Happy employees are productive, satisfied in their tasks, engaged, and produce better work. High employee morale is associated with reduced anxiety and stress, better decision-making, improved customer service, higher retention, and reduced sick leave. An enjoyable work environment is beneficial for employers and employees. It’s worth noting that employee happiness is not just about monetary compensation. So, how can you keep your employees happy?
How to Keep Employees Happy
- Provide time off: Giving workers time off allows them to recharge, pursue other interests, and create a healthy work-life balance. Provide generous vacation time and paid time off. Consider offering one Friday per month off, a half day once a month, or an extra day after a long weekend.
- Offer flexible scheduling: Flexible scheduling allows workers to manage their personal lives, reduces anxiety, increases retention, and boosts productivity. Consider allowing employees to choose where they work from, create a schedule that works for them, and arrange their work day advantageously. Offer part-time, fully remote, and work-from-anywhere arrangements. Opt for compressed work weeks.
- Encourage availability updates: Advance notification of availability eases scheduling and allows for a flexible work calendar. It gives employers time to arrange coverage for open shifts.
- Promote a positive company culture: A positive company culture increases productivity, boosts morale, and enhances the quality of service. Group activities, public acknowledgment of accomplishments, fostering collaboration, open communication, opportunities for professional development, and clearly defined company values help build a positive company culture.
- Offer employee discounts on your company’s products and services.
- Create professional growth opportunities: In-house training opportunities and professional development assist employees in achieving their goals, increasing productivity and retention. Try a mentoring program. Offer classes. Invest in training at regional business institutes or local colleges. Undertake career planning discussions with employees, helping them find a path forward in your company.
- Promote volunteer activities: Create a sense of community by organizing opportunities for employees to volunteer for local organizations (food banks, local fundraisers, city clean-up initiatives, etc.). Schedule these events on company time. Participation increases visibility for your company and boosts your reputation.
- Consider assisting with transportation costs: Provide a stipend for transportation costs or offer bus/train passes, easing worker’s financial and emotional burden.
- Provide childcare: Alleviate worker’s stress and increase retention by offering free or subsidized childcare (at work or nearby).
- Opt for assistance with student loans by offering a monthly payment of $50 to $100.
- Allow casual attire one day per month, enabling workers to relax and express themselves while promoting diversity, and increasing happiness.
- Improve the physical environment by investing in air purifiers/humidifiers, offering free Wi-Fi, introducing live plants, incorporating calming colours (green, blue), and choosing ergonomic furniture.
- Foster teamwork: This reduces stress, promotes creativity, boosts productivity, improves communication, and increases employee happiness.
- Cultivate transparency and honesty, showing respect to workers by keeping them in the loop and creating an atmosphere of safety.
- Express gratitude by acknowledging milestones, providing positive feedback, writing thank-you notes/emails, implementing a rewards system, etc.
- Prioritize work-life balance by leading by example, encouraging breaks, offering health plans, keeping in touch with workers, and utilizing tools/technology to streamline efficiency.
Provide your employees with psychological, physical, organizational, and social resources. You’ll assist in improving happiness, performance, and retention. You won’t regret it!
How Equation Staffing Solutions Can Help
Need help finding the right employee for your organization? Want advice on creating a work environment that fosters happy workers? Contact Equation Staffing Solutions. We are an innovative, collaborative, reliable agency supporting staffing needs and providing software training/testing and payroll/ASO/PEO requirements.