Keeping The Workforce Happy

For many business owners, keeping the workforce happy can be one of the toughest challenges. With daily stresses and obstacles to overcome, work can be hard and tiring for employees. However, by creating a happy workplace, companies can reap many benefits to improve business.

The best companies know that the key to success is to foster and encourage a happy, fun and inspiring workplace. There are many ways to do this, from team bonding to prioritising a work-life balance. We will cover the best methods later on.

But how do you keep the workforce happy? What is a healthy workplace? Why is workplace wellness important?

This is a question many business owners are asking, so we decided to create this guide to help companies to build a good workplace atmosphere. So, let’s get started and begin to improve your workplace.

What Is A Healthy Workplace?

Firstly, we should clarify what a healthy workplace is. A healthy workplace is a place where workers and managers can collaborate in an effective way to sustain the productivity of the business, all by continually improving the health, safety and wellbeing of all workers.

We spend the majority of our lives at work, so ensuring that we have a healthy working environment is crucial to our health and wellbeing. Harmful working conditions can lead to stress, illness and injuries, however, when placing priority on health and wellbeing programs, you can reduce the risk of these impacts.

What Factors Should I Consider For A Healthy Workplace?

To enhance your workplace, you will need to consider certain factors to make better choices that lead to improved staff happiness. This can be the type of impact that affects the work environment and the type of work that can have on the health of workers. These factors are:

Individual Factors	These factors are aimed at focusing on individual needs to lead to healthier employees. This can be providing knowledge and skill workshops to build healthier lifestyles, as well as improving access to health services and information.
Environmental Factors	These factors are aimed at the physical workspace. Some examples include having healthy snacks available, shower facilities and bike racks to encourage healthy choices.
Organisational Factors	These factors are aimed at committing to managing business practices that support healthy attitudes. Overworking is a consistent issue across the world, an example to prevent this would be flexible working schedules.

What Does Workplace Wellness Look Like?

To summarise workplace wellness is tough, with so many different types of business and terms that can mean different things. However, to cover most businesses, it refers to an environment that is conducive to the health and well-being of all employees and others within it.

There will be programs in place that put the staff’s health first. Some of these workplace wellness programs include strategies to encourage healthy eating, physical movement and stress reduction techniques.

What Does An Unhealthy Workplace Environment Look Like?

Unfortunately, a lot of people have been involved in an unhealthy or toxic environment at work. The majority of these cases can be fixed. Usually, they will involve unprofessional or dishonest behaviour, negative communication and strained relationships between employees and office leaders.

Some examples include employees consistently gossiping about others, team leaders putting down the work of others and people being treated differently for speaking up on social issues within the office.

What Can I Do If There Is A Negative Workplace Environment?

Firstly, to the best of your ability, you shouldn’t be discouraged by this type of behaviour. Often, actions will be out of your control, such as the thoughts, actions, or opinions of others. However, you can control how you react. Let’s take a look at some ways to deal with negative workplace environments.

Document everything	Whenever there is a poor environment in the workplace, you’ll need proof of your claims, especially if the situation escalates. This could be saving emails, getting witnesses etc. Meanwhile, if you don’t gain evidence, then there will be no argument to present to leadership.
Being proactive	You should try to take steps to improve the situation, especially if you’re in a senior role. Be the change and refuse to take part in the activities that are causing this negative aura. Hold people accountable for their actions and be a positive leader, spreading kindness making it easier for others to replicate.
Confronting the scenario	If no one stands up and confronts the situation, it will never change. Even if you’re not a senior, take those first steps to change things. Talk to leadership or human resources, ensuring you do so in a calm, respectful, and professional manner.

Why Is Workplace Wellness Important?

50 hours is the average time an employee spends per week at work. When taking a broader look at things, each year, that’s roughly one-third of one’s waking life. It’s truly like a second home for the majority of humans. So, you can see already why having a positive atmosphere is important.

Employees should feel comfortable, valued and safe. If they don’t feel these things and work is only stressful and over-demanding, then problems will arise, becoming negative for both employees and the organisation.

Why Is Employee Happiness Good For Business?

Happy employees are valuable assets for your team and your business. Having unhappy staff is a recipe for disaster. Furthermore, productivity will only increase when the team is happy to be there. Let’s look at some other reasons.

Unhappy workers leave.

Those who aren’t happy at work will more than likely look elsewhere for a new job. In unhealthy workplaces, employee retention rates will be lower, placing more stress on your business to direct resources towards interviewing new staff and implementing training.

Boosts creativity.

Creativity is beneficial for the growth of your business. So, when your team is happy, they are more likely to be motivated and creative. Furthermore, a study by the Adobe’s State of Create showed satisfied employees are more innovative.

Sad workers work less.

Unhappy workers will likely get less work done than happy employees. Productivity is key to business, so you’d rather have a happy, motivated and productive team rather than the opposite.

Happiness spreads.

When one person is happy, it will spread throughout the whole workplace. This energy is infectious, so to maximise this positive impact, you want to create a pleasant company culture.

Higher morale makes smarter staff.

When staff are dragged down with the weight of anxiety and fear, worse decisions will be made. On the other hand, when morale is higher, staff are more likely to make educated risks in comparison to stressed-out workers.

How To Keep Employees Happy

Happy employees are more productive, more creative and less likely to quit. By truly valuing them and respecting them, you are more likely to put a smile on your employees’ faces and boost morale. Here are some more tips for keeping employees happy.

Creating pathways for development	Providing pathways for employees to develop and grow is a great way of maintaining happiness. This can be training opportunities and career mentoring and it doesn’t have to be work-related. Furthermore, employees who do not believe there are attractive career opportunities for them within the company may end up leaving.
Vacation time	An easy way to get staff on board is to reward good performance with incremental vacation days. Simply by giving a few extra days of well-deserved time off with family and friends, employees will come back refreshed and ready to go.
Work-life balance	By prioritising a work-life balance, you help to keep the workplace competitive and help employees feel connected to the organisation. They can spend more time doing the things they love outside of work, making them happier.
Being honest and transparent	Feedback is a fundamental part of any business. It allows you to gain an understanding of any concerns employees have, giving you areas to improve. Try an engagement survey, then share the results with all employees.
Reward employees frequently	Rewarding staff frequently is more important than giving bigger rewards less often. Small, frequent positive rewards will make your employees happier for longer. Most staff will respond better to small doses every few days or weeks.
Break rooms	There should be spaces for employees to easily communicate and share ideas and relax. Break rooms are a great place for staff to take some time to destress and wind down. These areas should be an inviting place, so include comfortable furniture, snacks and beverages.
Set an example	Start the day right by walking into the workplace with a big smile on your face. This simple trick can be contagious and spread across the team.  Ensure all your staff are given the same feeling of importance and feel they have the same access to you as the next person.
Positive work environment	This can be done in many different ways, so be creative and think about what works best for your team. It could be a group lunch, changing a title to a member of staff or free lunch on certain days. Think about company business trips and team bonding events, it doesn’t have to break the bank.