The pandemic has altered the workplace, causing various workplace trends to accelerate. Companies must work harder than ever to keep their staff satisfied and productive.
Employee happiness is a critical aspect of running a successful, profitable business. Employee engagement and happiness are associated with fewer absences, improved performance, and increased support for company innovation. When employees are happy, loyal, and engaged, firm earnings increase—and turnover decreases.
When employees are unhappy and unmotivated, productivity declines, turnover rises, and the firm suffers. It can cost up to 33% of an employee’s annual compensation to replace them. In reality, dissatisfied employees cost American businesses up to $550 billion per year.
In today’s economic climate, it might be difficult to figure out how to keep staff pleased. Furthermore, external events that are often beyond your control might have an impact on employee happiness.
So, how can you create a contented and productive workforce? And why is it important? Continue reading!
What is Employee Happiness?
Employee happiness is a simple notion that refers to the state of having a happy attitude and outlook on one’s employment. People that are happy enjoy going to their workplace. They appreciate what they do and the people with whom they work. Employee engagement and work satisfaction are both quite high.
However, just because employee happiness is a basic concept doesn’t mean it’s easy to attain in your firm. To provide a pleasant employee experience across the employee’s lifetime, HR professionals must deliberate thinking and effort.
Why Is Employee Happiness Important?
The key to your company’s success is to focus not just on your customers, but also on your employees. But why should employee happiness matter to your company?
Happy employees enjoy what they do and experience a sense of satisfaction and achievement in their work. This sense of significance has a positive feedback loop—the sensation of fulfillment reduces stress, which can improve productivity.
Here are five reasons why you should prioritize employee happiness. Employees who are happy:
#1. Make Better Work Decisions
According to a Swarthmore study, employees make better decisions when they are less fearful and anxious. Employee morale has a significant impact on your team and the decisions they make. Employees that are stressed out may be more distracted and take more risks, whereas happy employees may make more educated and planned decisions. As a manager, you must build respect, appreciation, and confidence in your team members so that they are inspired and motivated to perform to the best of their ability.
#2. Are Less Likely To Give Up
Unhappy employees are considerably more likely to leave your organization for another—often with a competitor. There is no denying that employee retention will be impacted by an unhealthy workplace. Faster employee turnover places unnecessary strain on your company, putting your resources and efforts into finding new personnel rather than focusing on your current workforce.
#3. Improve Your Customer Service
Employees with a better mindset and attitude will likely be considerably more attentive when providing customer care. Similarly, clients like interacting with staff who have a good attitude. When your customers love dealing with your employees, customer happiness rises, and you’re considerably more likely to complete a sale—and so reduce client turnover and boost client retention.
#4. Are More Innovative
According to an Adobe study, employees who are satisfied and happy are far more inclined to innovate and use their creative ideas.
#5. Make others happy as well.
Happiness spreads like wildfire. It will spread throughout your team and company, affecting your entire team’s vitality. It will increase general employee bonding and camaraderie, and happiness will raise your team’s energy!
What Is the Connection Between Employee Happiness and Productivity?
There is also a link between employee happiness and productivity, with happy professionals being 20% more productive than dissatisfied colleagues. One survey found a correlation between happiness and performance, revealing that persons who perform well at work are 15% happier than those who perform poorly.
Factors Influencing Employee Happiness
Do you want to know if your staff are content and have a positive attitude about their jobs? Here are some known elements that influence employee happiness.
#1. Competitive Salary and Benefits
Most people are motivated to work because they want to make money. If you pay much less than the average for a position, your employees’ happiness levels are unlikely to be as high as those at a higher-paying company. Your employees may be working for you out of need rather than because they genuinely care about the work your company performs and want to be a part of it.
Whether they like it or not, most people base their success on their financial situation. Having an attractive fixed compensation means that most employees are successful. Nobody wants to feel like a failure, and because a salary is such a big part of people’s definitions of success, they’ll be dissatisfied if they’re underpaid. Giving your employees the correct benefits will boost their happiness. Great rewards include bonuses, workplace SWAG, team-building activities, and free access to growth programs.
While incentives aren’t required, they are what set your staff apart from the competition.
Most companies have a bonus structure in place, but you must figure out how to maintain it balanced. Of course, providing incentives to your employees is an effective way to increase productivity.
#2. Rigid or Uninteresting Job Roles
While each position has a specific job description and individuals must excel in their areas, most people want variation. Undynamic roles cause monotony and, as a result, unhappiness in the majority of employees.
