How to reduce Alienation in the workplace? — 10 best ways

Due to Alienation in the workplace, employees perceive a feeling of disrespect and disregard and show no enthusiasm for their work. All the managers and higher management need to reduce Alienation in the workplace and make employees feel comfortable at the workplace.

It is the accountability of an effective manager that they uncover ways to provide a comfort zone to their employees where they can feel valued and regarded.
Employees keep their voices down and never provide a specific creative idea or feedback because they feel isolated at work. Managers need to get into their shoes to understand them and know about Alienation and methods to reduce Alienation in the workplace so that the employees can stop feeling alienated at work.

A study was conducted about the effects of work alienation, and the findings concluded that work alienation results in high work meaninglessness. Work alienation has negative effects on work efforts and organizational commitments. Due to work alienation, employees start feeling like an outsider at work and feel that their job is not worth doing or does not influence their work.

Different researches also prove that employees feel meaninglessness and powerlessness because of feeling alienated at work. That will reduce their effectiveness and usefulness in work and declines an increase in performance rate.
Therefore, it is critical to learn how to reduce Alienation in the workplace.

What is work alienation?

Alienation is a state or feeling of separation from the work environment. When a person feels alienated at work, he is feeling left out at work and goes through a state of isolation.

On a broader note, work alienation occurs when someone has strange feelings related to the job and starts feeling that their job is uninteresting and unamusing.

Employees start feeling unwelcome at work due to the disengagement of employers and have no enthusiasm and loyalty for their work. Due to work alienation, employees feel excluded and separated, leading to an intense reduction in productivity, decreased team building, and slow advancement of the organization. Make efforts and proper measures to reduce Alienation in the workplace.

What are 4 different types of Alienation?

A German philosopher, Karl Marx, presented the theory of Alienation in his “Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844,” released in 1932. According to Karl Marx, the four basic types of Alienation are the following:

• Alienation from the product

Employees feel alienated at work because they do not have complete knowledge about what their product is? On what thing are they putting efforts in? This type of Alienation occurs when managers only give a certain task to their employees but don’t share the whole scenario. Employees feel disregarded because they don’t know anything about the product.

• Alienation from the act of production

Alienation from the production set occurs when employees are only given information to perform a specific part of the project. But they do not know what the whole project is and what is being planned. They feel that managers are hiding the whole process but only need them to do a certain job.

• Alienation from others

This type of Alienation occurs because other coworkers and employees keep feeling like an outsider at work. There is no team building, bonding, and group-based discussions among employees. They feel like their work and effort had no consideration. The whole environment is only reflecting the competent vibes.

• Alienation from self

This type of Alienation happens because of themselves. It is because employees feel powerless and unable to do anything independently. If they have a creative idea, they undoubtedly desire to implement it but have no authority. They feel their job is uninteresting and feels extricated from their work.

How do you stop being alienated?

Alienation is the main hindrance in your way to success. You can never be excited and passionate about your work if you are having the feeling of being alienated. Make sure to know ways to reduce Alienation in the workplace.

You can do certain following things to stop being alienated at the workplace.

1. Make sure to be yourself.
2. Stop expecting over the limits.
3. Develop good relations with colleagues
4. Take the initiative to give feedback
5. Think maturely and take wise decisions
6. Listen attentively and analyze everything
7. Make good and new friends
8. Ask open-ended questions in a conversation
9. Think about your passion for work
10. Stop thinking to forcibly fit in the situation and stop feeling alienated at work.

You must work on how to reduce Alienation in the workplace.

What causes Alienation, and how can we reduce Alienation in the workplace?

Alienation can happen due to several different reasons. Maybe your employees are feeling like an outsider at work because of no proper communication and engagement. Wages are also a great factor that results in Alienation. Equality and justice in wages are needed to reduce Alienation in the workplace. It can also happen that they feel unwelcome to share their innovation and ideas or fear speaking in front of higher management.

According to B.W. Powe, a Canadian philosopher and novelist, Alienation and loneliness cause consciousness and rebellion.

Work alienation also occurs when there are no team-building activities and no consensus-based decisions at the workplace. Employers should pay attention to providing an environment where someone feels comfortable speaking up and providing feedback. Different factors can cause Alienation, and managers and employers should make an effort to reduce Alienation in the workplace.

Ways to reduce Alienation in the workplace

Here are some ways to reduce Alienation in the workplace that you can incorporate and make your employees feel isolated at work.

1. Share and discuss new updates and goals

The most effective way to reduce Alienation in the workplace is to converse and talk about new ideas, strategies, and goals with your staff members. Do not hide anything important from your team.

If you want your employees to stop feeling alienated at work, keep them aware of essential aspects.

Tell your employees if your organization is facing a decline or any potential thing that can cause a problem. When the employees know new updates and motives, they can work more effectively. This can make them feel connected and stop feeling left out at work.

2. Ask for the feedback after a certain interval

Most employees have relevant and superb ideas, but they fear voicing their thoughts in front of the managers. Make your employees feel comfortable to speak up and present their minds. Ask them to provide feedback without any hesitation.

If you show no willingness and curiosity in seeking feedback, your employees will get the impression of being disregarded and having no importance. So, if you want to reduce Alienation in the workplace, ask for sincere feedback from your employees. This feedback will also help you enhance your company’s growth and improve the enthusiasm of your team members.

