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Employers today are falling into the false belief that just because they’re keeping the pink slips from landing on certain employees desks that they’re covering the bases. While anyone with a job is certainly grateful, it’s not always that black and white. The fact an employer is giving out pink slips at all means the responsibilities are increasing for those who do have a job to report to on Monday morning. And while the majority of employers – both small business owners and major American conglomerates – can’t justify big annual bonuses or significant salary increases, there are a few things employers can do that will keep those employees motivated while also keeping burn out to a minimum. A. Harrison Barnes, career coach and founder of award-winning job site Hound.com says it’s the little things that can make big differences.

At some point, the best employers recognize the power of human nature. While it’s not suggested we take advantage of that, there are those little things employers can do that will help bridge the gap between recession recovery and job stability. The fact is, we are all aware of sacrifices the collective country has had to make the past two years and the occasional break from the office for lunch with the boss has suddenly taken on new emphasis. Sure we’d all prefer a nice bonus check every quarter, but realistically, no one really expects that right now. The random invite to lunch to a few star players – or even those who have had a tough few weeks in their sales jobs – is always appreciated.

In certain environments, an unannounced end of the workday early Friday afternoon is feasible too.  While the first question many might have is, “In this economy? Seriously?”, the fact is, those few hours away from the office does a lot for soothing the soul. It lets employees know you “get it” and it also might be the only opportunity some have to run errands.  After all, everyone is watching their proverbial “p’s and q’s” and avoiding anything that can be counted against them or what they perceive as such. Plus, those employees who’ve taken on a bigger share of the workload because of cutbacks can probably stand a few hours to themselves.  Remember, we’re all human.

Another idea A. Harrison Barnes suggests is temporarily putting the hard and fast rules found in the employee handbooks aside. In a fully-staffed office, there are those guidelines that are applicable; however, if you’re already short and others are picking up the slack due to the loss of office jobs, especially support personnel like secretaries, now might be a good time to relax the dress code a bit.  Of course, you don’t want to encourage unprofessionalism, but if your marketing staff is now sometimes asked to change the ink toner in the printers just because of their proximity to the equipment, allowing a more relaxed dress code keeps resentment down. Those in your customer service jobs might find themselves making the occasional delivery on their lunch break, ease up on the suit and tie requirement for those days you’re not expecting clients.

And of course, when you’re ready to add to that overworked staff, consider the benefits of Hound.com and its impressive applicants who stand ready to pick up the slack.

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