If you recall, a couple months ago we posted about our friend and colleague, Linda Swindling, JD, CSP, who is working on a new book “The Manager’s High Performance Handbook”.  Linda asked if we could help by posting her survey to gather input.  Well, the preliminary results of the survey are in and we’re happy to share them with you.

93% of the respondents have management experience, and the survey looked at all industries, including home care because of input from our readers. The results provide great insight into ways you can help drive high performance in your company at every level.

Here are some of the findings that Linda posted on her blog today:

“Survey results reveal that 79% of people are not willing to work more than one extra hour per day with 39% saying they would not be willing to work any extra hours per day. Their reasons are:

• I’m already maxed out
• I do what it takes to get the job done regardless of pay
• I have to leave work to recharge
• Working longer hours only depletes my energy
• Work/life balance is a priority
• Higher pay won’t change my work ethic

If money won’t drive people, how can you negotiate higher performance? Well, 94% say they would be more productive if their leaders made changes. The actions suggested to drive higher performance are (in order of popularity):

• Provide me with regular and candid feedback
• Hold others accountable to their commitments
• Acknowledgment and give me credit
• Support in the form of more resources or people
• Permission to take risks or make mistakes

The skill identified to accelerate the most significant change in high performance is…Communication! Time management and Leadership came in a distant second and third.”

For me, I was initially surprised about the number of people saying they are not willing to work more hours for twice the pay; however, when I look at their reasons, it makes a lot more sense.  I know a lot of it probably depends on the industry and each individual job, but if I was an employer or manager, this is great information that may shed some light on things I can do to make my employees even happier which will hopefully keep them working for me much longer.  Ultimately, you can’t always put a dollar value on people’s time.

Linda also wrote a white paper discussing more of the preliminary results and you can find a link to it on her blog post thanking everyone for their participation in the study.  Keep an eye out for the release of The Manager’s High Performance Handbook in the early part of 2015!