Five Tips on How To Create a Happy Workplace
Celebrate #InternationalWeekofHappiness at Work with five key tips for a happier workplace. Learn how positivity impacts productivity, staff retention, and mental health and discover the benefits of working with a workplace well-being consultant.
As we arrive at the International Week of Happiness at Work, it’s time for leaders, senior managers, HR executives, business owners, and entrepreneurs to reflect on how they can nurture a culture of happiness and contentment in the workplace. After all, a positive workplace culture isn’t just a boon for individuals; it’s a strategic advantage for businesses.
The Global State of Happiness at Work
The organisational landscape has witnessed significant transformation in recent years, with many leaders prioritising employee well-being. Yet, according to a crucial study, 90% of the UK workforce report feeling disengaged or unhappy at work. Recent worldwide research also indicates that 60-85% of employees are dissatisfied at work. This is due to several external factors, including the impact of the financial crisis, persistent adverse news reports, climate change, and political tumult. Employees also cite more personal factors including poor communication with managers and excessive workload, with over a third of the employee population also citing a lack of trust in their manager. These occurrences result in increased stress, anxiety, disengagement and resentment at work.
Such sentiments are not just fleeting emotions; they carry profound implications for workplace well-being and overall productivity.
For leaders (and their teams), taking happiness seriously in a professional context is not only generous; it’s pivotal for a healthy organisational culture and sustainable business growth.
The Tangible Benefits of a Happy Workplace
With 1 in 7 people experiencing mental health problems in the workplace, creating a supportive environment for you and your team is crucial. Promoting happiness in the workplace isn’t just about enhancing morale. It’s an investment with tangible returns:
Staff Retention: Happy employees are loyal employees. They are less likely to seek work opportunities elsewhere, reducing turnover costs. Research evidence suggests that happy staff will stay with their employers seven times longer than unhappy employees.
Improved Relationships: Happiness fosters positive interactions. Happy teams are more robust and collaborate more effectively, leading to innovative solutions and better project outcomes. There is a direct correlation between levels of work motivation and connection to others at work.
Enhanced Mental Health: A happy workplace significantly reduces the risk of mental health issues among employees. Positive workplace culture goes hand in hand with mental health, well-being, and increased resilience. It is also reflected in the quality of work that employees produce.
Boosted Financial Bottom Line: While employee satisfaction comes first, there’s no doubt there’s more likely to be a positive impact on profits due to increased productivity. Companies with happier and more engaged staff teams are 22% more profitable!
Tips for Senior Leaders, Business Owners & Entrepreneurs
Given the undeniable advantages, the onus falls on leaders to steer their organisations towards greater happiness and contentment. As a workplace well-being consultant, I often support organisations to consider creating happiness initiatives, based on the following tips:
1 – Promote Open Dialogue: Foster an experientially inclusive environment where employees feel safe sharing their thoughts, feelings, ideas and concerns. Provide team-building opportunities. Create spaces that acknowledge and contain potential discomfort as a natural part of this process, and seek to support empathy and self-awareness.
2 – Prepare to Listen, Learn and Change: Take a humility-oriented tack and foster an altruistic culture where feedback is invited, acknowledged, and implemented. This helps employees to feel valued and creates greater organisational buy-in. Be prepared to offer training to support your managers to be better leaders.
3 – Invest in Mental Health and DEI: Mental health and DEI should be a cornerstone of your organisation’s strategy. Invest in and create systems which maximise inclusion and eradicate exclusive practices in all its forms. Resources that include therapy services, coaching, training, and ongoing discussion and action, can make a significant difference.
4 – Recognise and Reward: Appreciation is a powerful motivator. Regularly acknowledging and rewarding good work can boost morale and happiness. This includes anything from a small word of thanks to investment in career progression, etc. A staggering 82% of employees are happier when acknowledged at work.
5 – Prioritise Work-Life Harmony: Encouraging employees to balance their professional and personal lives. This can reduce stress, anxiety and burnout and promote happiness. For example, flexible work arrangements and wellness weeks can profoundly impact employee satisfaction.
The increasing demand for workplace well-being consultants is a testament to the growing awareness of the importance of employee happiness. My consultancy service offers solid expertise to assist you in creating greater social impact and developing tailored strategies to ensure that satisfaction is integrated into the very fabric of your organisation.
Embracing a Future of Happiness
As we celebrate the #InternationalWeekofHappinessatWork, let’s maintain joy beyond this week, remembering how vital happiness and mental well-being are in our daily work lives. The answers may seem obvious, but it is easy to fail to notice levels of employee satisfaction and happiness whilst pressing on with the day to day.
If you’re noticing a slump in staff contentment (or not), collaborating with a workplace well-being consultant can offer invaluable insights for those aiming to make a positive change. With a proven background in psychiatric, non-profit and commercial sector mental health and wellbeing services, I am passionate about supporting organisations to co-create and actively maintain human-centred employee satisfaction solutions.
Contact Us!
Please email me, Belinda, at belinda@eudaimonic.co.uk to find out how my consultancy could help you, Or visit www.eudaimonic.co.uk or call me on 07714 028837 to find out what we can do for you and your workplace.