No business will thrive without the help of happy, dedicated employees. Happy employees are those who know their employer is meeting their needs. Their contentment plays a substantial role in a business’s productivity levels and determines whether the workplace has a positive environment. 

Though some business owners and management will prefer not to take ownership for creating a positive, productive work culture, it’s not solely up to the workers. The business must help its employees, and ultimately the company itself, succeed. 

Businesses create more employee engagement and improve performance by treating workers as stakeholders in their company’s future. By taking a more active role in your employees’ happiness and development, you increase their engagement and performance, which is beneficial to them and the business.

Why Your Business Needs Happy Employees

If your employees are customer-facing workers, a lack of happiness and positivity in your employees could be detrimental to your business’s profits and reputation. Customers are less likely to patronize or recommend an establishment that employs people who blatantly do not like their jobs. Unhappy employees may be unenthusiastic or curt with clients, creating a negative experience for those who have purchased or are considering purchasing your products or services.

Happy employees, however, work harder and have more productivity than those who are dissatisfied with their work environment, position, or compensation. These workers tend to have fewer absences and don’t experience burnout often. While they may have an occasional bad day, generally happy employees care more about their company and work harder to ensure that they meet individual and group goals.

How to Make Employees Happy

Some employers think that by giving their workers raises, they will increase their happiness and productivity. While this may give them a temporary boost, it isn’t always enough. Making positive changes to their overall work environment using the following methods is a better way to keep them cheerful and engaged.

Make Work-Life Balance a Priority for Everyone

It’s natural to expect all employees to work hard to make the business successful, but overworking can lead to employee burnout. Without a work-life balance, your employees could become too stressed or tired, resulting in higher absences and reduced productivity. It’s best to foster a healthy work-life balance in your team with specific start-stop times or flexible scheduling.

Foster a Culture of Honesty and Transparency

Employees need feedback to improve their performance, but businesses also need to hear about their workers’ concerns about workplace culture, management, benefits, and other processes and procedures. When you take in feedback, be open and honest about your actions to address their concerns and make improvements. When you have transparency about the business’s steps to enhance the workplace and internal processes, employees will know that their superiors listen to their input.

Create a Path for Career Growth

Some employees may reduce their productivity or seek other employment if they do not feel they have a clear path toward a career. Offer developmental training and support like career mentoring to prepare employees for the next step in their professions. Always communicate with them about the company’s various opportunities and offer ways for them to earn a worthwhile promotion.

Encourage a Positive Work Environment

It’s nearly impossible for someone to remain happy in a hostile environment. When you take steps to reduce workplace bullying and encourage open communication and positivity, your workers will have more excitement about being a part of the team. The sense of inclusion usually translates to a willingness to collaborate with colleagues and improved creativity.

Always Show Appreciation

Frequently giving thanks to your workers when they do a good job goes a long way toward their feelings of happiness and appreciation. When workers don’t feel like their superiors care about their accomplishments or don’t hear about their positive influence within the organization, they may become disenchanted, leading to a drop in productivity. Public and private recognition cost the business nothing, but to employees, it means a lot.

How Benefits Create Happy Employees

People want to know that their work is not for nothing. They need a decent salary to live well, which includes enough to pay their bills, take care of their families, and save for their future. The lower the wage, the harder it becomes to care for the most basic needs, which usually leads to stress and worry.

When workers know their employment takes care of their living expenses, they have a higher incentive to continue working for the business, turning them into long-term productive assets instead of liabilities you have to replace. Unfortunately, some small business owners may not have the means to pay high salaries, but you should always pay employees what they are worth. You can supplement employee income with substantial benefits like medical or dental insurance. 

Though provincial health plans are beneficial, they may not cover all expenses. As an insurance broker, our team at Group Enroll partners with most of Canada’s leading insurance providers. With the information you provide on our easy-to-use online quote form, we will quickly help you find substantial group coverage to ensure that you have happy employees. 

We strive to create an affordable, hassle-free experience for every client. For additional questions about our services, contact us by email at [email protected] or by mail at 10 Great Gulf Drive, Unit 5, Vaughan, ON, L4K 5W1.