7 Easy Ways to Increase Employee Happiness at the Office
Workplace happiness
Employee happiness has increasingly become an imperative in business. Work is challenging. Dealing with work stresses, day in and day out is difficult. Learning how to find a healthy balance between the stresses and pressures of work and life outside of work is hard. More and more evidence is being released showing the correlation between one’s employees’ happiness and a thriving business. This can be shown by some of the industries leaders such as Google, Apple and more.
The link between happiness and productivity isn’t new, but many employers still underestimate just how important it is in the workplace. Within this article, you will be shown 7 ways to increase employee happiness at the office.
1. Provide an Attractive, Competitive Salary
Everyone ata job wants to make good money. Without a decent salary, we can’t pay our bills. If you have ever been in that position, you know how stressful it can be. A good salary will remove these specific stress levels from you. Employers paying wages above the market rate can be an important motivating force because current employees have more to lose. With an attractive and competitive salary, you may be able to purchase those new Air pods you have been dreaming about, take that trip you have only seen in magazines or place a down payment on a house. Each person has their own requirements and visions in their life and with a good salary, these dreams can become a reality quicker – helping with your happiness. There have been multiple studies showing how increased wages and competitive salaries can improve employee happiness. However, this also depends on your job role and it is also highly likely that even with an increased wage and competitive salary you may not be happy. Money isn’t the silver bullet to employee happiness, there is some evidence justifying the argument that increased wages do lead to increased productivity. That said, it isn’t the only factor—and it may not even be the most important factor.
2. Good relationships in a workplace
Many full-time employees spend more of their waking hours with co-workers than they do with their spouses and families. As such, it is important to allow employees the opportunity to build quality relationships with their co-workers. Happiness is contagious and when encouraged can spread throughout an entire company. Smiling is contagious, have you ever had someone smile at you and you just felt that bit happier and smiled back. The reason for this is when you smile your brain releases tiny molecules called neuropeptides to help fight off stress. Studies show employees who take joy in their work make excellent role models for their fellow workers and encourage them to also take joy in their work. The development of good relationships in the workplace can increase employee morale when employees feel connected to a company, whether it is because they share the same vision as the company leaders or they feel as though their fellow co-workers have become like family. Overall, while you may have some issues with employees becoming too friendly and wasting time together, a happy and well-adjusted workforce is a productive one.
3. Offer development and learning opportunities
Thriving and growing is our greatest need and human’s greatest satisfaction comes from becoming our best selves. When employees feel stagnant, that’s when many start scrolling through the job boards in search of something new. When people have the opportunity to stretch, grow and learn, it contributes toward happiness.
Organisations interested in unlocking the greatest potential of their employees will need to prioritise learning and development. Individuals interested in becoming their best selves must be committed to lifelong learning. To create a sense of happiness and belonging within a company employees must feel the need to strive and thrive through learning development. Learning development doesn’t only provide the employee with a new skill but also provides the company. It’s in the human DNA to survive and the way to survive and make a better and happier employee is to provide them with a new skill set that they can feel proud of. Happy employees are engaged employees — and engaged employees are more likely to drive business and get promotions.
4. Letting people know they matter.
Feeling significant is a basic human desire. Regardless of the kind of work they do; people want to know they are valued. Feeling under appreciated at work is the number one reason employees leave their workplace. Researchers find feeling valued is the feeling that we’re a significant part of the world around us, it’s the belief that we’re noticed, important, and needed. Experiencing feeling valued also reaffirms that we contribute to others and that we have a purpose. The way this can be done in a workplace can be by giving people feedback and holding people accountable, letting them know how you value their contribution and how they can continuously improve to become better. Feeling valued and recognised contribute to happiness so make these part of how you create the conditions for a positive employee experience.
5. Hosting team-building events.
Having friends at work just makes going to the office more enjoyable. It creates a sense that you and your colleagues are in this together. Since the boom of start-ups and post corona, more companies have created ways to bond their employees together. This can be done in multiple ways such as happy hours, team outings and celebrating each other’s achievements, birthdays and more. Happy hour will make the employees feel more comfortable with each other and will encourage more collaboration. It increase trust and teamwork. Company outings provide employees with some much-needed time off and a fun day out. Colleagues seeing each other in a different environment can create different bonds. Celebrating each other is an additional way to create workplace happiness. The feeling that you matter and receiving a little bit of extra attention whether it be on your birthday, a birth, or any other celebratory reason makes you feel cared for and part of a team.
6. Providing people with increased autonomy
Employee autonomy is about giving employees ownership to do their work in their own creative and individual style. It doesn’t mean that you cannot have any expectations from your employees, but employee autonomy gives them the freedom to fulfil your expectations in their way. Research shows that when employees are given the freedom associated with autonomy, job satisfaction rises. “Autonomy is the antithesis of micromanagement”. This has been shown to increase the level of job satisfaction in employees stems from a feeling of greater responsibility for their quality of work. Employees strive to feel valued, be in control and have a responsibility in the workplace. Autonomy has also been shown to increase motivation and happiness, along with decreasing employee turnover. Giving workers more control over their tasks is one of the best ways employers can create happiness in a workplace.
7. Why do happy employees matter
The link between happiness and productivity isn’t new, but many employers still underestimate just how important it is in the workplace
Happy employees stay in their jobs four times longer than unhappy employees. studies have shown they are 12% more productive and commit twice as much time to their tasks. In addition, happy employees have 65% more energy than unhappy employees. Clearly, having happy employees isn’t a bonus; it’s a necessity for every successful workplace. Productivity, motivation, dedication and retention all depend on it. But employee happiness can’t just be reduced to snappy stats and figures. Happiness has a tangible effect on everything we do; even though you may not realise it, being unhappy is seriously detrimental to our performance. It causes us to disengage, reducing our ability to think critically or creatively.
Employees in a happy workplace are more satisfied and healthier. as a result, they are more present and are more likely to stay in their job. Organisations with happy employees outperform the competition by 20%.
