Every business owner knows that keeping customers happy is the key goal. However, the world has changed, and now companies need to prioritize employee happiness to drive business and achieve expected results. Even though taking care of your employees and making sure they are satisfied is just generally the right thing to do, it can also solve many problems, drive effectiveness and attract the best talents. Below you will explore some of the key benefits of why keeping employees happy is beneficial to your business and how to achieve that.
Increased Productivity
Employee happiness is tightly connected with increased productivity. When employees have a work-life balance, time to relax and recharge and feel how their work can affect the overall company’s success, they show much better personal results. Employees who are satisfied with their job, colleagues, and working conditions, will bring more ideas, participate in discussions and take fewer coffee breaks just to get out of the desk.
Conversely, employees that are stressed and overwhelmed with numerous tasks that they don’t like will be easily distracted from their work and feel that they don’t need to participate in any process as they won’t bring any value. So the simple reason that satisfied employees will bring better results is enough to invest in their happiness.
High Engagement
As we mentioned, happiness is linked with engagement. And having engaged employees drives business success and has a great impact on how fast tasks are finished. Engaged teams are highly passionate about their work and want to contribute.
Enhanced Creativity
Creativity is one of the most important things in a highly challenging and turbulent market in 2022. Since every business now wants to attack more and more clients, you need to make sure that teams are creative and can generate exciting ideas. Teams who feel motivated and safe enough to take risks and suggest unusual ideas are always drivers of a company’s success.
Less Sick Days
Happy employees love their jobs, so they take fewer sick days. In contrast, unhappy teams are less committed to their working place and may find distractions to take sick days or days off. This also reduces your overall employee absenteeism rate.
Higher Retention
Since there are so many companies that need qualified specialists, you don’t want your employees to leave your organization. Therefore, you need to keep employees happy, which will increase your retention rates. Since the market is vast and companies are hunting specialists, unsatisfied personnel are looking to leave their current roles. In addition, hiring, recruiting and training new team members are costly processes; you better keep specialists in your organizations, reducing costs and time.
5 Ways to Keep Employees Happy
Now you know why keeping your employees happy can benefit your business. Let’s explore the most effective ways to achieve that below:
Create an Inclusive Workplace
Creating an inclusive workplace can help you collect the best minds from all over the world. A diverse and inclusive workplace can be achieved by hiring employees who represent your company’s values and mindset. It is also recommended to train your teams and heads of departments to follow and represent those values.
A working place where teams understand, celebrate and value employee diversity and uniqueness has been shown as best for fostering employee satisfaction. People want to work in happy conditions where others are also happy. One motivated and engaged team member can deliver a multiplying effect on other employees.
Offer Flexible Working Hours
Since remote work is gaining popularity, you need to consider offering flexible working hours. However, a flexible schedule doesn’t mean employees can work whenever they want. Most companies offer flexible hours when employees can start their day, for example, between 8 am and 11 am.
Flexible working hours allow employees to achieve better work-life balance, have quality sleep, go to the gym before work, and feel much happier since they can start their day without a rush. In fact, choosing their working time also gives employees a feeling of accomplishment.
Comprehensive Salary and Benefit Package
It isn’t a surprise that happy employees get competitive salaries. Again, the market is vast and offers numerous opportunities for employees so that they can leave your company for a better organization and higher salary. Employees’ salary represents how you value them.
In addition, you need to consider providing a benefit package. Benefits can be various, but they should help create happier people in your teams. Simple health insurance is one of the most effective ways to make employees happier, so invest in the health of your teams.
Acknowledge Employees’ Accomplishments
Based on a poll of 2,000 Americans, 63% of participants said feeling unappreciated is the biggest cause of employee dissatisfaction. It is essential to recognize employees in achieving both small and big goals while also showing their impact on the company’s success. Create an employee recognition program since it is best to do it regularly and encourage managers to provide positive feedback.
It is vital to note that every employee has unique criteria for feeling praised. So when hiring new members, you need to ask how they want to be appreciated and praised, so you will cover their needs.
Enough Training and Grow
We all want to see our personal growth in the place we work. Therefore, you should make sure that all employees will have a chance to grow and develop in the future. In addition, training also plays a great role in how happy employees are. That is because skilled specialists always look for the newest software, training programs, mentors and time to get accustomed to it. As employees work in your company for months and years, offer career opportunities so they can see their future in your organization, upskill and advance professionally.
Interesting Related Article: “Why your employees’ mental health should be a priority“