So employment becomes an obligation; it’s like a task they have to do but get no satisfaction from it. Yes, work does not have to be a joyous activity for people to like, but if employees find their employment uninteresting, they are more likely to be unhappy when they arrive.
#3. Micromanagement
Micromanagement is not well received by the majority of people. Either they believe they are constantly being observed and become worried just thinking about work, or they begin to push back because they feel disrespected. You chose them over other candidates for a specific work function because they are the most qualified for it–behave accordingly.
The line between effective communication and micromanaging is razor-thin. Managers typically ignore it because they are dedicated to their duty as leaders, and it almost always backfires. While some people flourish under constant supervision, the vast majority do not, and those who do are frequently uneasy. Reject the helicopter approach to employee management in favor of organizational autonomy and supervision without hovering.
#4. Healthy, Safe, and Inclusive Workplace
Nobody wants to wake up dreading their day, yet it’s the norm for employees who work in a hazardous or poisonous environment. People spend the majority of their days at work; imagine spending more than half of your day constantly dreading going to work because your workplace is toxic.
For a variety of reasons, including workplace culture and physical security, workplaces can be regarded as hazardous or unhealthy.
- Physical security: If a company is located in a high-crime neighborhood, most employees will feel uneasy entering or exiting the building. Make it a workplace policy for staff to check in and leave during less dangerous hours. If they must return to work late, having a lodge on-site where they may arrive earlier is an excellent idea.
- Work Culture: You may not be able to influence your neighborhood’s crime rate, but you can impact the culture of your workplace. Make an active effort to make your workplace transparent and employee-friendly.
- Harassment, antagonism, violence, or any other unacceptable behavior in the workplace should not be condoned. A smart place to start is to conduct a culture fit test and a background check when hiring staff.
#5. Workload Overload
Excessive workload is another major source of employee discontent. Most people’s days are made unhappy by the mere concept of how much work they have.
Stacking tasks on tasks for employees usually results in them feeling overwhelmed. You’re exhausting them by forcing them to think about work instead of doing it. Regulate and assign reasonable duties to your personnel, and get feedback from them. Determine whether they find the tasks too difficult and how much time they require to accomplish each activity.
Instead of assigning work all at once, create a task management system that assigns task priorities. Determine how many jobs your staff can finish in a given time span and assign tasks accordingly.
Instead of offering staff a weekly task list, divide it into daily task lists. It is always preferable to assign duties sequentially rather than all at once to staff.
#6. Growth Pathway
Aside from being underpaid, having too much work, or feeling uncomfortable at work, another factor that promotes employee happiness is the company’s growth trajectory. This could apply to both your company’s growth trajectory for employees and the company’s own growth trajectory.
Employees who believe their job is a dead end are typically pessimistic about their jobs and even their lives. Create a clear growth structure inside your organization so that everyone understands how they can advance in their positions.
Give employees access to the resources they need to flourish, such as professional seminars, mentorship opportunities, self-improvement workshops, and so on. Nobody wants to be stuck in a stagnant company. Make certain that your company is actively attempting to expand, and make certain that your employees are aware of this by incorporating them in the process.
People who can’t grow in your company or don’t believe it has a direction will go, and those who stay will constantly wonder why they didn’t.
#7. Healthy Work-Life Balance
individuals are always talking about it, which means that some individuals find it relatable. Are your office hours nutritious? Allow your staff to have a life outside of work. When most people are asked why they are self-employed rather than working for someone else, the answer is usually work schedules. Most individuals seek a timetable that allows them to live their lives to the fullest.
Yes, most people don’t find working alone gratifying; they need time to focus on other things or people they care about, which they won’t be able to do with your company’s work schedule.
Although most individuals work from 9 to 5, some employees may require a more flexible schedule in order to be more effective. Giving your employees flexible working hours not only makes them happy but also makes them more productive.
How to Measure Employee Happiness
#1. Conduct regular surveys
One of the most effective ways to learn how your staff feels about their jobs is to conduct frequent surveys. Instead of workplace questionnaires, create survey questions based on real-life experiences.
Most employees would lie through their teeth in surveys if they believe it will change how the employer regards them. Create dynamic surveys to better understand your employees’ thoughts on their occupations.
#2. Peer Evaluations
Managers primarily assess employee happiness based on performance, but peer evaluations differ. Employees evaluate one another’s performance over a set period of time.
