Keeping your employees happy should be a top priority for your company. If you’re concerned about KPIs, such as profit and productivity, then employee happiness is a term you need to familiarize yourself with. More employees, specifically Gen Zers, are seeking employers who care about their well-being. Employee happiness is directly tied to a more motivated and engaged workforce, which in turn results in sustainable success, higher productivity rates, and lower turnover rates.
You may not know how to make your employees happy, as there are so many factors involved. However, we’ve got 10 effective strategies for you to implement at your organizations to keep employee happiness high and productivity levels even higher. Read on for tips on how to build a happy and engaged workforce.
What is Employee Happiness?
Employee happiness refers to team members associating their work with positive emotions. This means employees feel comfortable in their role, company, and confident with the overall dynamic within their organization. Therefore, happy team members believe their employer fosters a positive workplace culture, creates a better work-life balance, and encourages strong relationships with their colleagues, managers, and directors.
When companies invest in maintaining employee happiness, it enhances employee engagement and leads to higher job satisfaction. Happy workers translate to higher productivity levels and overall better company outputs. To keep your employees happy, you need to cultivate a positive work environment, provide flexible working schedules, and give your team professional development opportunities.
5 Benefits of Keeping your Employees Happy
Your company’s success shouldn’t just revolve around profit, but should also measure employee happiness. Investing in employee wellness could result in a 13% increase in productivity. When you focus on keeping employee morale high and creating a positive work environment, you’re not just supporting your team. You are also setting your business up for financial success thanks to their improved attitude and productivity.
Happy employees create a positive feedback loop, while unhappy employees can negatively impact productivity and slow down operations. Here are 5 benefits to keeping your staff happy:
1. Work smarter, not harder
Companies that make employees feel appreciated and respected tend to have a happier workplace. Teams that are stressed out and feel devalued might be less motivated, more distracted, and make less strategic decisions. As an employer or HR leader, supporting your team’s well-being helps them feel inspired and motivated to do their best in their jobs. When employees are happy, they’re more focused, efficient, and perform better. So happy employees work smarter and not harder for your company’s success.
2. Reduce turnover rates
Many employees will leave a company once they start feeling unhappy with their workplace. Even worse, our report states that 1 out of 2 managers don’t know their employee is unhappy until it’s too late. The more unhealthy your work environment is the more it will affect employee retention. You’ll experience faster turnover and end up spending lots of time recruiting, onboarding, and training new hires to fill critical positions. By focusing on employee happiness and your team’s overall well being, you can reduce turnover rates and keep your core business operations running smoothly.
3. Positive customer experience
Happy employees are more engaged, care deeply about their work, and are invested in the success of the company. When you keep employees happy, you create an environment where people can thrive. Ultimately, driving positive outcomes for the business, their teams, and most importantly, your clients. Employee engagement is closely linked to business growth, as satisfied team members tend to be more productive and deliver better customer service. Ensure you’re measuring employee happiness through surveys and asking for constructive feedback. When you invest in how your employees feel, you’re also investing in your company’s long-term success.
4. Save on costs
Creating workplace happiness leads to higher productivity levels and an engaged workforce. Happy employees are less likely to leave their job which reduces the need to constantly hire and train new staff. A loyal workforce cuts down on recruitment costs and minimizes the time spent on onboarding. With the average cost per new hire is around $4,700, investing in employee happiness can prevent this cost from occurring. In the long run, a happy workforce means less work for your HR department on recruiting and onboarding, and significant savings overall for your business.
5. Retain knowledge
With reduced turnover rates, you can focus on creating tailored career paths for the team. This ensures they have an opportunity to grow within the company. As well as developing their professional and personal skills. By following a career framework, you are investing in your team and retaining their knowledge on workflows, projects, and valuable input on what works well and what doesn’t. When your employees feel supported and valued, they’re more likely to stay engaged and contribute at a strategic level.
10 Ways on How to Make your Employees Happy
Now that we know the benefits of happy employees, you must be thinking, “how do I keep my staff happy?” Unfortunately, there’s no one size fits all approach. However, we’ve outlined here the top 10 strategies to effectively make employees happy at your workplace.
Implement employee wellness programs
Employee wellness programs support the physical, mental, and emotional well-being of your team. Providing wellness resources empowers employees to proactively manage stress, take breaks during the day, and prioritize their overall happiness at work. Encourage your team to regularly practice self-care activities, such as meditation, screen-free breaks, and choosing healthy snacks. Making these habits a part of the workplace culture can lead to a more energized, focused, and satisfied workforce.
