Warning Signs of the Unhappy Team

Employees might give numerous signals to indicate their discontent with the work environment. If you notice any of them in your workplace, you could easily amend the negative situation before losing a valuable team member.

Absence

Do they come to work on time? Do they leave early? Do they frequently miss work? While excessive absences could be related to personal issues at home and might not necessarily mean they are unhappy, they could also be an indication that your employees are actively searching for employment elsewhere. It could also be an indication that they don't feel their contributions to the projects are valued and, therefore, are bitter about coming to work.

For example, suppose a production tester is constantly late by one to two hours a few times a week. He might no longer feeling challenged on the project and might be resentful that his ideas are not more favorably received.

In some cases, there is little you can do to make the position on the project more challenging, especially one involving testing different configurations of the same product over and over again. However, simply ignoring the problems is also not the answer. To deal with this issue, you need to discuss the employees' expectations of their positions, and provide solutions.

Lack of Effort

Are they productive when they are at work? Do they miss deadlines or not care if they do? If they have assigned tasks and deadlines, do they use their time productively completing the tasks? Or do they waste a lot of time away from their desks, chatting with other employees, surfing the Web, or playing games and calling it "research?"

Note that this could also indicate that employees are overwhelmed by their tasks, and are afraid to discuss this with management. Rather than tackling the issue head-on, they just waste time hoping the problem will go away. The mere idea of talking to management can be intimidating for many employees.

Complaints

Do they frequently complain about management? Do they complain about other team members, specifically those in leadership roles? For example, "I could do his job better. Why did they hire this guy? He doesn't know anything about . . ." People who are disgruntled with management tend to think the grass is greener on the other side. The more proactive complainers will look for other jobs. The less proactive complainers will stay on, but their complaining will create an unpleasant work environment for other employees. This environment could potentially lead to more dissenters.

Commitment

Are they reluctant to commit to long-term assignments? Anyone who is thinking about leaving a job will be reluctant to commit to a long-term assignment. They will invent some excuse, but if they are unwilling to commit to long-term tasks, you need to find out why.

Apathy

Have they asked other people about their own job satisfaction? If they are dissatisfied, they will start talking to other employees to see if they can find other people to relate to. Particularly if they are unhappy with management, they will talk to other people to spread their unhappiness. Again, this could create an environment of snowballing discontent.

Unfulfilled Requests

If an employee has requested something, like a new computer, and has yet to have his or her needs addressed without a good explanation, the perceived lack of caring can have long-lasting consequences.