Communication: How do managers talk to employees?

Finding good communication in any relationship can be one of the most difficult things, but it is especially apparent when we are dealing with a manager and their employees. Having enough respect from your employees while also still being able to have a loving and trusting relationship with them can be a really difficult balance. One of my favorite T.V. shows, The Office,  often deals with the struggling balance between employees and employers. When Michael Scott is asked, “Would I rather be feared or loved?” he replied with, “Both. I want people to be afraid of how much they love me,”(Office Season 5 Ep 21). Scott describes, in a comedic way, how he wants people to love him and fear him at the same time. While this is a good strategy and can be heavily applied, it is impossible to find a good balance between both of these ideologies. Research  helps us to find this balance in a less comedic way. For instance, my article, “Employers’ Perspectives on Workplace Communication Skills: The Meaning of Communication Skills” discusses the importance of having good communication skills between employees and their employers, and how managers can live up to those expectations and standards. 

You don’t wanna lose a customer or upset them by siding with your employee, but often, especially now, it is important to keep your employee happy. While I do not agree with unemployment as I believe we should all work together to strengthen the community, many employees are being lost to this as they can make more money just staying home. Why would you want to work for a manager who doesn’t treat you fairly when you don’t necessarily have to work at all? A good manager is forced to use good communication skills to a higher degree in the COVID era in order to not only treat their employees, but also want them to stay and continue working when there may be better opportunities and options.

According to “Employers’ Perspectives on Workplace Communication Skills: The Meaning of Communication Skills” the three most effective ways we can communicate with our employees are Oral, Visual, and Electronic. The Biannual Job Outlook values these three ways of communication as a priority in the workplace. 

Within the article, it states that, “Thus, the purpose of this study is to understand employers’ meaning of communication skills.”(Coffelt 419). The purpose of this article stresses the importance of understanding and communicating between employees and employers. They also discuss the specifics and the diverse content within the communication in a workplace. In a work environment we need to take into consideration how each employee and company is in need of different specific and diverse needs for communication. While some employees may be okay with not hearing from their boss or interacting with them, others, like myself, need more communication and validation from their bosses. It is up to an employer to understand the needs of their employees and give them a sense of purpose throughout the work environment. A skill many leaders have started to use is using a coaching technique. Instead of just telling employees what to do, they work to guide them into better solutions. During meetings they use communicational skills to allow everyone to talk and share their own thoughts instead of just speaking at them. Using both of these strategies will help build a more collaborative team that is excited to continue working together.

When employees and employers have better ways to communicate with each other, it will lead to a better relationship between them. This will help to make the company a lot more effective and for their team to work together. A good manager is one that can communicate to their employees with clear beliefs and help them to believe in themselves.  A manager can use three levels of communication to effectively communicate with their employees. They need to keep in mind that everyone's needs are different and we need to be understanding on how to communicate with each other. As we heard Micheal Scott say before, he wants people to fear how much they love him. This provides an effective communication between employees and employers as they are able to have a trusting and loving relationship while still maintaining a professional boss and employee relationship. Using effective communication is one of the most important premises in a workplace.

Coffelt, T. A., Grauman, D., & Smith, F. L. (2019). Employers’ perspectives on workplace communication skills: The meaning of communication skills. Business and Professional Communication Quarterly, 82(4), 418–439. https://doi.org/10.1177/2329490619851119