Creating a happy workplace culture is the key to running a successful team. This might seem like common sense, but it’s surprising how many leaders overlook the fact that happiness and success go hand in hand. With a happy workforce and content employees, productivity is proven to increase in the workplace. The happier employees are at work, the more motivated they are to hit targets, to solve problems and, importantly, to take on new challenges.Here are our top ten tips to create a happy workplace culture.
GIVE PRAISE AND RECOGNISE ACHIEVEMENTS
Nothing is better than earning recognition for all the hard work and hours that have been put into completing a task or making progress on a project. As a leader, it’s important to recognise when achievements have been made – be it when targets are hit, or sales are closed – because employees appreciate the praise you can give them.
RECOGNISE SKILLS & TALENTS
Nobody likes working jobs where their skills and talents are not utilised effectively. As a leader, you need to be identifying your employees’ unique abilities. This is fundamental to a happy workplace, because as a leader you benefit from an individual’s talents, while the individual knows their skills are being made the most of.
VALUE YOUR STAFF
Make sure that as a leader, you understand the value of your staff. If a member of your team feels undervalued, then you instantly provoke contention in the workplace.
GIVE YOUR TEAM PURPOSE
Give your team purpose in the workplace, and the workplace will be happier for it. People don’t like to feel insignificant, so simply allowing your team to know the bigger goals and overall picture will create positivity.
CHALLENGE YOUR TEAM
Equally, it’s good to challenge your team to improve motivation. This can promote a happier workplace in the long run, as teams work towards ever-greater targets and earn themselves a sense of achievement when obstacles are overcome.
AVOID NEGATIVITY
One of the biggest keys to creating a happy workplace culture is avoiding negativity. This doesn’t mean that criticism isn’t always warranted, but unnecessary criticism and negativity should always be avoided.
BE FLEXIBLE
Rigidity is an easy way to lose motivation. In the workplace, it’s important to offer flexibility to your team, be it in working schedules or daily tasks.
COMMUNICATE
In the workplace, there is little else that’s more important than communication. Keeping your team informed keeps away negativity, as no one likes being left in the dark.
ENCOURAGE & OFFER WELLNESS
In the workplace, creating a happy culture can be aided by encouraging and offering wellness opportunities to your team. This can be done by providing team building events or allowing for sporting activities, amongst many other options.
DON'T OVERWORK EMPLOYEES
In our fast-paced world, work-life balance is more important than ever before. For starters, you can reduce stress and increase happiness by not overworking your employees. Give them enough time off or flexible working hours and recognise when they might be pushing too hard.
