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13 Dec 2019

Four simple ways to make your employees happier at work

Although it’s often said that the customer should come first, these days, employee experience is everything, and making sure that your employees are happy at work is essential. Your people should be treated like your most valuable asset because their happiness can have a remarkable effect on the overall success of your business.

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Happy employees are more motivated when they come into work, more committed to their jobs, more loyal and, overall, more engaged. With a happy workforce you can generally expect lower staff turnover and higher productivity too. So, what can you do to give your employees a bit of a boost? Here are some small things you can do to improve your employees’ happiness.

1. Create a positive working space

Your employees’ working environment can have a huge impact on how they feel day-to-day. Unless an individual consistently travels for work, most employees will spend a considerable amount of time working in one place. This can be over eight hours a day, up to 40 hours a week.

So, one thing you can do to boost the morale of your employees is to make work a positive place to be. Bring functionality and fun together by creating a comfortable, inspiring and practical working space. This will help your employees feel their best and do their best at work.

Simple things like plenty of natural light, comfortable furniture, break-out areas, a drinks fridge and a welcoming colour scheme will make a huge difference to how your employees feel when they get to work.

You can get creative too. Take the Google offices, for example. They specifically design their offices with their employees in mind and have added climbing walls, revolving bookcases and indoor green spaces in their offices around the world.

Creating a positive working space doesn’t need to be a huge expense though. Whether you add a pool table, a TV, some interesting wall art or some plants around the building, by making work feel a bit less like work you’ll make your employees feel happier because they’ll feel like they’re in a fun and creative space.

2. Organise regular social events

Regular social events are a great way to give your employees a bit of a boost and reward them for their hard work. Whether it’s a team lunch, a day out, or some casual drinks after work, social gatherings are a great opportunity for your employees to have a momentary break from their daily activities. It also allows them to build positive working relationships which will strengthen the community culture of your business.

At peoplevalue, we often have social gatherings to bring everyone in the business together. For our monthly Limelight awards, for example, we all congregate in the boardroom, celebrate the great work of our colleagues and tuck into some delicious treats. We also organise some bigger events that give our employees an extended break from work. In the summer, we have a picnic in the park which involves us all spending a day in one of Oxford’s beautiful parks where there will be plenty of food and drink, time to chat and relax, as well as games of rounders and cricket to get involved in.

3. Prioritise a good work/life balance

As with many things in life, balance is key, and that’s no different when it comes to work. While your employees are of course expected to come into work and fulfil their daily tasks and meet key objectives, it’s important to remember that your employees have other priorities outside of work.

Flexibility is key. By allowing your employees to work from home or do flexible hours, for example, you instantly provide them with a sense of freedom that will make them feel valued. You’ll also help to reduce your employees’ stress levels and minimise the chances of them losing motivation or burning out.

Part of striking a good work/life balance is making sure that there is a healthy and sustainable level of pressure in the workplace. Don’t expect your employees to answer emails late at night or take work home with them, let them enjoy their time away from work so they feel refreshed when they come back in. It’s all about meeting in the middle and making this part of your business’ culture.

4. Recognise your employees

When employees feel valued by their employer, they will generally feel happier at work. That’s why the simple act of saying “thank you” can be the simplest yet most effective way of boosting the morale of your employees.

Recognising employees for going above and beyond or doing a good job at work will not only motivate them to repeat those behaviours, it will also make them feel appreciated. This can help build employees’ confidence and reassures them that they’re a valued member of the team.

Instilling recognition into your culture will spread positivity across your business too. When employees consistently show gratitude towards their colleagues and get recognised back, the working environment becomes positive, inspiring and enjoyable. This atmosphere will soon rub off on your employees and will not only make them happier, it’ll motivate them to do their very best at work.

This article is provided by peoplevalue.

In partnership with peoplevalue – The Employee Engagement Company

We are a leading provider of employee reward&recognition, benefits delivery&wellbeing solutions.

Contact us today