In January 2025, Gallup found employee engagement hit its lowest point in a decade. One data point says only 39% of employees strongly agreed that someone at work cares for them as a person. And findings from the human capital management firm Workhuman show 30% feel “invisible.” Feeling unnoticed is antithetical to engagement and satisfaction at work.
Writing in the Harvard Business Review, Zach Mercurio, author of The Power of Mattering, offers advice for leaders who need to be better noticers:
- Rushing is a barrier to seeing others. Slow down. Noticing others takes time, but when leaders always hurry, it becomes too easy to cancel a one-on-one meeting, forget to check in on an employee who’s struggling, or connect with a team member.
- Check in…in person: Make space for discussing how people are doing, not just what they are doing, in your real-time interactions.
- Leverage in-between moments: Connections are built incrementally. Use the few minutes before a virtual meeting starts, time on the elevator, or the couple of seconds after wrapping up a phone call.
- Observe, remember, repeat: When you learn something significant about an employee, jot it down to help your recall. They’ll feel seen when you bring it up in conversation, and you’ll develop a productive habit.
