Happiness at work: a go-to guide for employers

If you’re an employer who believes that all of your workforce is happy, then you should probably reconsider. A survey conducted by the London School of Business and Finance (LSBF) suggests that 47% of Brits are not happy at work and they would like to change their job. Furthermore, it is believed that one in five will attempt to change their job role in the next 12 months. 

When compared with happiness rates amongst younger employees, the current situation appears bleak. In Britain, research suggests that younger generations feel disenfranchised with their working lives, as 66% of 18-34 year olds want a new job. What makes this even worse is that they feel as though they can’t change jobs due to the financial instability that it may lead to.

To make sure that the workplace remains efficient in Britain, it has become important for employers to monitor how and when they are making sure the workplace remains a happy environment for employees. This is because a happy employee is 12% more efficient at work, which results in a beneficial improvement for both the employee’s wellbeing and the business’ productivity.

As a guide to ensuring that positive change takes place in the workplace, Impact International – specialists in change management – has put together this helpful guide:

Do employees have someone to talk to?

When it comes to the productivity of the workplace, communication is key. Employees should never struggle on their own, so managers and employees should both feel comfortable talking to one another about the issues they face. If they do, then problems are solved quickly and work-rate efficiencies can increase as a result.

Further skills with training

Regarding working practices, any employee who asks to receive additional training is entitled to do so. In order to keep employees motivated by learning new skills, it is always recommended that employees offer training when and where they can. Once they have received their training, this can lead to employees feeling like a key asset within the business, as they are more skilled within their job role. As reports by Andries De Grip and Jan Sauermann suggest, this can lead to a 9% increase in staff productivity levels in some instances.

A culture of working together

Revolutionising isolated working spaces, the open-plan office has transformed the way many tech start-ups do day-to-day business. Helping to produce a more cooperative workplace, a communication culture brings workers together as opposed to keeping them apart. This in turn leads to an increased sense of togetherness in the workplace and camaraderie, which helps to boost productivity through increased levels of happiness in the workplace.

Team meetings, staff social events and fundraisers can all help to improve morale within the workplace. Putting aside money for these events is always advised to employers; employees and employers should all be willing to get involved if they’d like to feel like part of a team who are working together, socialising together and generally having fun at the same time.

Productivity and happiness go hand in hand in the workplace. Therefore, it’s important that you get this balance right to get the most out of your business and your employees on a day-to-day basis, which will in-turn lead to greater profits and efficiency savings in the long-term – whilst making people happy!