There is a direct link between employees’ happiness and the overall productivity of their company, and this connection is becoming more and more important in today’s world of business. Not only managers and employers are concerned with overall productivity but we also have a more advanced work ethic and want everyone to be treated fairly and for their work to be appreciated.
That is why there are now already a few tried and approved practices that every company can implement to make their staff members feel better about the company. Even though some of these may need time and money to be properly organized and executed they will pay off in the long run – at least with the positive feedback of the staff members.
Flexible Working Hours
The modern job market is changing very rapidly and as new professions and companies are appearing, so are we faced with new demands concerning how businesses should be organized. One of the key questions that have been under discussion in recent years is the one about working hours.
It used to be the golden standard for so long – 8 hours per day, 5 days per week. But as we see in Finland’s example, which has also been declared the happiest nation on Earth, that the workforce can be as productive with a 4 day work week as with a normal one, but much happier! Unless you work in the service sector, where customers expect you to be ever-present, you should definitely try and implement this tactic in the office.
Regular and Transparent Pay
This has been known since people started working for one another in prehistory, but it somehow seems to not be the norm in so many countries even in the 21st century. Every worker should have a clear and precise deal on how they will be compensated for their work and that must be respected by both sides.
This can fall heavily on the employer’s shoulders if they have a hard time collecting payment down the road or if they do not have an accountant to keep their files organized. This can be mitigated by using payroll programs for your employees where you can at least have a third party do most of that for you. Irregular or late payment is bound to make any staff member justly angry, so that should be avoided at all costs.
Team Building Outside the Office
Having a cooperative group, a team actually, as part of the workforce can bring about many positive things in the company. Not only will people be more efficient when working together but they will also do it with more joy as they perceive people at work not only as strictly colleagues but also as friends. To achieve this you should consider some team-building activities from time to time.
Employees have many reasons to love team-building activities. Among the top contenders is the opportunity to collaborate with colleagues while indulging in events that are non-work related. The options are plentiful and undeniably fun, ranging from heart-pumping paintball sessions to thrilling virtual escape room games. Regardless of the setting, whether indoors, outdoors, or even in the virtual realm, these exercises foster the development of essential teamwork skills, elevating team communication and collaboration to new heights.
Show Them You Care
What is also important, especially coming from company management, is that staff members see that their work is actually appreciated and that they are not only there as slaves to a system that exploits their time and skills. This may take the form of simply being pleasant to your “inferiors” at work, to having a proper human resources department that will work with people to make them feel this way and tell the company how to adapt accordingly.
Bonuses for finished projects are a very nice touch and are very well received by staff, as long as they are fairly distributed and not based on just one criterion that can easily be exploited. In all of these cases, the company’s owner’s presence is not needed at all, nor is the management’s if everything else is running smoothly and the workers feel their position is both fair and honestly rewarded.
Candy bowls at the reception desk and a motivational poster on the cubicle wall are all nice and dandy, but there are far more important things that need to be done so workers feel happy. And following this list of things that they will absolutely love is bound to give good results and a much more pleasant work environment, both for employer and employees.
