or take on responsibilities without fair compensation.

Why it matters:

  • For employees, it protects mental health, prevents burnout, and reinforces fair boundaries.
  • For managers, it highlights the importance of fair compensation, balanced workloads, and respect for personal time.

How employers can support this:

  • Avoid assigning tasks outside an employee’s job description.
  • Ensure workloads don’t require regular overtime, and encourage use of paid time off.
  • Provide raises or promotions when adding responsibilities.

Business benefits include:

  • Fair compensation and clear expectations.
  • Reduced burnout, turnover, and disengagement.
  • Stronger morale and job satisfaction.

Final Thoughts

In today’s competitive job market, attracting and retaining strong employees is more challenging than ever. Encouraging positive workplace behaviors—like unbossing, job crafting, career cushioning, and acting your wage—creates an environment where employees feel valued, empowered, and fulfilled. Employees who know their responsibilities, are fairly compensated, and enjoy a healthy work-life balance are far more likely to stay and thrive in your organization for years to come.

Spotting Fake Productivity: A Guide for Small Business Leaders

Do you have employees who work through lunch, stay late, and still can’t seem to finish their tasks? They may be “clock botching.”

Or perhaps you’ve noticed employees doing the bare minimum to get by—often referred to as “quiet quitting.” Others may appear busy but aren’t producing meaningful results, a behavior called “task masking.” In the most severe cases, employees may be “ghostworking”—pretending to work while putting their time toward other activities.

While these behaviors aren’t new, the terms that describe them have gained attention in recent years. As I researched these patterns, I was surprised by just how many ways employees can appear busy while avoiding meaningful productivity.

For business owners and managers, recognizing these behaviors is critical. They don’t just reduce productivity—they often point to deeper problems in the workplace. Low morale, burnout, poor time management, or unclear expectations can all contribute. Identifying and addressing these behaviors is the first step toward creating a healthier, more effective work environment.

Clock Botching

Clock botching happens when an employee is on the clock but not truly engaged in their work. They may look dedicated—staying late or attending every meeting—but their output tells a different story.

Signs of clock botching include:

  • Working long hours with little to show for it
  • Stretching simple tasks over an entire day
  • Lack of engagement during meetings

This behavior is often unintentional. Employees may struggle with time management, feel burned out, or lack a sense of purpose in their work. As a manager, your role is to recognize the pattern and help them re-engage.

That may mean:

  • Having honest conversations about what’s behind the decline in productivity
  • Offering paid time off if burnout is an issue
  • Providing training or tools to improve time management
  • Setting aside time to prioritize and break down tasks together

Small changes—like using time management apps or weekly check-ins—can help employees regain focus and deliver stronger results.

Quiet Quitting

Unlike clock botching, quiet quitting is intentional. Employees complete only what is required of them—no more, no less. They may disengage from office activities, social events, or collaborative opportunities.

Common causes include:

  • Burnout
  • Dissatisfaction with pay or lack of career growth
  • Poor management or unclear expectations
  • Desire for better work-life balance

If you notice quiet quitting, start with self-reflection. Ask yourself:

  • Am I offering clear opportunities for growth?
  • Are employees fairly compensated?
  • Do I respect their personal time and boundaries?

If improvements are needed, acknowledge this and commit to change. If, however, your workplace provides fair pay, opportunities, and balance, and the employee still disengages, it may be time for them to move on.

Task Masking

Task masking is when employees look busy but produce little value. This can include shuffling papers, carrying laptops around, sitting silently in video meetings, or endlessly scrolling through emails.

Often, task masking thrives in organizations that reward “looking busy” rather than achieving outcomes. Pressure to appear productive—sometimes intensified by fears of being replaced by AI or being forced back into the office—can push employees toward this behavior.

To combat task masking, leaders should:

  • Set clear, meaningful goals tied to the company’s mission
  • Reward results, not just hours worked
  • Support flexible or hybrid schedules where possible
  • Build trust and enthusiasm through purposeful work

When employees know their contributions matter, they’re more likely to stay engaged and productive.

Ghostworking

Ghostworking takes task masking a step further. Employees not only appear busy but actively fake productivity—sometimes while job hunting, updating resumes, or browsing online.

Examples include:

  • Keeping a report open on-screen while doing personal tasks
  • Scheduling fake meetings to avoid accountability
  • Pretending to make calls while engaging in personal conversations

Research suggests 58% of U.S. workers admit to ghostworking regularly.

Ghostworking often arises when employees feel undervalued, insecure about job stability, or unhappy but unwilling to quit until they find another role.

Leaders can reduce ghostworking by:

  • Recognizing and rewarding real accomplishments
  • Building stronger engagement and connection with employees
  • Reducing workplace distractions
  • Ensuring fair compensation

When employees feel valued and connected, they’re less likely to disengage or fake their efforts.

