How Can You Make Your Employees Happier?
Publié le 3 December 2018
Did you know that as many as 36% of workers would give up something like $ 5,000 on their yearly income just to feel happier at work? How important could this be? What are the benefits of a happy workplace? And the big question is: how do you make it happen?
Jobillico has looked into this and we’ve come up with tips on how to put a smile on your employees’ face.
What does it do?
It’s hardly a secret that a company’s reason for existence is to generate profits. Any employer needs a team capable of selling the company’s products or services effectively. What does that have to do with my employees’ high spirits, you ask? Well, it turns out happiness has got quite an impact on everything you do.
At the top of the list is productivity. More focused workers will more easily shrug off the many distractions of the workplace (we’re looking at you, social media!), will cheerfully give better customer service and will spread fuzzy feelings all around them. Remember: a sunny disposition is highly contagious!
What’s more, a happy employee may take as much as 10 times less sick leave over a year than one who is dissatisfied. Since happiness is intimately tied to both mental and physical health, an upbeat company culture may reap important gains in productivity and efficiency.
If you’ve got the right people, you want them to stay in place for a long time: that too is more likely with content staff. Twice as likely, in fact. When you consider the cost of each single hire for a business, you realize that a workplace that gives people good reasons to stick around and contribute is a very smart investment!
If you set aside the human side of it all (only for a moment, of course), that’s what the business angle is: a very profitable idea. People who are grateful for having a role in your company’s success will do their very best to return the favour.
How do you do it?
This one’s easy: just ask! Every business and every team is different. Expectations and wishes will vary depending on the personality profile of people you’ve hired and your company culture.
The best way to go about this is to ask questions during the yearly evaluation, over lunch, or via a survey. Again, answers will vary but here are some trends we’ve observed for 2018:
Mobilize, mobilize, mobilize
To feel happy at work, employees must feel that their actions make a difference for your company. Listen closely to their ideas; ask for their input or participation in a project. Anything that mobilizes people will foster a sense of belonging.
Show interest
Your people need to know that they’re valued. Ask about their hobbies, personal and professional aspirations, or even just what they did over the last weekend. This lets you create relationships and builds your reputation as a thoughtful employer.
More than a paycheck
There are many more factors at play here than just financial gain. The list of little (or not so little) perks that can spruce up the workplace atmosphere is nearly endless. How about a flexible work week or the option to work from home? Maybe a summer schedule is more appropriate? Or, your crew would thrive on free coffee: can you make that happen? What’s important here is hitting the right target and the way to find out is, again, to ask.
Favour positive relationships
According to some sources, having friends in the workplace can boost employee satisfaction by 50% and those who happen to have a best friend are 7 times more likely to be more committed to their work. Fostering such relationships obviously makes perfect sense.
Your goal is to create closeness in as many ways as possible between members of the different departments in your company. You might, for example, ask yourself if that new hire you’re considering is likely to add to the chemistry between team members or might, on the contrary, disrupt it. Surveyed workers agree: 86% of them rate compatibility with the company as a top ingredient in workplace happiness and professional success. Compatibility hinges on work ethic, social behaviour, conformity with established rules and capacity to adapt to a new team.
At Jobillico, creating happiness is in our DNA. Our management team started to build a company culture with this goal in mind right from the very beginning. For example, we allocate a small budget of $20 per month and per person for teambuilding activities outside of the office. This lets people build relationships in a different setting. We also have a social club whose mission is to make every single person feel special. We celebrate each birthday and each new year of service, with a bottle of champagne for the fifth year. On a smaller scale, our President, Serge Lavallée, pops in to say hello every morning and every evening. There’s no cost attached to this one, but cost isn’t what makes people smile.
How about you, how do you make your employees happier?
