Simple ways to boost employee happiness

Employee happiness is one of those things that often gets overlooked by bosses and managers. But that’s not the way it should be because the happiness of your employees will directly impact on their performances and the heights they help your business to hit.

Employee happiness can be increased in various ways and there are many measures that you as an employer can quickly implement in your company. A long-term commitment of good employees cannot only live on good pay alone. Recognition, appreciation and respect are desired by employees, as well as future-proof development opportunities and a balance between professional and private life.

Ways to boost employee happiness

So now we’ve established the importance of keeping your employees happy, we just need to work out how to make employee happiness happen. Read on for some of the best ideas to implement inside your business.

Creating a proper working environment for employee happiness

A pleasant working environment, a properly illuminated and equipped workplace and all the necessary work materials have been proven to increase employee happiness and thus also promote productivity and creativity. The frustration increases quickly when the computer installs updates for hours or office supplies simply cannot be found.

With the help of a proper lighting concept and sufficient daylight, you support the motivation of your employees and promote health. The following applies to the correct lighting of the working environment: Younger employees need lower illuminance (from 500 lux) than older employees or those with weakened vision (750 – 1500 lux).

 Promote work-life balance

Nowadays, employees attach great importance to a good reconciliation of family and work. We no longer only live to work, but want to increase and preserve our quality of life. The previously known, rigid working time models no longer meet the needs of many employees.

Therefore, you as an employer should show flexibility for employee happiness. Consider and discuss the personal situation and needs with your employees in individual conversations and offer flexible working models such as home office, flextime or part-time. Thus, you support the well-being of your employees, reduce the stress level and promote a balanced and satisfied team.

Be communicative and transparent for employee happiness

Open communication between employer and employee testifies to transparency within a company and creates a pleasant working atmosphere.

As a boss, communicate openly all decisions that influence the work of your teams – whether directly or indirectly, directly or only effective in a few weeks. As an employee, you don’t want to be the last thing to know that the complete operating software is changed or that work processes are suddenly being redesigned from scratch.

Involve your employees in such decision-making processes. This conveys a feeling of appreciation, promotes team building and ensures satisfied employees. Provide a permanent contact person who is there for the team in case of problems and mediates. In this way, you can increase employee happiness and at the same time promote the exchange of ideas and creative solutions.

Health initiatives

In our hectic everyday life, we quickly forget to drink enough water and eat healthy. Statistically, we spend eight years of our lives at work. Therefore, it is important as an employer to also attach importance to the health of your employees. And not only to reduce sick days.

Promote the health of your employees, for example, through fresh fruit and free drinks in the kitchen or in the break room. This is how you ensure a healthy vitamin intake. If possible, offer your employees operational and health-promoting measures, such as regular massages, company sports or a subsidy to the gym. This ensures balance and keeps you fit!

Future-proof development opportunities for employee happiness

As an employer, you can actively support the development of your employees and increase employee satisfaction in the long term. Through various possibilities of promotion and further training, you can promote the professional and personal development and productivity of your team.

Use regular feedback discussions to set individual training goals – training, conferences, online seminars, self-study, workshop, and so on. The possibilities are manifold and they offer your employees opportunities and long-term, future-proof perspectives in your company. In this way, you strengthen employee loyalty, trust and increase employee satisfaction.

Regular feedback increases employee happiness

As an employer and supervisor, you have a great influence on employee satisfaction, motivation and performance of each individual.

Give your employees the chance to actively exchange ideas with you in regular feedback discussions, express praise and appreciation, but also criticism, to address professional development and emerging problems. Thus, you can easily increase employee satisfaction, as your team not only gets an appreciative feeling, but also feels heard and understood.

If we feel that our work performance is appreciated and is active in achieving the company’s goals, this increases our productivity and satisfaction in the company.

Think about the future

Today’s professional life is often characterized by hustle and bustle, stress and uncertainties. Especially in larger companies, employees often do not know what they stand by their superiors and how their performance is considered. Uncertainty and the feeling of being overlooked increases the stress level and reduces not only satisfaction in the company, but also productivity.

Permanent employment contracts, a fair salary, the recognition of special benefits and respect for a balanced work-life balance show that you as an employer are interested in a long-term employment relationship and plan for the future together with your employees.

 Joint events for team building

As an employer, you can make the daily work of your employees positive through small attentions in order to improve the working atmosphere – quickly and easily!

Free drinks, fresh fruit and birthday and Christmas attentions testify to appreciation and that the well-being of your employees is important to you. Outstanding achievements or a successful financial year can be rewarded with special events.

Company outings or employee events, for example a beach or hiking trip, a wine tasting, a cooking class, a billiard evening or active in the climbing forest, promote cohesion and positive employee loyalty. In this way, colleagues can get to know each other better off the desk or workplace and build up a stronger sense of belonging. Social interaction is promoted and employee satisfaction is increased in the long term.

If you implement these measures continuously and integrate them into your work processes, you can significantly increase employee happiness and motivate your employees. Through regular employee surveys, you can measure and increase employee satisfaction, derive further measures and see where there is still a lack of content or your employees are already satisfied. Actively promote team building through small events and regular feedback discussions. This is how you ensure long-term employee satisfaction and satisfied and motivated employees!

Listen to and act on their feedback

One thing that is so often forgotten by people who run businesses is the fact that they also have to listen to the people who work for them. You shouldn’t look down on these people because they know your business better than anyone else. They can offer you helpful feedback that’ll both help the business and make their working lives better too. That’s got to be worth your time as well as improving employee happiness.

Reward good work

When you notice that someone on your team is doing good work, you should be sure to recognise that work in the appropriate way. It’s up to you to make sure that good work never goes unnoticed because when it does, it tells your employees that what they do is not really appreciated at all. You should go out of your way to show people they’re valued by the business and this will foster employee happiness.

Allow flexible working options

Sometimes, people need to work in ways that don’t fit inside the regular 9 to 5 structure of working. If your business really wants to do something positive for employee happiness, you’d look at ways to offer people more flexible working options so they can make their jobs fit around the other important aspects of their life. Everyone has responsibilities that work has to accommodate to.

Improve your HR department

If your HR department is currently lacking, then the relationship between your business and its employees is always going to be fractured to some extent. Of course, it can be changed to employee happiness. You just need to make your HR department more effective and helpful when your employees need assistance. You can use a human resource consultant if you’re really out of ideas in this area. It could help breathe new life into your approach to HR.

Make workstations more comfortable and personal

Finally, you should look at the way in which people operate in their individual workstations. When people have a space that they feel is big enough and comfortable enough for them to remain content in throughout the working day, they’ll be happier all round. You should also allow them to make their spaces more personal to them because that’s important to most people for employee happiness.

Conclusion

Every business wants to have a team of employees who are happy working for the company. That employee happiness usually translates into good work and positive outcomes for your business as a whole. You should make the most of all the tips here so that it becomes easier for you to keep everyone on your team happy.