It assists you in understanding your employees’ work culture, engagement, and collaborative style.
#3. A Pool of Unknown Opinions
It is simpler for folks to speak up when they are not in the spotlight. Create anonymous feedback and complaint forms for your employees to complete.
It will assist you in understanding and prioritizing what your staff desire.
#4. Examine Your Employees’ Proactivity
Are your employees eager to take on new responsibilities and devise innovative solutions to problems or methods to improve the company’s product/service? If they are, it is most likely because they are content with their current position.
If your staff just accomplishes the bare minimum, it could be because they are dissatisfied or overworked.
#5. Examine Past Performance
Determine the amount of productivity in your workforce. Is their output the same as it was when they initially started, or is it gradually decreasing?
The majority of employees communicate their displeasure through low productivity and disengagement.
#6. Maintain regular check-ins
Organize days for employees to meet with their managers and share feedback on how they feel about their jobs. Some employees may flat-out lie, especially if they don’t trust you, but they will adjust if it becomes the standard.
Also, make certain that you take the discussions seriously and act on what you’ve learned. Once an employee sees you responding to their criticism, they will be more open about their feelings.
6 Ways To Ensure Employee Happiness In the Workplace
We’ve all heard that increasing employee happiness leads to a more positive workplace environment and makes collaborating easier. However, it is difficult for a business to abruptly change its mindset and focus on individual employee happiness.
Instead of struggling to dramatically transform your work environment, here is a list of things you can start correcting at your workplace to keep your staff happy.
#1. Allow Employees to Speak Their Minds
Most employees are unsatisfied with their jobs since their ideas are frequently ignored. This practice leads to employee disengagement in the workplace, which eventually leads to job unhappiness. Give your staff the opportunity to express themselves and contribute their thoughts at work.
#2. Recognize Their Excellent Work
Employees are dissatisfied with their jobs when they believe their efforts are unappreciated. Employee engagement and motivation can be maintained through appreciation. Recognize and praise your employees’ contributions. Money is a short-term incentive, thus reward does not necessarily have to be monetary. There are plenty of additional ways to acknowledge and reward exceptional performance.
#3. Make Training and Resources Available
Employees will feel that their employer is investing in them if they are trained and given the required resources. Employees who receive training are typically more satisfied and motivated than those who do not receive training on a regular basis.
Because of the changing economy, continuous training or learning has a direct impact on organizational growth.
#4. Priorities should not be shifted.
Inconsistent priorities are another major source of employee dissatisfaction.
Does the phrase “drop everything and do this right now” ring a bell? It is highly irritating for their employees to grasp why the activity is so crucial that it breaks their daily work routine when bad managers utilize it frequently. If you want staff to prioritize particular tasks over others, you must explain why. When you know why you need to disturb your routine or move priorities, it is easier to do so.
#5. Communicate frequently
Poor communication is another major issue that concerns today’s businesses. When managers are unable to interact with their employees, a slew of issues arise.
Consider an employer that is unable to effectively communicate company goals to their staff. Employees are the first to experience the effects of this conduct. Employees are only satisfied and motivated to work if their goals and responsibilities are explained to them properly. And this is only one example. A lack of communication can have a negative impact on engagement, productivity, and morale.
Communication is not always simple. However, it becomes easier to do with practice. Managers only need to initiate the dialogue.
#6. Have Adaptable Schedules
Employers are finally able to summon their staff back to work after a two-year wait. But, is everyone eager to begin working from home? According to the study, 68% of US employees still choose to work from home. If they are not offered remote work, some employees are considering changing jobs. The data suggest that employees are hesitant to return to their customary work setting. In such cases, it is preferable to provide employees with flexible work schedules in order to keep them satisfied and devoted to their jobs.
Why Should Employee Happiness Be a Component of Modern Human Resource Strategy?
Investing in employee happiness is more than a plus: it’s a requirement. Investing in the happiness of your employees benefits everything from hiring and retention to productivity and performance. The modern HR professional must prioritize the measurement and enhancement of employee happiness for a healthy, high-performing firm.
Conclusion
Employee happiness is associated with higher levels of productivity. Maintaining employee happiness is the simplest method to increase productivity.
Give them all the resources they need to thrive, praise your employees, and maintain an open-door policy. Ensure that they are all treated equitably, and you will notice an increase in your organization’s productivity.
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