Final Thoughts

Behaviors like clock botching, quiet quitting, task masking, and ghostworking may look like productivity issues on the surface—but often they point to deeper challenges in the workplace. Low morale, lack of recognition, poor management practices, and burnout are frequently at the root.

As a business owner or manager, your role isn’t just to spot these behaviors, but to ask why they are happening and address the cause. Clear goals, fair compensation, meaningful recognition, and a supportive environment go a long way in preventing these productivity killers. When you create a workplace where employees feel valued, motivated, and connected to your mission, true productivity—not just the appearance of it—will follow

Who’s in Charge When You’re Away?: Identifying a Trusted Leader

In my last blog, I shared how important it is to develop one or more employees who can manage the business while you’re away. Whether you call them a lead employee, acting manager, or person in charge, choosing the right person matters.

When you’re away from the business, you want someone who will represent you well—someone you trust to protect and even enhance the reputation you’ve worked hard to build. That’s why I want to walk you through what I’ve learned over the years about identifying potential leaders in your workplace.

The best lead employees are reliable, trustworthy, knowledgeable, and respectful. These are the people who will give you peace of mind when you take time off—whether it’s for a vacation, family need, or just a day to recharge.

What to Look for in a Lead Employee

✅ Someone Who Is Reliable

When you’re not around, you need someone who consistently follows through and doesn’t require reminders. A reliable employee:

  • Is on time and dependable
  • Gives notice when they need to change their schedule
  • Follows your policies and procedures
  • Completes tasks correctly and on time
  • Can be trusted with tasks like ordering supplies or making bank deposits
  • Keeps their commitments and doesn’t make excuses

✅ Someone You Can Trust

You need someone who will do the right thing—even when no one’s watching. A trustworthy employee:

  • Works well without constant oversight
  • Is honest and transparent
  • Makes decisions with integrity
  • Admits mistakes and works to correct them
  • Respects your business and protects its value
  • Puts the company’s best interests first when you’re not there

✅ Someone Who Knows the Business

A qualified leader understands how the business works and how you want things done. A knowledgeable employee:

  • Understands day-to-day operations
  • Supports your business goals and works to achieve them
  • Can confidently explain products and services to customers
  • Exercises good judgment in difficult or unusual situations
  • Anticipates how you would respond and acts accordingly
  • Brings you thoughtful ideas for improvement

✅ Someone Who Is Respectful

Your lead employee should treat others with professionalism and kindness. A respectful employee:

  • Shows courtesy to customers and coworkers
  • Listens well and communicates clearly
  • Considers all perspectives before making decisions
  • Offers praise in public and correction in private
  • Maintains composure when tensions rise
  • Recognizes and appreciates their team members

Leadership Benefits Everyone

If you select and train the right people, you’ll be able to step away from your business knowing it’s in capable hands. Not only will you enjoy peace of mind and time to rest, but your lead employees will grow in their own confidence, responsibility, and job satisfaction.

Paul reminds us in Scripture,
“Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful.” – 1 Corinthians 4:2 (NIV)

Developing trustworthy leaders within your business is one of the best investments you can make—not just for your time off, but for the future of your company.

Stepping Away from a Small Business Without Losing Control: How to Develop a Trusted Team Leader

Recent surveys show that many employees today are not interested in stepping into management roles. Instead, they prefer positions where they can contribute as individuals without supervising others. For larger firms—where multiple layers of management are essential—this creates a challenge. In response, many of these organizations are developing alternative career paths to retain talent and allow for growth without forcing people into unwanted leadership roles.

As a small business owner, you might think this trend doesn’t apply to you—especially if you currently wear all the management hats. But if you have employees, it’s vital to develop at least one who can step into a leadership role in your absence. Imagine spending a week at the beach, completely unplugged, while a capable, trusted team member handles the day-to-day responsibilities of your business.

So, how do you encourage and prepare someone to be your go-to leader?

Understand Why Employees May Avoid Management

Especially among younger workers, there is often hesitancy to move into management. Common concerns include:

  • Increased stress
  • Longer working hours
  • Interference with family or personal life
  • Strained relationships with co-workers

Understanding these concerns allows you to build a leadership development plan that reassures potential leaders and sets them up for success.

Steps to Develop a Lead Employee

Here’s a practical approach to cultivating leadership in your business:

1. Reframe the Role

  • Use the title leader instead of manager to make the role feel more approachable.
  • Emphasize that the goal is to help the business run smoothly when you’re away—not to burden the employee with unnecessary stress.

