If you took a survey around your office, asking team members if they felt workplace happiness was important, chances are everyone would say yes. It seems obvious that we want our coworkers and employees to have a happy work environment — but do you actually think about your team’s happiness on a daily basis? And should you? To us, the answer is simple: yes!
We think of the workplace as a courtesy or a perk, it should be a priority when it comes to the culture of your office. To find out why workplace happiness is really important and how you can start making your office a happier place, read more below.
Why Does Workplace Happiness Matter?
- Workplace happiness will increase overall productivity and employee well-being.
Have you ever been unhappy in a job? Then you might be able to understand: It’s hard to be productive when you’re unhappy or don’t enjoy the place you work. Even if you’re doing work you love, if the environment is negative, it’s going to reflect in your final product. People who are happy in their offices work harder to produce better work, faster. A happy workplace is a productive workplace!
- Happy employees are more engaged
When people are unhappy and uninvested in their environment, a natural response is to completely disconnect and disengage. This is not something you want your team to do. Employee engagement is not only reflective of your workplace culture, but it reflects highly on the overall output and success of your company. When employees are happy, they are more engaged, and the workplace culture increases. - Happy employees want to stick around
Does your company have a high turnover rate? If so, it may be time to reassess your workplace happiness. People who feel happy at work want to stick around. They aren’t seeing their job as a steppingstone, and they aren’t looking to move on in a few months or so. Creating a happy and safe place for your team will get them invested in the company mission and encourage them to stay and help build it. - Happiness improves workplace culture and moral
This one is pretty self-explanatory and ties it all together. Happy workers = positive workplace culture = employee productivity and high job satisfaction. This automatically makes your company culture a better place to work and will ultimately make your team more effective.
How Do You Make it Happen?
- Employee engagement and satisfaction surveys
Start by sending out a survey or questionnaire to your team. Find out what they like, what they don’t like and what they want more of. This is your first step to finding out what will actually make your employees happy and excited about coming to work. Without listening first, you are just guessing, using trial and error to move forward, which is never ideal. It’s important to give your people a voice and listen to what they have to say.
- Invest in your team’s needs and mental health
Now that you’ve heard what your people have to say, it’s time to start making some adjustments. Keep in mind that it’s unrealistic to make every single change your team requests, but you can try to meet the needs of the majority. Figure out what makes sense and is feasible for your office. Start small and notice how happy employees starts to increase. - Schedule time for team bonding
Bonded teams are happy teams! Make sure to schedule time outside of the office to spend time getting to know your employees. This is when you really have a chance to build a connection and build relationships through team building activities. When your team is connected and bonded, it will make each member happy and excited to show up at work each day. - Take a lunch break and eat with your team
Taking a break in the middle of your day is a crucial factor when it comes to increasing productivity, quality of life, and improving overall employee happiness. People can’t be expected to hyper-focus for 8 hours a day, without breaking their day up a bit, to regroup and re-energize. A lunch break creates a healthy work environment and a great opportunity to relax, eat some delicious food and bond with your team. Whether you provide meal catering directly to your workspace, pack lunches or you enjoy eating out together at a nearby restaurant, make it a priority to sit down and eat with your team most days!
We all know happiness at work is important, but are you actually making it a priority? If not, we hope these facts and tips help you start improving your culture now. Create an environment where people feel safe, happy, productive and fed. We promise you won’t regret it!
