You may think the key to a successful business lies in the happiness of your customers or clients. While they are very important, your employees’ happiness at work significantly affects your business’s short- and long-term success.
Happy employees are motivated, productive, and proud of their work. They make better decisions, are more creative, and provide better service. Plus, happy employees make others happy and elevate the whole team’s energy.
How to Keep Employees Happy
You can nurture your employees to feel their best at work in many cost-effective ways. Here are some easy tips to get you started:
Tip #1 – Prioritize Healthy Work-Life Balance
Work-life balance is a top priority for many employees, as is being part of a healthy workplace environment. Encourage and enable employees to have great flexibility and balance between their work and personal commitments, including family.
Tip #2 – Flexible Working Schedules
Flexibility at work encourages a sense of freedom for employees. Provide employees with options to work when they are at their best while still maintaining their best personal schedule. Flexible scheduling allows your employees to recharge when needed and deliver their best productivity with less stress.
Tip #3 – Listen to Your Employees
Employers get stressed, too. With so much to handle, it can be easy to forget to include your employees in the processes as much as possible. Big decisions that affect the workforce as a whole or specific teams or departments should include input from employees. Listen to their ideas, concerns, and feedback on big decisions. Employees who feel included tend to feel more motivated and invested in the company, leading to more overall happiness and a greater chance of retention.
Tip #4 – Career Growth and Upward Mobility
Employees need room to grow. Often, employees are working hard for their next promotion or raise and, when they don’t have those options, may feel they don’t need to put in more than minimal effort. Instead of working to advance in your company, they’ll be busy looking for work elsewhere.
When employees have the emotional freedom to take risks, present new ideas, and ask for the support and advice they need, they grow as employees and as people. Encouraging a transparent culture at work that offers clear direction for employees seeking to grow and advance is one of the best ways to keep employees happy.
Tip #5 – Build a Positive Workplace
Nothing excites employees more than a positive work environment! In fact, the majority of employees and employers believe that a positive workplace culture is a key component of a company’s success. Building a stable, positive, diverse, and inclusive workplace culture takes time, effort, and sincerity. Transparency and open communication ensure that issues are dealt with quickly and fairly, improving individual confidence and decreasing stress and anxiety.
Ready to expand your workforce? Contact Career Foundations today to get started!