Employee engagement expert James Adonis interviewed 2,400 employees primarily from Australia and the US to ask them one thing: “What do you hate most at work?”

The answers have been collated and turned into the book Employee enragement – why people hate working for you. RTW Matters spoke to Mr Adonis to ask what prompted the book, and why it’s in employers’ interests to keep staff motivated, stimulated and content.

“I reckon I’ve read at least 100 books about management,” Mr Adonis said. “They’re painfully boring, they’re too academic, they’re too theoretical, they take ages to read, and they’re not enjoyable. It got to the point a while ago where I said, I’m never going to read another management book again – but instead, I’m going to write the one that is totally unlike any other book that’s out there in terms of management theory.”

The result is a beautifully designed (one topic per page) and printed hardback book that instructs managers on what not to do, rather than what to do, to create a positive workplace culture, something which, said Mr Adonis, “is of paramount importance.”

“The challenge for managers is that they think they can create culture. I don’t believe that culture can be created. It’s just like morale; it can’t be made.” What managers can do, he said, is create an environment in which positive culture is able to naturally grow.

What effect can such workplaces observe? “The first thing is it increases creativity and innovation," he said. "People are more likely to be able to think of new ideas and more efficient ways of doing things, and re-designing processes so that they’re more effective if they’re working in an environment that isn’t bureaucratic or stifling, and that is open and receptive to employee opinion.”

“The second thing it does is it increases employee engagement.”

We asked Mr Adonis what he’d recommend to a workplace wanting to turn around its negative environment and increase employee engagement. He gave four tips, and explained that each one is required in order for things to change:

1) Recruitment – in hiring staff management should focusing more on cultural fit rather than skill set.

2) Support mechanisms – asking questions such as, How are we motivating people? How are we training people? How are we developing? What kind of jobs are we offering? Are we utilising people’s talents? Are we recognising and rewarding staff? What are the ergonomics like? How easy is it to get information? How easy is it to get help? Are managers accessible?

3) Employee relationships – there are two different types: those between managers and employees, and those between employees. The tighter and closer those relationships are the higher the levels of engagement will be.

4) Opportunity – employees are more educated than at any other point in history, so when they come to work they get bored very easily, explained Mr Adonis. “They master tasks very easily and if managers don’t find away to keep them continuously stimulated they’ll either leave or they’ll stay and have mentally left. The way to continuously stimulate them is by regularly creating new opportunities: by starting a new mini project, or redesigning their role, giving employees new responsibilities or putting them on a training program - whatever it takes so that they’re always thinking, yes, there is still more that I’ve got to learn here, and I’m learning it.”

For more information on James Adonis and his book Employee enragement – why people hate working for you, see jamesadonis.com