What Employees Wish Their Bosses Knew (But Never Say Out Loud)

If you browse the web, you’ll find many wishes from employees across digital spaces, going like,  “I wish my boss knew […]” But saying it out loud to managers? It would be a one-way ticket to discomfort and awkwardness. Roughly half of employees don’t speak their minds at work for several reasons. Some feel ashamed; others believe their leadership team will do nothing to improve employee satisfaction.

Your team members may likewise keep silently expecting you to understand them better. But let’s be real—you aren’t a mind-reader to guess their thoughts and expectations. However, you can rely on this “Employee Wish List” with statistically backed-up data, real-life situations, and expert strategies for your team’s happiness. So, let’s have a peek!

8 Things your employees might not be telling you

Here’s what your employees don’t say aloud but wish you knew.

1. They wouldn’t mind more guided onboarding and training

“I just started a job, and my boss expects me to know everything. Should I quit?”

If you throw your new hires into the deep end at the onboarding stage, even though you realize they don’t know how to swim yet, you risk losing them immediately. (Say “goodbye” to employee retention.)

New workers may be too shy to voice their opinions or concerns. However, when asked what could help them become more effective during their first workweek, 76% said “on-the-job training,” and 56% preferred an assigned “mentor or buddy.”

Strategy

For Adam Young, CEO and Founder of Event Tickets Center, a well-planned and guided onboarding experience is the opening act to employee satisfaction and success (and business success in the long run):

“A structured onboarding process with mentoring and training sessions helps new hires absorb the company’s values, better understand their job responsibilities, and gain operational expertise with workplace tools. It also shows that you care about them from Day One. With constant guidance, they feel supported and empowered for long-term success.”

He shares several mentorship techniques you can try with new employees:

• “Buddy” system
• Shadowing
• 30/60/90 day planning
• One-on-one training
• Onboarding group circle
• Cross-departmental mentoring

For example:

Here’s a possible 30/60/90-day plan for employee onboarding you can get digitally:

Source: HR Education Edge

2. Dull and pointless meetings crush their productivity

“I hate meetings at work, especially when it’s a meeting about a meeting.”

That’s just one of the countless results after googling: “I hate meetings at work.” Generally, 67% of workers view a meeting as the major distractor and time-waster (10+ hours weekly!), and 92% call it “unproductive.”

Now, look at these productivity jumps when companies cancel unnecessary gatherings.

Source: Harvard Business Review.

But what if you can’t simply get rid of meetings altogether? And you shouldn’t.

Strategy

You might need to learn how to hold successful team meetings that won’t make your employees daydream or snooze over their keyboards. For that, follow this piece of advice from Stanislav Khilobochenko, VP of Customer Services at Clario:

“Always set a clearly formulated goal, agenda, and a countdown timer to optimize your work meetings. Also, strive for productive interactivity with challenges, mini-games, or creative brainstorming sessions, such as figure/role-storming or speed-sketching. Ultimately, your team must have a tangible result when you leave the conference room (or sign out virtually).”

3. They get overwhelmed with too many tools

With the advent of on-premise or cloud-based communication and collaboration tools like Slack, Microsoft Teams, or Zoom, employees feel overloaded: 96% reported that. Jumping from one platform to another is the biggest challenge for every fourth worker (26%). Such “app-to-app hopping” often leads to sluggish work, irritation, or even burnout.

Strategy

If you also suspect the tool-switching craze is killing your team’s performance, why not pick one platform for everything you need?

Step into the future of productivity with a multi-purpose “WorkOS” like Paymo, a work management solution that covers literally everything:

• Project planning and scheduling
• Time tracking
• Task management
• File proofing
• Team communication
• Invoicing and payments
• and other advanced features

For example, the Cromatic Studios team has become 25% more productive thanks to Paymo’s all-in-one software.

4. They need more flexibility

Do your employees really have to be in their office chairs at 9:00 AM (or 8:00 AM) sharp to bring their A-game?

Only if there are specific operational requirements (e.g., the court system or the government sector). But speaking broadly, they don’t. And they may not be fond of it.

Consider this: flexible work is even more important than a pay rise to 77% of employees. Why so? The answer is simple: flexibility is the key to better work-life balance. That’s it.

Strategy

Take it from Laurence Bonicalzi Bridier, CEO at ArtMajeur by YourArt, who is a loud-and-proud champion of flexibility in the workplace, especially for creatives. She puts it boldly:

“If your employees do their job well, does it really matter when or where? Let them do it at their own convenience and replace clock-watching with task-based performance tracking. There are many ways to create a flexible work environment for them to catch those creative waves at their peak productivity times. Our top choice is flexible hours.”

Other work flexibility scenarios are as follows:

• Flextime (start and end hours within a fixed timeframe)
• Partial work from home (WFH) or fully remote
• Hybrid workplace mode (mixing WFH and in-office days)
• Compressed workweek (e.g., a four-day workweek: four workdays with ten hours/day)
• Work-from-anywhere model with occasional office pop-ups

For example, another client at Paymo, Opgevallen, has several options: part-time WFH and flexible working hours to give employees more creative freedom.

