The post-pandemic world is where the work environment is transforming due to an introduction of flexibility. Today, employees in a company are not only looking at the salary for satisfaction but also for happiness. New-age employees are looking for mental wellbeing, work-life balance, flexibility for more job satisfaction. Gone are the days when employees took unmatched pressure only for money.
Today, we recognize that the workplace environment plays a huge role in employees satisfaction and happiness. HR management in companies is not just hiring the right talent. It is also creating a healthy environment for the employees. Today, people spend the most time at the workplace. Thus, employee management and happiness matter a lot.
HR management teams also recognize that employees who happily work for the company are more productive than others. Employee happiness boosts productivity within the team and creates stability. HR managers today look for windows to engage the employees in different activities that safeguard their wellbeing and happiness. Now, mental health and happiness are very important for employees. Many employees even give it more importance than the pay scale. HR managers recognize the long-term profit of a company in creating a workplace where employees are happy.
In this article, we discuss the different ways to keep employees happy. While the management may think that it takes a lot to make employees happy and motivated, it is actually very simple. Before we go into it, remember that it is not possible to make everyone happy. Thus, it is normal to get some complaints from the employees. If the team can address the complaints of employees in a fast manner, it will be able to bring forth employee satisfaction.
Here are some ways to ensure employee happiness in a simple manner to keep your employees happy and motivated
Interact with the team
The team may feel unhappy and de-motivated if there are no good communication channels established between the HR team, higher management, and the employees. It is as important to communicate as interact with the team. This ensures that the employees feel comfortable at their workplace and remain motivated. Without interaction, the employees will feel like doing mechanical work without any purpose. It is important to plan group activities or discussions to involve the entire team. The more interactions they have within the team and outside, the better coordination they have. By providing interaction, you facilitate them to speak up when necessary. That way, you establish channels for better employee communication.
Show gratitude and give rewards
Another way of boosting employee satisfaction and happiness is to express gratitude. Whether it is gratitude within the lower team or from the senior management, the feeling of appreciation keeps the employee spirits high. When the company has a good rewards policy, the employees have enough motivation to work. When it comes to working, a reward for working makes the employees happy. For example, even if you give a hard worker a certificate of appreciation, he will feel happy and work even better for the company. People like to work where they get an appreciation for their efforts.
Payment on time
While the pay scale is not that important now for employees, it will always remain as the bottom line. Where the employees get paid on time, they experience less stress. If the company pays on time, the employees are assured of payment. They also experience a strong work culture that triggers positive thoughts in their mind for the company. Therefore, the management should make it a point to pay on time.
At most, the payment should be within two days’ time frame of the designated date. Where the employees do not get paid on time, they do not trust the company very easily. Thus, there is a chance that they do not give their hundred percent effort at a place like this. To ensure payment on time, the team should take the help of advanced software that helps in calculating the salary. For example, a good PTO tracker reduces administrative glitches in salary payment.
Be compassionate to their needs
As a part of management, you should always recognize your workforce as humans first. It is important to become humane and compassionate towards them. When they are working to fulfill the requirements of the company, it is also important as an employer to pay attention to their needs. For example, if an employee is facing high pressure for quite some time, the management should give him a day off.
Similarly, if a person asks for a day off for something highly personal and meaningful to him, the leave should be granted. The management needs to stay firm with the employees. However, a firm approach does not mean that there is no room for empathy and humanity. Take a more people-based approach to your work structure.
Plan a good social retreat
It is important to get the tasks done. However, it is also equally important to take time off work. Something better than just giving out leaves is to plan recreational activities as a team. You can take the team out for a team lunch or dinner. You could also plan an office party on a special occasion or festival.
This helps the employees in networking and also keeps them happy. You can look at a good vacation tracker and figure out when the team as a whole can go for a trip. Such breaks build the team and improve employee satisfaction. It gives them the feeling that they are not machines but humans doing meaningful work.
There are numerous ways to keep your employees engaged and happy at the workplace. The thing that you have to take into consideration is that people have a life outside the office, and they need balance. The workplace does not have to be a place of stress. As long as employees experience happiness and excitement while working, they remain productive.