This guide outlines the nine key proven strategies to create a happy workplace for your team and yourself.
What is the most important asset in your organization? We will give you a hint; it is not your brand. It is not your technology. It is your workforce. They are the ones out there, doing the grunt of your work and making you money. That is why it is crucial to maintain a productive and more importantly, happy team. And one of the best ways to keep them productive and content is to give them the great office environment of a happy workplace.
9 happy workplace strategies
Here, we look at the best strategies to set up a happy workplace possible for you and your workforce.
1. Open up the space as much as possible…
No one enjoys the sensation of being trapped in a maze, and nothing exacerbates that sensation more than a long, uninterrupted row of furniture. Even low workstations might contribute to the feeling of being “cooped up” if they are not strategically placed.
Working in a large open office area? Try grouping your workstations or tables together in small groups with plenty of space on either side for breathing room to create more of a happy workplace. Moving around the office becomes considerably easier as a result, and the impression of being sardined in a can is completely eliminated.
2. …But don’t make it too open
Noise and movement, particularly in vast, cavernous environments, can have a negative impact on your employees’ ability to concentrate and be productive. The open workplace architecture makes it difficult for your staff to concentrate on their work because even the tiniest sound or activity might distract them.
For a happy workplace, break up the wide-open spaces with bookshelves, plants, and shelving to help to reduce the invasive impacts of noise and movement. Working in small groups might help you achieve a sense of seclusion by separating workspaces with large pieces of furniture such as filing cabinets.
3. Keep it free of clutter
Clutter can often equate to disorganization and if you want your staff to be productive, you also need them to be organized. Not only that, but clutter can also feel quite restrictive and make one feel dirty and untidy, which is not going to help with levels of employee happiness.
Look at ways of minimizing the clutter in your office for a happy workplace – perhaps you could go paper-free and digitalize all of your processes? This would remove the need to store away papers and have piles of paper sitting around. Other things you could do include clipping wires together, going wireless where possible, providing plenty of storage space for your employee’s personal belongings, and implementing a clear desk policy.
4. Consider an office pet
Pets in the workplace, according to a recent study by the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA), help employees achieve better work/life balance, reduce stress, and increase productivity. All of these factors are beneficial when attempting to make your team more satisfied — and they definitely help build a happy workplace.
You will have to make arrangements for food, exercise, and regular walks if you get a dog, but the payoff will be a higher level of happiness and productivity than you have ever experienced before. Obviously, you do need to ensure that they are well trained and that there are no allergies before introducing one to the office.
5. Create specific areas for your staff to socialize
The ability to interact with others is essential for creative thinking. Typically, in a happy workplace, socializing takes place in a dedicated seating area. There, team members can take a break, decompress, speak with one another, and be inspired by their surroundings. Make it attractive with artwork or some great wallpaper from wallpaperboulevard.
When establishing a social area, make sure that the room is large enough to accommodate gatherings of varying sizes of people. Include couches, comfortable chairs, and tables with seating for four, six, and eight people in a variety of sizes.
It is possible to change a random gathering of four coworkers into an unexpected collaboration that generates new ideas and innovative solutions by designing your socialization space to be flexible in its design as part of a happy workplace.
6. Offer a range of working spaces
Because of the widespread use of mobile technology, employees are no longer required to work exclusively from their workstations. In fact, some of their best work may be completed in locations other than the office.
Change of scenery — or even a simple shift from sitting to standing — is widely recognized as an excellent strategy to keep employees’ creative juices flowing and their energy levels up in a happy workplace. It is possible to incorporate this increased level of mobility into your office plan by offering employees a variety of workstations and seating arrangements.
Adjustable-height desks, collaborative tables, stools, and a range of other seating options can all be incorporated into your office environment to provide your employees with the flexibility they desire and deserve.
7. Have a group wind-down session at the end of the week
Take the opportunity at the end of a long working week to gather your staff around a couple of drinks or a pizza and talk about the work week that has passed. It’s a small thing to do but a big factor in a happy workplace. Problems you have faced, solutions you have devised, or new processes or technology that has made things easier to manage are all welcome topics of discussion.
This is a great way to bond as a team while collectively bringing the working week to a close, solving issues, and getting inspired for a new week ahead.
8. Create spaces for collaborative working
Collaboration is critical to the success of any organization, which is why it is essential to dedicate an area inside your happy workplace environment exclusively for this purpose. The collaboration space can serve as an effective barrier between the quiet areas and the rest of your office if you just utilize it on occasion or for team meetings.
If this is not possible, locate the collaboration section in a different part of the office space so that activity there does not interfere with work in the quiet zone. Design a spacious area with a huge table and plenty of seating so that you can use it to gather everyone together.
9. Have training spaces
Training is a critical element of the happy workplace. Employees who have received proper training are happier and more productive because they have confidence in their ability to complete the task correctly the first time.
However, whether you are presenting new procedures to your employees or making them more familiar with new software, you will require a separate training facility.
It is possible to use the collaboration area or conference room for training purposes, but what happens when the conference room is in use and you need to instruct one of your teams on how to use a new software application? Clearly, it is beneficial to have a separate room dedicated solely to training purposes.
10. Add a pop of color
An important aspect of any happy workplace is the use of color. When it communicates a feeling of environment, it has the potential to influence your staff in a number of different ways.
Employees who work in a space that is dominated by bland grays and beiges may find themselves feeling uninspired and lethargic for no obvious reason. Employees can become fatigued if dark hues pervade the working environment.
That is not to mean that you should avoid using neutral or dark colors altogether. However, drab and bland colors offer little to inspire creativity or concentration. As a result, vibrant colors are frequently used in modern office environments to make the workstations more inviting.
In order to keep your staff enthusiastic and engaged, sprinkle spots of vivid color throughout the workplace. Research shows that a variety of bright colors can give your team a boost while also increasing productivity, creativity, and overall happiness.
12. Light up the space
Everyone works better with natural light. Unfortunately, not every office is equipped with enough windows to allow everyone to work without the use of a lamp. It is possible that you will need to turn on the fluorescent lights at night or on overcast days/
You can, on the other hand, install those lights in such a way that you can manage how many of them are turned on at any given time. Perhaps you simply require one or two throughout the entire office, or perhaps one in the quiet work area and one in the collaboration area is plenty.
Another option is to use modern technologies that allow your office lighting to be more similar to the natural light that is available outdoors. That natural light fluctuates throughout the day, as can be seen below.
Adaptive lighting is lighting that adjusts automatically based on the time of day. It emanates cooler tones in the morning, and warmer tones in the afternoon, depending on the time of day. This might assist your staff in maintaining their energy levels and concentration even when the weather is gloomy.
13. Bring the outside in
Nature-inspired design components such as exposed concrete and brick, hardwood floors, exposed wood beams, and painted steel are simple natural design elements that bring the outside in while also boosting morale and inspiring your staff to greater heights of achievement.
Another simple technique to incorporate natural elements into your workstation is to place a large number of plants — both large and little — throughout the office space.
