Creating Happiness for your workers can seem to be a daunting task, but with effort directed to the right places, you’ll soon have happy and engaged employees. How do you know where to start? Let the 10 factors that influence happiness in workers below be your guide!
Happy workers…
1. Are well paid
Obviously, the higher the income, the happier the worker will feel. However this also reaches in to the equality of pay and time. If your people are working long hours on the same salary based on 40 hours each week, happiness plummets. Show you value your workers so they perform better for you.
2. Are able to leave their work at work
Workers need to be able to detach from their jobs to enjoy life outside of work. They also need time away from work to recharge for the following day.
3. Have a variety of work and need to learn new things
Monotony creates boredom. And boredom is one of the enemies of happiness. Add in new roles or give them options to try out different aspects of the company to keep them engaged.
4. Have some control over their work day
Workers need to be able to manage parts of their day to actually work. If they sit in meeting after meeting or get interrupted too much, levels of productivity drop as does worker happiness.
5. Have control over their work pace
Each worker operates at a different speed. They also have different times during the day where they can have high focus time or they hit a productivity wall. Some flexibility with their work pace enables them to feel more productive.*
6. Have safe working conditions
Cutting corners on safety is never a good idea. Take care of your workers so they can take care of you.
7. Receive support from fellow workers
Workers need social support to experience greater happiness at work. Helping with tasks, supportive information, constructive feedback and even emotional support helps increase levels of happiness.
8. Have job security
Not knowing if you will have a job from day to day can add a lot of stress on workers. In times of company turmoil, do your best to support and encourage them.
9. Are members of a union
Workers are happier being part of a community that shares the same line of work. They also like the added benefit of another party going to bat for them when it comes to pay, working conditions and benefits. Perhaps create an internal union to generate the same feeling should an actual union not be an option.
10. Have competent bosses
Let’s face it, working for someone who is not competent at either leading others or the tasks at hand is no fun. Develop managers to be better leaders and coaches and you’ll have happier workers.
*Note: There are some workers who take advantage of managing their work pace ultimately giving “minimum wage effort” where their performance is low. This shows a lack of caring and disengagement. If you identify this, some structure around pace may be necessary.
Source: World Happiness Report 2017
