If you have a team of employees, then you will know just how important the happiness and morale of your employees is. The happier your employees are, the more productive and loyal they will be to you. And in a highly competitive world, you want to train up and then keep your employees after what you have invested in them. You don’t want them to go and work for your competitors, do you?
Of course, good pay and a raise are going to help give your employees a boost. But long term happiness in the workplace isn’t just about compensation. There are many inexpensive things that you can do in the long term, to make sure that you are providing a happy and safe place for your employees to be. When you’re employees enjoy coming to work, you are onto something good. So if you don’t feel like you’re quite there yet, then how can you improve the happiness of your employees? Here are some ideas for you. A little bit of effort from you, and you’ll have a more efficient and loyal workforce sooner than you think.
Improve The Physical Environment
The place that your employees come to work in each day needs to be conducive to being able to work productively. So if there are any issues that need to be dealt with, then do it sooner rather than later. Flickering lights, broken bathroom doors or cracked desks should all be dealt with. It can vary from state to state, but there will be some legal requirements that you as an employer needs to adhere to. Are you on top of your game at the moment? If heating is broken, for example, then you should look to take care of it before winter is on its way. You can’t make people work in conditions that are not comfortable, and being too hot or cold include that.
Use contractors to deal with issues around the office. You want to hire someone that will look at preventative maintenance for things like air conditioning and heating, as well as lighting and plumbing. Somewhere like ABC Home & Commercial Services could be a place to look at the type of thing that you might be after. At the end of the day, it all goes back to being happy to come into work each day. And if their physical surroundings aren’t good to be in, they’re not going to want to keep coming back.
Give Employees More Control
As with any part of our lives, happiness comes when we have more control over a situation. So for someone to be happier about their working life, then giving them more control is going to help. Take flexible working, for example. If you have employees with families, then giving them some control could be to offer more flexible work schedules. Could they work from home once a week, dialing into teleconferences or using flextime? It just makes things much easier for the whole work and life balance. You need to think about your employees on an individual basis, though, as all family and situations will be different. One employee might not have kids but might have an elderly relative that they look after from time to time. So offering some flexibility, and therefore control is essential to happiness. You don’t want your employees to resent having to come into work.
Make Commuting Easier
When people have been commuting to work and have had a bad journey, then it really shows. They are likely to be much unhappier than those colleagues that haven’t had to travel far. They are also less likely to focus on work when they come into work in a bad mood after the journey to work. So if there is anything that you as an employer can do, then you should look to do it. Like with flexible working, you could offer staggered start times for people to come into the office, to allow people to choose when will be best for them to travel. You could offer a time frame for them to get into work, for example, rather than just a set time.
In addition, it can be a good idea to review any late arrival policies. Where accidents have happened, or trains have been delayed, it can cause a lot of frustration for your employees. So if they get to work late, through no fault of their own, and they get severely reprimanded for it, then it is going to make their attitude at work very negative and put them in a worse mood. Of course, you wouldn’t want people to take advantage. But in modern times, bad traffic, car crashes, and train delays, are easy to check on. So if colleagues know you’ll check, then only genuine cases will be presented. It is just a small thing, but it can make a big difference to those that work with you.
Be More Social
Being social, having friends, and feeling important are all parts of being happy. So having these things in place at work will help your employees feel like part of the team, and in turn, happier. So encourage your employees to be more social. Arrange or delegate someone to arrange parties or social events. Even just a few drinks after work. Celebrate birthdays or holidays throughout the year, doing things to celebrate like decorating the office and getting cake or drinks. These kinds of celebrations don’t have to cost a lot of money, but they can be really worth doing.
Promote Good Health At Work
If your team get sick or hate being at work, then they won’t want to come in. But if you help to promote a healthy workplace, they are much more likely to have less sick days. It can help them to enjoy being at work too. One of the things that you can do is to help create a healthy place for them to eat. The office might not be large enough for you to have a cafeteria for them. But providing a kitchenette is a great way to help them to prepare and eat food. You could also offer some vending machines offering healthy options, as well as arranging a food cart to stop by from time to time. When people eat well, they will have energy and be more productive. So it will pay off with your work force.
You could also think about looking into things like discount gym memberships. Many local gyms will offer corporate discounts for your employees. So it is certainly worth looking into. Again, if your employees are healthier through exercise, then they will take less sick days as they will be stronger and fitter.
Give Employees More Control
As with any part of our lives, happiness comes when we have more control over a situation. So for someone to be happier about their working life, then giving them more control is going to help. Take flexible working, for example. If you have employees with families, then giving them some control could be to offer more flexible work schedules. Could they work from home once a week, dialing into teleconferences or using flextime? It just makes things much easier for the whole work and life balance. You need to think about your employees on an individual basis, though, as all family and situations will be different. One employee might not have kids but might have an elderly relative that they look after from time to time. So offering some flexibility, and therefore control is essential to happiness. You don’t want your employees to resent having to come into work.
Make Commuting Easier
When people have been commuting to work and have had a bad journey, then it really shows. They are likely to be much unhappier than those colleagues that haven’t had to travel far. They are also less likely to focus on work when they come into work in a bad mood after the journey to work. So if there is anything that you as an employer can do, then you should look to do it. Like with flexible working, you could offer staggered start times for people to come into the office, to allow people to choose when will be best for them to travel. You could offer a time frame for them to get into work, for example, rather than just a set time.
