Any boss should want their staff to be happy because of the benefits that having happy staff can bring to a company. Staff who are happy tend to take their job more seriously and work better in a team and be more productive, as this study by the University of Warwick shows. So here are 7 ways to improve staff happiness within your business.
Be kind
Manners don’t cost anything and a simple ‘thank you’ can be really effective. Being kind and respectful towards your employees is a really quick and easy way of building up connections and showing employees their work is appreciated. A simple sign of acknowledgement lets employees know they’re doing well and makes them feel more positive, motivated and encouraged about their work. That’s not to say if a member of staff is underperforming and not doing the work there required to do that you should ignore it.
Be available
A good boss should be there for all of their employees. Don’t just hide away in your office and make yourself isolated from your workforce; make yourself readily available. If your staff know they can approach you for whatever reason, they’re going to feel more accepted and less alone.
Make the workplace more inviting
When it comes to improving staff happiness, you might want to consider changing things in the workplace. Creating an inspiring workplace can really make people happy and motivate them; workplaces shouldn’t be completely corporate and formal, some tips on how to create such a workspace can be found here. It helps to have even just one area where employees can unwind, have a conversation away from their desks and recharge their batteries.
Know who’s working for you
Even if staff come and go all the time, you should still make an attempt to get to know them. Employees are people too and treating them like people can work wonders for boosting their happiness. Don’t just treat the people who work for you as employees, be friendly to them, build up relationships and make an effort to get to know them.
Listen to your employees’ ideas
If an employee wants to share some ideas about how things are going and what could be done to improve things, listen to them. Employees will feel more involved and respected if any ideas they have are listened to and appreciated. If their ideas go unheard, they’re not going to feel like part of the team.
Encourage honesty
An honest workplace is a happy workplace. Encourage everyone in your workplace to speak up and to talk about any issues they may have, whatever they may be. It’s always best to get things out into the open. Let your employees know they don’t have to be afraid to speak up and that if they want to address something, they can.
Offer flexibility
In today’s busy world, a bit of flexibility is appreciated more than ever. If your employees don’t want to be restricted to timetables and schedules all the time, give them a bit of flexibility to make things easier and less stressful for them. Make work less of a burden by making it more adaptable for their needs. Show you understand that your employees have needs outside of work.
These are just 7 simple things to improve staff happiness. According to Dale Carnegie, US companies with engaged employees outperform companies with unengaged employees by over 200%. It’s a clear sign that having engaged employees is a key part of any successful company. Make your employees happy and it’s likely your company will see some benefits from that.