5. They want to be recognized (daily!)

Look at these things employees wish their bosses knew about recognition: “I wish my employer knew how hard me and my colleagues work for the benefit of the company,” and “I want my boss to recognize my work.”

According to Deloitte, 85% of employees expect a verbal or written “Thanks” for their day-to-day efforts.

Strategy

Jerry Han, CMO at PrizeRebel, recommends the following approach to employee recognition:

“I believe every workday should be an employee appreciation day, not just the first Friday in March. The tradition of celebrating employees’ micro-wins every day will help you increase job satisfaction and spur your workers to reach a new height next time. Not to mention that gratitude is a powerful mood-booster.”

Besides “Thank you!” (which goes a long, long way), grab other ideas from Jerry Han to appreciate your employees every single day:

• Quick shout-outs on the spot
• “Win of the Day” celebrations
• Surprise gifts ($5-$10 gift card, stress-relief toy, scented candle, etc.)
• Peer-to-peer recognition with compliment exchange at the end of the day
• Gratitude wall pins
• Kudos or “thanks” GIFs via virtual communication channels

Also, amid daily routine, you shouldn’t forget about significant dates for employees—their work anniversaries.

For example, look at this LinkedIn shout-out from Magmic on the employee’s ninth work anniversary.

Source: Magmic on LinkedIn.

6. Stronger bonds with colleagues would make them happier at work

Nearly 70% of employees said that in Nectar’s survey. Remarkably, the majority also claimed that connections with co-workers are essential for a great company culture.

Mind: When it comes to remote workplace relationships, WFH employees are more likely to suffer from disconnection and isolation.

Strategy

As a team leader of car enthusiasts, Lev Peker, CEO at CARiD, emphasizes the importance of common interests and values for stronger team cohesion:

“What unites us all at CARiD is the unstoppable passion for cars. It’s the workplace where everyone feels they belong to a group of like-minded people who can chat for hours about automotive trends (or their vehicles).

To me, strengthening employee bonds at work begins with uniting the team around shared corporate values and passions.”

Then, there are team-building exercises and games!

For example:

Ameba Creative Studio organizes regular meet-ups, karaoke parties, BBQs, or game nights to connect after work and build more positive relationships.

You can opt for virtual team-building activities via video-conferencing tools if you run a remote team.

7. They expect you to care about their well-being

“I wish my boss cared about me” is another thing employees want their managers to know but don’t dare say in person.

Actually, 92% of workers hope for more consistent care at work and consider employers responsible for their overall wellness: mental (emotional), physical, financial, and social.

Strategy

Chris Aubeeluck, Head of Sales and Marketing at Osbornes Law, believes:

“It’s a must to have a comprehensive wellness program for a happier and healthier workplace. It should rely on the four pillars of employee satisfaction and well-being and encompass a variety of initiatives, from physical to social.”

The Osbornes Law firm can give one of the greatest examples of health and wellness programs here. It is called “Wellness at Work” and is run by a dedicated committee that arranges different activities and perks for solicitors.

Emotional and physical health. For example, the team worked it all out during a Pilates stretch class to reduce mental workload and physical tension.

Financial well-being. For example, the company invests in solicitors’ personal and professional training and offers annual bonuses and pension plans, among other things.

Social wellness. For example, some of the previous team-bonding activities at Osbornes Law are:

• After-work netball
• Football watching party
• Company’s anniversary celebration
• Pottery workshop
• Charity walk

Source: Instagram.

8. Micromanagement pushes them to the “quitting” edge

And lastly—

“Stop micromanaging, and let us do our jobs!”

This final section is a must-read for you if you’re a micromanager constantly peering over your employees’ shoulders 24/7. In fact, 73% of employees cite micromanagement as the worst red flag in the workplace, and 36% actually resigned because of it.

It poisons the corporate culture and creates a toxic work environment with constant fear of speaking out and demotivation (resulting in low creativity and productivity levels).

Strategy

In the opinion of Tom Golubovich, Head of Marketing & Media Relations at Ninja Transfers, this “my way or the highway” leadership style may be drowning companies little by little. He says:

“If you notice the signs of micromanagement (over-involvement, excessive monitoring, addiction to approvals, no delegation), find the root cause and work on it. In most cases, it boils down to trust issues. If so, give your team more room to make decisions and delegate more confidently.”

Plus, Tom Golubovich leaves here several self-check questions to ask when you feel the urge to micromanage:

• Is there an objective reason to think this worker can’t complete the task without my supervision, or is it only my trust issue?

• Am I focusing too much on “how” they do the job instead of the outcome?

• If I step back, will this empower my team to be more independent and creative?

Time to meet your employees’ expectations

No more guessing or silent games between you and your workers. We’ve decoded their thought stream. Now, you can satisfy their wants and needs and improve your employee experiences. Use a digital solution, such as Paymo—they’re currently running a discount for their Business plan, which includes Team Scheduling and resource management so that you can keep your team members well-organized and empowered on the same digital page. Now, let them set their greatness loose.