Upset frustrated and confused female worker folding hands on chin feels puzzled having problem … [+]
The word “sentiment” is an important one in technology. It means an interpretation about feelings, attitudes, or the general vibes toward a given situation. For those on social media, sentiment can reveal intentions and future decisions.
As one example among thousands, you can usually pick up the sentiment about a political candidate, product or service, or celebrity on social media. Right now, all eyes are on Elon Musk and what appears to be a very public shift in sentiment toward his ability to lead a company.
Sentiment is all about tone. The words people use in their posts, whether they are critical or positive, and even if they post short comments or elaborate more can reveal a lot. Artificial intelligence does an adequate job of analyzing sentiment but has a long way to go.
Many leaders struggle with this topic. Sentiment is hard to pin down and quantify, which means it is hard to put on a spreadsheet. Managers in business prefer hard data and facts that can be relayed by email or in a Word document; they are not as focused on the superficial, emotional stuff.
And yet, there’s a lot to learn about employees who post on social media and what they are saying in public spaces like Twitter where it’s easy to follow their posts.
Recently, the concept of “quiet quitting” came into the spotlight, likely because of the pandemic and other factors like the recent economic downturn and inflation.
Your employees might be having a rough period; they might be ready to find greener pastures. People are struggling out there, and when they start thinking about moving on to another role, it’s often hard to predict what they will do.
On social media, it’s perhaps a little easier.
One of the most obvious signs that an employee might be dissatisfied is when the tone of his or her posts turns negative and sour. When an employee suddenly switches from positive messages about the office or their work to a different tone that’s more pessimistic, it might indicate job dissatisfaction.
Here’s one example. Let’s say you normally see posts from an employee about sports or television shows. Maybe you’re used to seeing positive posts about business trends. Then, you start seeing negative posts about inflation, the cost of goods and services, or how salaries are not keeping up with the cost of living. You might want to address the problem, at least by asking how an employee is doing.
Employees tend to share their true feelings on social media, looking for some commiseration. Some even know you might be following their posts, which is why they might be sharing negative thoughts about their job, the office, or their coworkers.
Maybe the employee is trying to get your attention in a subtle way. Usually, it’s the switch in tone and sentiment that’s the dead giveaway.
“Went to the office today and was really bored” might be a post that is meant to air some deeper feelings about the work the employee is doing. Even more direct posts about the management structure, office politics, and products you make are signs the employee might be thinking of quitting at some point, or is already on the hunt.
Have you noticed the sentiment change for someone at your workplace? It might be time to pull up a chair, ask some honest questions, and get to the bottom of the issue.
