The Complete Guide That Makes Improving Employee Happiness Simple
As a small business owner, there’s one thing you need to prioritize over anything else. That thing is employee happiness. If your workers hate coming into the office every day, they’re not going to put out their best work.
Besides that, your employees are your bread and butter. They’re what makes your company function. You should want to take care of them.
There are a lot of ways that you can go about it. Providing them with a good work/life balance is always a plus. Something as small as a thank you can carry a lot of weight as long as there’s sincerity in it.
These are only a few things that you can do that will mean the world to your workers. Keep reading for a complete list of ways to diminish your turnover rate.
Benefits of Happy Workers
So, what’s the benefit of prioritizing worker happiness other than the fact that they’ll be more productive? It will give you a company culture boost. Your employees will be a lot more healthy, which means they won’t call out as often.
Better Company Culture
Your company culture is more important than you may think. It keeps your office morale up, which puts your turnover rate down. Your employees will come into work with a smile on their faces.
Happy employees will leave you great reviews on Glassdoor and Indeed. Their comments might bring in more workers. Contrary to this, unhappy employees will leave awful reviews, which will send people away.
Bad reviews won’t only detour good applicants. Customers don’t want to interact with companies that have a reputation of being awful to their workers.
Worker’s Health
You’d be surprised at all the health conditions that crop up due to stress. A little bit of anxiety is okay for you. It can motivate you to get things done.
When you feel too overwhelmed, however, it can cause you to experience actual physical symptoms. It can get bad enough that calling out of work is necessary.
It’s hard to keep your company going like a well-oiled machine when you’re missing part of your staff. So, by keeping your employees happy, you’ll reduce sick days across the board.
Employee Performance
When workers hate their job, they’re not going to give their all at what they do. They don’t even want to clock in, let alone put in any effort.
You need your employees to be at their most productive if you’re going to speed ahead of your competition. Your workers can’t perform at their peak when they’re tired and disgruntled.
How to Make Your Workers Happier?
Now begs the question. How do you make your workers happier so you can reduce your employee turnover rate? There’s a whole list of things you can do, but it all boils down to making them feel appreciated.
By celebrating milestones and listening to their advice, they’ll feel like they’re making an impact. You should also encourage social interaction and make wellness a priority.
Delegate Tasks
There are not a lot of jobs that come without a little bit of stress. Employees have tight deadlines that they have to meet. There’s a certain level of responsibility involved.
If you put too much pressure on your employees on top of everything else they have to deal with, don’t be surprised if you have people turning in their two weeks notice.
How do you know that you’re putting too much on your worker’s plates? They’ll tell you. They might not come to you outright, but they’ll drop little hints.
You may overhear them saying how tired they are. You’ll be able to see that they’re exhausted via their body language. Listen to these little comments.
Make changes around the workplace to take some of the stress off your staff. This may include hiring on a few more hands or picking up some extra tasks yourself.
Listen to Your Workers
Your employees may have a lot of great ideas of how you can change things around your company for the better. We know that your company is your baby, but it never hurts to listen to a few pointers.
Open a suggestion box where your employees can submit comments. If you get a lot of the same notes, it might be time for you to make a few changes. Doing so will make your workers feel like they have a voice around the office.
Celebrate Milestones
No milestone is too small to celebrate. It doesn’t matter if an employee has been with you for a year or three. Give them something to show that you appreciate their services.
These little celebrations will make your workers feel more appreciated. When employees feel appreciated, they continue to pump out their best work.
You don’t have to throw a huge party with catering and DJs unless you want to. The small things will show that you care. Give them a slight pay raise or a gift card.
Create a Good Work/Life Balance
Employees don’t want to feel like they’re always at work. If you ask employees to prioritize their job above their own health, you’re not going to keep anyone for too long.
They’ll become tired and burn out fast. There are a couple of things you can do to boost their work/life balance. The main one is to allow your workers to leave on time every day.
If you need to take over their duties so they can leave, do so. It’s all a part of business ownership. Give your workers a few days off in a row during the week.
Some managers allow their employees to choose their own schedules. There’s some merit in doing that. For example, some people work better during the day than they do at night and vice versa.
By allowing your employees to work when they’re at their most productive, you’ll get more out of them. If the type of work you do can be done from home, allow your employees to go remote.
Provide Recognition
Nobody wants to feel like their hard work is going unnoticed. That’s why it’s important to provide recognition to employees who go above and beyond.
Something as simple as a quick “thank you” will do wonders. It will fill the employee with a sense of self-worth. They’ll feel as if the things they do around the company are making a real impact.
Offer Benefits
When applicants are job hunting, they’re looking for a list of benefits in the Indeed description. If you don’t offer any, it will reduce the number of resumes you receive.
If your office building is located near a gym, offer a membership. Consult a group health benefits broker. Provide ergonomic furniture.
Dental and life insurance are a plus too. When workers feel like you’re taking care of them and their families, they’ll be more willing to take care of you.
Encourage Social Interaction
Everyone has a workplace bestie. A person that makes your entire shift more manageable by just existing. When employees like who they work with, it can boost productivity around the office.
It’s not easy for people to collaborate on projects together if they don’t get along. They might still be able to get things done, but it won’t be a pleasant process.
Social interaction becomes even more important amongst remote workers. When you’re doing your job at home, it’s easy to isolate yourself.
Encourage employees to get to know each other over coffee. You can arrange a meeting during happy hour or do team-building exercises over the weekend.
Wellness Is Important
Employees that don’t take care of their health are likely to get burned out with their jobs faster than others. So, if you notice that one of your employees looks a little worse for wear, encourage them to go take a quick walk.
Giving the sick employee a few moments to get away from their desk and get a little fresh air can make a world of difference. You can also host virtual yoga or hand out gym memberships.
Make Employee Happiness Your Priority
As a small business owner, your employees are your bread and butter. If they aren’t feeling productive, your entire company will suffer.
That’s why you have to prioritize employee happiness above everything else. Let them choose their own schedules, encourage them to take care of themselves, and provide them with plenty of recognition for their hard work. It will make a world of difference.
For more tips that will help you take care of your employees and make your company flourish, visit the Business section of our blog.
