What makes you truly happy at work? If the answer is the mid-morning roll ’n’ square, it’s time for some serious reassessment of where your career is heading.
Staff happiness has a huge impact on productivity, motivation levels and engagement but keeping employees sweet isn’t always high up the priority list for bosses.
The 2016 Global Workforce Happiness Index bears this out with the UK ranking a miserable 30th place with contented workers in Nordic countries grinning from the top of the pile.
It must be all that candle-scented hygge.
The former boss of John Lewis, Andy Street, gets it. Just last month he told business leaders the key to business success is staff happiness. Having spent 31 years at the partnership, he lived and breathed the ethos of everyone pulling together for mutual benefit.
But how do employers and HR Managers keep their biggest asset onside? Here are some tips:
- Offer fringe benefits
Nap pods may be the latest fad in some trendy outfits but staff place more importance on perks like flexible working, staff discounts and extra holidays than sloping off for forty winks. Free car parking and an office gym are great ways to reduce stress levels and put smiles on faces.
- A good working environment
If your office looks like Fungus the Bogeyman’s holiday home, employees will treat it that way. Loads of clutter, wonky desks and broken air con do not scream ‘staff are our number one priority’. Neat and tidy does it – and a designated ‘quiet space’ means staff can take a mental break.
- Respect, reward, recognition
People leave jobs when they don’t feel listened to so The Three Rs are vital. It costs nothing to praise employees who’ve done well. Taking time to recognise achievements is a huge morale booster but shouldn’t be limited to Employee of the Month. The clue’s in the title – only one person is getting the praise.
- Create a career path
There’s nothing worse than feeling stuck in a role where there’s no end goal in sight. Establishing a clear career plan for employees helps them see what they’re working towards.
- Balance work and life
Get this right and your employees are going to love you. Staff who get the opportunity to work from home, have a late start or early finish, or can take the kids to the dentist without getting the third degree are the happiest. And an employer who gives a little gets an awful lot back.
See s1jobs for the happiest roles in HR, Training and Recruitment.