2. Define Responsibilities

  • Make a clear list of tasks the employee will be expected to handle in your absence.
  • Outline which decisions they can make independently and which ones require your input.
  • Create easy-to-follow checklists and protocols for recurring responsibilities.
  • Provide a contact file with supplier, client, employee, and emergency information.

3. Begin Delegating Gradually

Start by assigning small tasks and increasing responsibility over time. These might include:

  • Opening or closing the business
  • Handling customer questions or complaints
  • Responding to employee needs or schedule changes
  • Ordering supplies
  • Making bank deposits

4. Try a “Trial Run”

Choose a day to delegate full authority to your lead employee while you remain on-site.

  • Step back and allow them to make decisions.
  • If other employees approach you, direct them to the lead.
  • Provide feedback afterward and evaluate what went well and what needs refining.

5. Create a “Vacation Handbook”

Prepare your employee with a written guide that includes:

  • Task checklists and contact lists
  • Necessary passwords and system access
  • Emergency protocols and clear instructions on when to contact you

6. Take a Short Break First

Before your big vacation, take a day off and let the lead employee manage independently.

  • Review the experience together.
  • Answer questions that came up.
  • Clarify anything that was unclear.

7. Schedule and Take Your Vacation

Once your lead is ready, take that well-deserved time off. Trust the process, and trust your employee.

If Your Business Has Extended Hours…

If your business is open more than eight hours a day or more than five days a week, consider developing two or three lead employees. That way, they can rotate shifts and avoid burnout—ensuring full coverage without exhausting your team.

Benefits for You and Your Business

Following these steps prepares your lead employee to handle daily operations with confidence. When employees feel equipped and supported, their stress decreases and their performance improves. For you, it means peace of mind and the freedom to step away when needed—whether it’s for a vacation, family event, or simply a much-needed break.

Leadership doesn’t have to be about titles—it’s about trust, preparation, and partnership.

Motivate and Retain: How Incentives and Appreciation Build a Stronger Team

Your business is only as strong as the people behind it. Great employees drive growth, innovation, and profitability — and it’s essential to ensure your team feels valued and recognized. Two powerful tools for fostering this kind of positive workplace culture are incentives and appreciation.

Incentives vs. Appreciation

While often related, incentives and appreciation serve different purposes in the workplace:

  • Incentives are performance-based motivators. They encourage employees to meet specific goals by offering a reward when those goals are achieved.
  • Appreciation is an expression of thanks — recognizing and valuing your team’s efforts, regardless of outcomes.

The two often go hand in hand. For example, a sales team might be incentivized to reach a target by the promise of a bonus. When the goal is met, a manager can express sincere appreciation, publicly acknowledging the team’s hard work while announcing the earned incentive.

Designing Effective Incentives

Incentives can take many forms:

  • Financial: bonuses, raises, or gift cards
  • Non-financial: extra time off, public recognition, or professional development opportunities
  • Individual or team-based

For incentives to be effective, they should:

  • Be viewed as a bonus, not part of regular compensation
  • Be clearly defined and achievable
  • Offer a fair opportunity for all employees to succeed

A word of caution: poorly designed incentives can have unintended consequences. Team incentives may frustrate high performers if others aren’t contributing equally, and incentives that feel like withheld compensation rather than earned rewards can lower morale.

Showing Appreciation

Expressions of appreciation don’t have to be complicated or expensive — but they should always be sincere. From a simple “thank you” to larger gestures, showing gratitude goes a long way in building trust and loyalty.

A few ideas for meaningful appreciation:

  • Handwritten notes: A personal, sincere message highlighting specific ways an employee contributes to your business can make a lasting impact.
  • Celebrate birthdays: Even a simple greeting or card makes employees feel seen. Some companies offer a paid day off on an employee’s birthday — a small gesture that leaves a big impression.
  • Acknowledge work anniversaries: Especially for significant milestones like five, ten, or twenty years.
  • Company newsletters: Recognize employees who’ve accomplished milestones, earned certifications, or led successful projects.
  • Employee appreciation celebrations: Host an event, whether it’s a formal lunch with recognition and door prizes, or a casual morning with donuts and coffee. Add decorations to distinguish it from a routine meeting and make it feel special.

I recall a thoughtful gesture from my days as a teacher: our principal asked each of us for our favorite snacks and surprised us with them during workdays. At my current job, we once had an annual employee appreciation lunch — a tradition that was replaced by an appreciated paid day off. While we enjoyed the lunches, everyone agreed the day off was even better!

Final Thoughts

Balancing performance incentives with genuine, everyday appreciation creates a workplace culture where employees feel both motivated and respected. When people know their efforts are seen, valued, and rewarded, they’re more likely to stay engaged, loyal, and invested in your business’s success.