3. Show trust in your employees

Trust is the glue for any relationship, personal or professional. If you trust your employees, you can never make them loyal to you. Trust is the most important ingredient you need to reduce Alienation in the workplace. Do not indict them without knowing every aspect of the story.

Give them new responsibilities according to their skills and capabilities.

Allow them to take under control risks and keep trust in them. This can help them to stop feeling unwelcome at work. It is important to pay attention to their performance and keep a positive and trustworthy attitude towards them.

4. Discuss their opinions about achieving goals

An effective way to reduce Alienation in the workplace is to understand what your employees think and want to do. Do not always impose your decisions on them but also take their opinion. It might happen that their ideas will click your mind and would be more beneficial for your company.

Therefore, engage them in discussions about goals and objectives and do a group-based discussion to enhance team-building among your employees. Moreover, motivate them to set healthy and promising ambitions and encourage them to work hard for their goals. This will give them a feeling of being supported and considered.

5. Reduce their work stress and give breaks

Work stress is also a factor that makes employees fed up with their job. They start getting uninterested in their work routines and feel only working here like robots. And have no consideration for their efforts. Managers should set up a good environment where employees can take a rest break after a certain time interval and feel relaxed. Give them lunch breaks to intake something healthy, to freshen up their mind and body. Make sure not to put a burden over their limit and capability. Let them do their work appropriately and with perfection.

6. Approach your employees to talk

If you want to reduce Alienation in the workplace, you should talk to your employees. If you see that any of your employees are worried, approach them and ask if they have any issues or face problems in life. If they have any issue regarding their work, try to seek it out.

When you show a positive and caring attitude, they will stop feeling left out at work and alienated. Employees feel emotionally connected in this way.

Build up their confidence, boost their morale, and help them achieve greater things. If you have not built good relationships with your employees, they always keep feeling alienated at work. Approach them to reduce Alienation in the workplace.

7. Keep all the employees on the same page

Giving an equal opportunity and a fair chance equally to all the employees is one of the best ways to reduce Alienation in the workplace.

Stay away from favoritism and appreciating only a few employees.

If you consistently appreciate and admire some employees, others will feel neglected and not appreciated. You should do justice and fair treatment to your employees and keep all of them on the same page. Playing favorites is a notable cause of your employees feeling like an outsider work.

It is also a good team-building activity to motivate, appreciate, and stay the same for all the team members.

8. Go for effective communication

The best of all the ways to reduce Alienation in the workplace is to have effective communication. Communication is the best key to success and it helps to comprehend thoughts and visions. Effective communication doesn’t only imply conveying your idea.

Communication is effective when you convey, and they understand your point. Be a good listener, avoid interrupting them, and listen to their perspective.

Allow them to express their potential and make good body gestures. Don’t show up disrespect, neglect, avoidance, and aggressive indications. Increase communication because lack of communication is the cause of feeling alienated at work. This will help you to reduce Alienation in the workplace.

9. Avoid mocking and insulting your staff

Based on different perspectives, insult and disrespect is the biggest cause of employees leaving their jobs. Your employees will feel disrespected if you mock or insult them in front of everyone. If they have done something wrong, explain it to them separately and ask them to correct it by applying more effort.
One more thing that creates an alienated work environment is Sarcasm. Don’t trigger someone’s temper by hitting sarcastic statements. Everybody has a different personality, different vision, and different mindset, so therefore, give respect to take respect. Avoid insulting your staff members to reduce Alienation in the workplace.

10. Appreciate and reward them for their achievements

Obviously, it is obvious to get uninterested and disengaged in your job if your work is not getting any consideration and appreciation.

Whenever your employees accomplish their tasks, it is your responsibility to appreciate them and encourage them to keep up their good work. You can organize a reward ceremony for your employees to admire their efforts.
Give them extra bonuses or awards for their accomplishments in the project. This will help you to reduce Alienation in the workplace. Not appreciating your staff results in work alienation, and leaders and managers must motivate their staff by valuing their work and efforts.

Here are some FAQs that are asked regarding Alienation at the workplace.

Q: What is powerlessness in Alienation?
Powerlessness in Alienation means having some incredible opinions and ideas about a specific thing but being unable to implement it. Everyone desires to apply what they think, but if you have no authority to do that, you feel alienated and powerless at work.

Q: Can Alienation have positive effects?
As it is clarified that everything has bad as well as good effects. It depends on how we contemplate it. Alienation can have positive effects if someone thinks positively and feels pleased to work alone. It can be beneficial if someone wants to find happiness in themselves.

Q: Is isolation and Alienation the same?
Isolation and Alienation have little distinction. Isolation is a state when someone is living or staying alone, whether willingly or not. In comparison, Alienation is the state of being uninterested in your job and feeling disengaged.

Q: What does Alienation from self mean?
Alienation from self means that someone is not being engaged by himself. It might be because of social hesitation or being an introvert and not socializing. Developing good relations with others is necessary to reduce Alienation from self.

Final words

Work alienation can reduce productivity and effectiveness in work, and it is an important issue to be considered. Managers should learn ways to reduce Alienation in the workplace and make their employees feel respected, valued, and appreciated. Hopefully, you will get help after reading my article.
Best wishes to you.