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Help Employees Be Happier, at Home and Work

– Contributed content –

Open office

(Marc Mueller, Pexels.com)

29 May 2020. Happy employees are better workers, whether they’re happy at work or happy in their life. When your employees are healthy and happy, they’re in a position to be more productive, and they care more about their work. Some employers might think that it’s not their job to make their employees happy, especially when it comes to their life outside of work. However, aside from the legal obligations that you have to your employees, you should also think about how it benefits you to keep them as happy as possible. By helping your employees to be happy, you can make them more dedicated to their work.

Make team building fun

A lot of employees dread the words “team building.” It’s often delivered in the form of forced fun and group activities when many people would rather just be getting on with their work. However, team building can have its place if it’s done right. Instead of making your employees do things that they don’t want to do, find other ways to help them bond and learn to work better together. One of the ways you can improve team building is by having it take place outside of the office, which opens up the possibilities of what you can do.

Offer help with wellness

Investing in the health of your employees can help them to be more productive at work. You can help your employees with their physical health and mental health so that they’re happier and healthier. Of course, you might wonder how you can help your employees with these personal matters. Some businesses choose to have wellness programs that are designed to provide employees with tools that help them stay healthy. This might include counseling, annual health checks, information about health and wellness workshops. You can tailor your well-being program to fit your business and your employees’ needs.

Assist employees financially

Another way you could help your employees to improve their home life, and therefore help them to work better, is to ease their money worries. Most people spend some of their time worrying about money, and it can often affect their performance at work. If they’re worried about their financial situation when they should be working, it can distract them from their job. Money problems can affect mental health, but helping your employees to address them can make them healthier. You could offer financial counseling and workshops, for example, to help your employees manage their money better.

Stop tech problems getting in their way

There are many things at work that can stop people from getting their jobs done. One of the things that can make your employees frustrated and disgruntled is when technical issues keep getting in their way. Whether it’s a slow computer or software that needs to be updated, constant tech problems can make it harder for your employees to do their work. And anything that gets in their way can make them unhappy while they’re working. Finding outsourced IT services could be the easiest way to solve this issue. You will have a whole IT team available to quickly take care of any problems that arise. They will also prevent issues from occurring by keeping your IT systems running as they should.

Ensure employee recognition

Employees who don’t receive the recognition that they deserve at work can quickly lose their motivation. Why should they work any harder than necessary if they’re not appreciated and rewarded for the effort that they put in? It’s important to make employee recognition a priority, from a simple “thank you” to acknowledging the work someone has contributed to a project and offering perks to employees who perform well. When your employees receive recognition for their work, they have a reason to keep working hard and be proud of what they do. For many, the ultimate recognition is being promoted or given more responsibilities (with the appropriate amount of compensation).

Help with work/life balance

Helping your employees to balance their work life and their home life is another way to improve their happiness. You can do this in a number of ways, including offering flexible working hours to your employees. It can help them if they can choose what time to come into work and what time to leave, as long as they put in their required hours and get their work done. In fact, it could even help to improve the quality of their work. You can also have compassionate policies regarding things like sick days, bereavement leave and other times when your employees might need to take time off work.

Offer more time off

One of the ways you can create a better work/life balance for employees is by offering them more time off. If they are able to take regular breaks to recharge or they have days available that they can use for personal obligations, they can return to work recharged. They will be less distracted at work, and they won’t lose all of their morale and enthusiasm for the job. Your employees need to be able to take time for themselves if you want them to be happy. Try to go beyond the minimum that they expect.

Promote transparency

Transparency within your company can also make your employees happier and more productive while they’re at work. When you offer transparency to your employees, it creates trust among them and trust between you and them. Honesty is essential if you want your employees to trust you, and it can encourage them to engage more with their work. If you expect your employees to be honest and trustworthy, you need to offer the same in return. Sharing information about both your successes and the areas where you require improvement shows your employees that you’re willing to be open about both the good and the bad.

Improve communication

Better communication can help your employees to feel happier at work. It can be very frustrating when people aren’t communicating properly, and it can lead to mistakes and misunderstandings. As well as creating clear communication channels to help your employees work better together, you can encourage them to communicate in common areas too. Whether they are having a casual conversation in the break room or looking for a breakout space to work on a project together, it’s useful to provide places where they can communicate in person and not just through email, phone or collaboration apps.

Offer better benefits

Some employees may move onto other employers because they’re seeking better benefits. Those that stay but are unhappy with their benefits could feel less motivated to work and might feel unhappy about staying in a job that they feel doesn’t reward them properly. If you’re not sure whether you should be offering better benefits to your employees, you can research what your competitors are offering. Ask your employees, too, to find out whether they would like any particular benefits that they don’t already have. Of course, you don’t necessarily have to give them everything that they ask for, but you should be willing to consider their suggestions.

Create a productive work environment

Your working environment can make a significant difference to how happy your employees are and how productive they can be. There are many ways to create a productive work environment, through everything from having plants in your office to ensuring everyone is comfortable while they work. It can help to keep your brand in mind when you are designing your workspace. Include things that reflect the philosophy of your business to help keep your employees motivated. A productive work environment can also be created through the culture and positivity or the environment, as well as the physical conditions.

Help with career progression

People can become unhappy at work if they feel like their career isn’t going anywhere. If they feel that they can’t progress with their current employer, they might end up checking out and possibly looking for a job elsewhere. Creating a career pathway that your employees can follow gives them something to aim for and a clear vision of what they could be doing in the future. It shows them that they have opportunities to advance and that it’s worth committing themselves to one company. If you want to improve employee retention, a career pathway is a good way to do it.

Listen and respond to feedback from employees

Your employees want to know that you are listening to them. Showing that you are capable of not just listening to their feedback but also responding to it will demonstrate that you care about your employees, their opinions and what they want. Ask them for their feedback on various things, from their own jobs to new products or anything else that could benefit from input from your employees. They will feel appreciated and recognized if you show them that you value what they have to say.

Help your employees not be happier not just at work but also in their personal lives, and you can help them to be more productive.

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