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How to make a happy workplace?
The magic ingredient for a happy workplace is happiness. If your employees are happy in the workplace, they will do everything in their power to do well at their jobs. If you want to increase your company’s productivity, ensure your employees are happy.
Workplace happiness is not teams playing fun games during business hours. Happiness is when you enjoy your everyday tasks. You feel happy when you collaborate with your team, and work together. Respect at work is part of being happy. Other than the employees, the company too will benefit from having happy employees. Productivity is directly proportional to how content people are at their workplace.
How best to measure workplace happiness
There are lots of ways one can measure workplace happiness.
✔️The higher the retention rate, the happier the employee. Content employees tend to stay longer in their jobs than disgruntled ones.
✔️Happiness at a workplace can be decided based on your levels of stress, too. Getting rid of stress can make a workplace more productive. Happy employees are at their productive best.
✔️Another way to measure happiness is when employees feel free to share. A happy employee will share information and admit to any mistakes they might have made.
✔️Checking the creativity levels of your employees is another approach.
✔️Check how many employees ask for more responsibility at work. Happy employees ask for more and engage wholeheartedly.
How to improve employee happiness?
Creating a strong, meaningful and cordial relationship with your team is the start to make a happy workplace. As the leader, the onus falls on you to build a positive relationship with everyone. Good communication can lead to understanding your team better. Converse with them to:
- Understand what happiness means to them
- Finding out how best to support them
- Investing in their skills
- Involving them in decision making
- Generating opportunities for them to grow
- Letting them know they are valued
- Congratulating them on their success
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Understanding their feedback and acting on it.
There are many ways you can make your workplace more happy, conducive and fulfilling leading to workplace happiness. A workplace should be more than just a paycheck, it should be a place that hones you as an individual.
Happy employees are usually more creative, innovative and dedicated. And, they’re more likely to stick around long-term. save money as the employees stay focused and engaged. Striving for a happy workplace is a near guarantee of productivity and loyal employees. Research confirms workers are 13% more productive when they have a reason to smile at work.
Here are 5 ways to keep the workplace happier.
1. Give recognition
Do you feel good when you are recognised for your hard work? Your employees will feel the same. And giving credit where due is important. Establish a culture of recognition by giving public gratitude and appreciation. Others can follow suit and start offering recognition to those who do excellent work. You can set up an incentivising program to help appreciate coworkers as well.
2. Interact with your colleagues
A smile can go a long way and so can a greeting. Greeting your colleagues in the morning and being polite and courteous can go a long way. Encourage people in your team to make good conversations. You never know who’s day you will be brightening up. You should build healthy friendships and relationships that extend beyond the workplace.
3. Host gatherings
Work can get monotonous and boring. An outing or a change of space is always welcome. The best way to get to know your employees better is to host gatherings outside work. This is vital given that people have been working from home. Employees have been missing social engagements. Organizing a BBQ party or a face-to-face catch-up can go a long way and help brighten spirits.
4. Use perks
Many companies boost morale by offering the employees paid leaves, a stocked refrigerator and incentives. They often give perks such as paid holidays and carpooling facilities. These can play a big factor in encouraging employees to stay on in their roles. Some companies offer stock options to keep their employees motivated and around longer.
5. Develop trust and transparency
If you are part of the management of a company, it’s vital that you increase trust with your teams. Building transparency across teams and the company is important. Holding regular meetings with your team and keeping communication lines open helps garner trust.
Are you attending to these 5 ideas in your workplace to make it happier, after all a happy workplace is a productive workplace ?
Sailaja Manacha, a Master certified Coach from ICF, is known for her programs and coaching methods that combine psychology with leadership practices. In her work, Sailaja draws from Psychology, Ontology, NLP and Spiritual frameworks as well as rich, real-world experiences.
