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Happiness at work. You've been seeing the term everywhere lately. But what is it really? In short, it's the amount of satisfaction and satisfaction you experience while working. That may sound a bit woolly, but in this blog, we explain why happiness at work is so important. And how you can ensure that not only your employees go to work whistling, but your customer also makes your customer happy!
Of course, what makes someone happy will vary from person to person. Some people benefit from a competitive work atmosphere, while the other feels comfortable in an environment where more attention is paid to content than targets. However, more and more employers are coming to the conclusion that it is smart to ensure that their employees are satisfied.
Why is creating happiness at work so important? Of course, we can tell an ideological story about good employment and the moral importance of taking good care of our fellow human beings. These are definitely great motives. But it's mainly the more practical considerations that make so many organisations ponder when they hear the terms “happiness at work”, “job satisfaction” and “employee satisfaction”.
First of all, there is the tense labor market. Especially at this time, you want to prevent your valuable employees from taking refuge elsewhere. With sufficient happiness at work, you are more likely to keep your talent on board.
If they feel completely happy in your organisation, employees won't think about switching to another employer.
Another reason for investing in happiness at work is perhaps even more important for the average employer. When you enjoy your work, you become more productive, you score higher in positive behavior towards colleagues and customers, and you perform better. So that makes the customer happy too! More happiness at work therefore means higher customer satisfaction and also brings in more money.
Enough reasons to get started to take job satisfaction in your organisation to the next level! We would like to give you a few tips that boost happiness at work:
Transparent internal communication is the basis for employee trust and involvement in your organisation. Is an important organisational change in the pipeline, has a new customer been brought in, or do you have a financial setback or setback?
Make sure your employees are informed about this in an honest, clear way. And then invite people to contribute ideas to certain issues, if there is also time and space for that.
When employees feel that they know what is going on and are being heard, they bond with the company that goes far beyond just the paycheck. They really feel involved and become ambassadors almost by themselves. This positive loyalty radiates to (potential) customers. Moreover, this is a good breeding ground for your employer branding. Indeed, the happiness of existing staff at work is an important magnet for new applicants.
A tried and tested recipe for higher output? Don't do anything regularly. It may sound contradictory, but taking regular breaks really does wonders for productivity. By switching the focus to something else (or nothing at all), your brain gets space to wander.
That's when you come up with solutions and ideas that you ran by at the juncture of the day.
During such a break, the body also goes into relaxation mode for a while, causing heart rate and blood pressure to drop.
After such a refueling moment, you have new energy to get on with your work in a focused way. Don't see it as lost production time, but as a smart investment.
Stopping for a moment instead of running around prevents absenteeism and ensures better productivity qualitatively and quantitatively. So that always pays for itself.
So drag that colleague who always takes a lunch break behind the screen outside. Provide a cozy coffee corner where people can catch up, or put a nice garden set outside to have lunch.
By default, install a meditation app in all work phones. And, another important one in this time of the internet and mobile phones: agree that it is quite normal to occasionally go offline and be unreachable. Does a colleague have a day off? Then agree with each other that it not-done is to harass him or her.
If the job is not sufficiently challenged, an employee runs the risk of perishing from a bore-out. The doubt to what extent the work that is being done is actually meaningful can also put a damper on job satisfaction. You can then almost wait for the employee to drop out or look for another employer where the challenges lie ahead.
Don't wait for that moment, but take action. Give employees the space to develop and grow. For example, provide a varied range of tasks or offer interesting training. In doing so, look beyond purely functional issues. If an employee gets energy from gardening or learning a new language, that can also provide extra motivation.
Has an employee completed a project successfully? Did a colleague's brilliant idea lead to an improvement in the workplace? Or did the firm action of the emergency response officers prevent an accident? Don't put it down to “that's just what you get paid for”. Give a heartfelt pat on the back.
By giving a compliment, you show the employee that he or she is seen and appreciated.
By the way, such a token of appreciation does not always have to be paid out in euros. A bouquet of flowers or a card with a personal message are also pure happiness charms.
Also, don't forget to thank the employee who, for whatever reason, leaves the organisation for their commitment to the organisation. Nothing is more sour than closing the door behind you unseen when your last day of work is over. Super annoying for the former colleague, and it's also detrimental to your employer branding.
When you do work that really suits you, a day flies by. Then you go home feeling good, tired but satisfied. However, a large part of the workforce more or less accidentally rolled into orbit and then stopped moving, and many people ask themselves the infamous question “how much longer?” Job satisfaction is then hard to find and each working day seems to last a week.
Give your employees the job that matches their personality, competencies and needs. Of course, they also have a responsibility for this themselves, but as an employer, you can also contribute to this in various ways.
First, there is personal attention. Have a regular career interview with each employee.
Is he or she still in the right place, or does it seem like time to move on to another department or employer? Do not be afraid that the employee will immediately opt for the exit. Often, by shifting tasks and responsibilities, or offering training, you can create a new picture that someone does feel comfortable with.
Many employees find it complicated to find out exactly what suits their personal talents and opportunities. This is not surprising: the labor market has countless variations and it is difficult to make the right choices. Advise the employee to take a personality, competence and/or motive test.
These can provide good starting points for a further career conversation. There are various tests online, which can often be taken free of charge.
The use of a career coach can lead to surprising insights in just a few sessions. The employee is professionally taken by the coach to uncover their own talents and development points and then explore the labor market.
If the employee concludes that it is still time for another employer or even a career change, the career coach can help prepare for the application. That may seem unfortunate in this time of staff shortages, but keep in mind that an employee who is not feeling well is likely to drop out or perform poorly.
There are countless online solutions that can help increase job satisfaction. For example, share news via the intranet and invite people to share their ideas online. Fill your knowledge platform not only with a wide range of courses, but also with vitality tips, a food diary and (office) fitness and meditation exercises.
Offer online personality and competency tests and the opportunity to make an appointment with a vitality or career coach. Need more ideas? Contact us, we are happy to think along with you!
As an educational expert specialising in online learning, I have been writing blogs for Pluvo for 5 years. My focus is on powerful learning solutions for organisations. Universal Design for Learning and inclusive learning are my passion; I believe that education should be accessible and fun for everyone.
I've been combining my 35 years of HR experience with copywriting for over 15 years. And even then, I learn new things over and over again. That's what makes writing blogs for Pluvo so incredibly interesting!