In addition, it can be a good idea to review any late arrival policies. Where accidents have happened, or trains have been delayed, it can cause a lot of frustration for your employees. So if they get to work late, through no fault of their own, and they get severely reprimanded for it, then it is going to make their attitude at work very negative and put them in a worse mood. Of course, you wouldn’t want people to take advantage. But in modern times, bad traffic, car crashes, and train delays, are easy to check on. So if colleagues know you’ll check, then only genuine cases will be presented. It is just a small thing, but it can make a big difference to those that work with you.
Be More Social
Being social, having friends, and feeling important are all parts of being happy. So having these things in place at work will help your employees feel like part of the team, and in turn, happier. So encourage your employees to be more social. Arrange or delegate someone to arrange parties or social events. Even just a few drinks after work. Celebrate birthdays or holidays throughout the year, doing things to celebrate like decorating the office and getting cake or drinks. These kinds of celebrations don’t have to cost a lot of money, but they can be really worth doing.
Promote Good Health At Work
If your team get sick or hate being at work, then they won’t want to come in. But if you help to promote a healthy workplace, they are much more likely to have less sick days. It can help them to enjoy being at work too. One of the things that you can do is to help create a healthy place for them to eat. The office might not be large enough for you to have a cafeteria for them. But providing a kitchenette is a great way to help them to prepare and eat food. You could also offer some vending machines offering healthy options, as well as arranging a food cart to stop by from time to time. When people eat well, they will have energy and be more productive. So it will pay off with your work force.
You could also think about looking into things like discount gym memberships. Many local gyms will offer corporate discounts for your employees. So it is certainly worth looking into. Again, if your employees are healthier through exercise, then they will take less sick days as they will be stronger and fitter.
You could arrange running or walking clubs at work, as well as things like employee soccer leagues. Anything that helps exercise and being more social is going to be a good way to go.
Mental health and stress is going to important for your colleagues and employees too. So don’t underestimate the importance of putting something in place for your team. It could be having a counselor that you could refer them to or having an in-house counselor or health professional. Of course, what you decide on will depend on the size of the business that you have. So just decide what you think is best for your business and go from there.
Provide Opportunities For Growth
If you want your employees to feel appreciated and that you are fully invested in them, then quite simply, you need to show them. One way that you can do that is by providing an atmosphere where your employees can develop and improve their skills. Providing training for certain things or sending them on courses for other things, are all part of being able to show that you’re invested in them. It will give them new skills and responsibilities that will, in turn, help them to feel appreciated and improve their happiness at work.
Take a Break From Routine
To mix things up a bit in the workplace, how about making some changes from time to time to break up the routine? Of course, the job still needs to get done. But there are plenty of things that you can do to make the day more interesting. It could be arranging away days, having family days at work, office parties, organizing coffee breaks or bringing in cakes or baked goods. It all can make a difference to your employees and their happiness at work. It will encourage them to want to stay working with you, rather than looking elsewhere for work if they enjoy their time with you and know that the workplace is a fun place to be.
Conclusion
Mental health and stress is going to important for your colleagues and employees too. So don’t underestimate the importance of putting something in place for your team. It could be having a counselor that you could refer them to or having an in-house counselor or health professional. Of course, what you decide on will depend on the size of the business that you have. So just decide what you think is best for your business and go from there.
Provide Opportunities For Growth
If you want your employees to feel appreciated and that you are fully invested in them, then quite simply, you need to show them. One way that you can do that is by providing an atmosphere where your employees can develop and improve their skills. Providing training for certain things or sending them on courses for other things, are all part of being able to show that you’re invested in them. It will give them new skills and responsibilities that will, in turn, help them to feel appreciated and improve their happiness at work.
Take a Break From Routine
To mix things up a bit in the workplace, how about making some changes from time to time to break up the routine? Of course, the job still needs to get done. But there are plenty of things that you can do to make the day more interesting. It could be arranging away days, having family days at work, office parties, organizing coffee breaks or bringing in cakes or baked goods. It all can make a difference to your employees and their happiness at work. It will encourage them to want to stay working with you, rather than looking elsewhere for work if they enjoy their time with you and know that the workplace is a fun place to be.
Conclusion
Overall, the message is that you shouldn’t underestimate the happiness and well-being of your employees. They are the ones that can make or break your business at the end of the day. So treat them well, and it will pay off in the long term. Have you had any similar experiences that you could share?
I hope you enjoyed this article about 7 steps to improve your employee's satisfaction.
Interested in more articles about employee management?
Read My Posts:
- How To Develop A Fun Company Culture
- What You Need To Know Before Taking On New Staff
Published by Michael J Schiemer
Owner of Bootstrap Business
Money - Marketing - Motivation
Digital Marketing | SEO | Social Media
Mike Schiemer Builds Better Business
I hope you enjoyed this article about 7 steps to improve your employee's satisfaction.
Interested in more articles about employee management?
Read My Posts:
- How To Develop A Fun Company Culture
- What You Need To Know Before Taking On New Staff
Published by Michael J Schiemer
Owner of Bootstrap Business
Money - Marketing - Motivation
Digital Marketing | SEO | Social Media
Mike Schiemer Builds Better Business
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