Encourage a healthy work-life balance
Encouraging a healthy work-life balance is essential for maintaining employee well-being and long-term productivity. Try letting your team to make their own schedules to promote a healthier work-life. Offering flexible hours and remote work options can help reduce turnover, increase job satisfaction, and decrease burnout. Additionally, promote boundaries by respecting work hours and discouraging after hours emails or calls. A positive work culture helps your team recharge, increase overall business performance, and improves employee happiness.
Give employee recognition
When you have a team member going above and beyond, make sure you give them the recognition they deserve. Whether that is an award or a shoutout on your employee portal, taking the opportunity to recognize employees is incredibly valuable. Showing appreciation goes a long way in boosting morale and reinforcing a positive workplace culture. It also encourages and motivates others to strive for excellence. Recognition isn’t just about rewarding high performers, it is also about inspiring your team to perform at their best. Even small, consistent gestures of appreciation can deepen employee engagement and strengthen your work environment over time.
Establish a Learning & Development program
Give your team an opportunity to develop their professional skills by implementing an L&D program. You’ll be able to monitor their progress and identify what skills they lack. By investing in your team’s development, your employees are more likely to be engaged in their work, reduce turnover rates, and be able to plan for the future with a succession plan. L&D programs help keep employees happy by making them feel valued and supported by their company. It’ll lead to less employees feeling stagnant and allows for internal promotion and growth.
Transparent communication
Being completely transparent with your team is vital for your employees to feel secure at work. This allows employees to have honest conversations and tell the hard truth to senior leaders without fear of repercussions. This looks like having a clear understanding of what projects are being prioritized, having regular 1-to-1 meetings to provide feedback, and conducting eNPS surveys. Try holding regular feedback sessions and allow employees to give anonymous feedback on ways to improve the work environment and identify any concerns.
Provide competitive compensation
Conducting a salary benchmark to get a range of what your competitors pay can help you ensure you track top talent and retain your team by offering them a competitive salary. Making sure your team feels like they are being fairly compensated is a priority in keeping employees happy. Align with your HR department so there’s open communication between your team and your pay structure. Moreover, take into consideration what benefits you are offering and make sure it is aligned with your company values.
Offer employee perks
Employee perks like free breakfast or discounts to local stores are great ways to boost morale and employee happiness. Fun and engaging experiences such as team building activities or cooking classes also help strengthen relationships. These thoughtful perks can make your team feel appreciated, decrease work dissatisfaction, and led to higher satisfaction and retention. Additionally, these perks don’t need to be expensive. You can find cost effective perks that will light up their days.
Flexible working schedules
Giving your team autonomy over their schedules can boost their mental health and reduce the risk of burnout. Flexible work arrangements enhance work-life balance, can help reduce stress, and improve employee satisfaction. When employees have control over how and when they work, they feel trusted, empowered, and confident in their roles. This flexibility also allows them to better manage personal responsibilities, leading to a healthier and happier team.
Invest in your tech stack
Another way to keep employees happy is by eliminating their tedious, manual work. With the help of technology you’ll be able to smooth core business operations by streamlining workflows and automating repetitive work. Investing in the right digital tools frees up your team to do more meaningful, impactful work. This gives them the resources they need to do what they love. In the long run, utilizing technology can help lead to greater job satisfaction and productivity.
Cultivate a positive workplace
A positive workplace is essential for employee happiness, as it encourages communication and collaboration. When employees see their senior leaders have a positive attitude, that can trickle down and help create a happy team. When you build a supportive team, provide opportunities for growth, and cultivate a culture of transparency, this can lead your team to success. You’re not only impacting your team’s happiness, but also your company’s success.
Global report: Tools on how to make your employees happy
Would it surprise you to learn that managers spend 43% of their time on manual, repetitive tasks? Now imagine the difference they could make if that time went toward meaningful work instead of tedious busywork. Your employees’ concerns are more than just complaints; they’re valuable feedback that can help improve your company’s work environment. And that improvement has a direct impact on overall business performance. That’s why it’s important to create a culture where employees feel comfortable speaking up about their daily challenges, before those issues grow too big to fix.
When your team feels supported, they feel empowered to do their best work. A positive workplace doesn’t mean avoiding problems, it means facing them head-on and getting to the root cause. We surveyed 1,000 managers across Europe to understand the challenges they face every day. Unsurprisingly, the biggest obstacle is manual work. Download our free report to see how the right technology can help your team work smarter, not harder. Because at the end of the day, finding ways to boost employee happiness benefits everyone. Learn how to make your workplace a better place to work and how to make your employees happy.
