4 Ways to Keep Your Employees Happy and Productive

It’s just basic common sense that happy employees will be more invested in their work and thus more productive. Employees who are unsatisfied or unfulfilled in their roles will not be motivated to put their best foot forward.

A 2014 report by Conference Board, a nonprofit research group, showed that 52.3 percent of Americans were unhappy at work. Another report in 2014 showed that employee happiness can boost productivity by 10 percent. The two simple questions for small-business owners, supervisors, and managers are:

Are my employees happy? If not, how can I make them happier?

We’ve compiled a list of four ideas and initiatives you can implement at your job to begin making your employees enjoy their time at work more, making them more productive overall.

1.) Flexibility

Work/life balance may be more tenuous than ever before – with many employees having to take work home on weekends, be on-call while at home, and constantly respond to e-mails. Allowing your employees to work from home once or twice a week, schedule hours around family events, and be in charge of their schedule (within reason) may be more valuable than any raise you could give.

2.) Have an Open Door Policy

Your employees should know they have someone to speak to in order to voice their concerns or opinions. If your management style mirrors that of an overlord giving orders from behind a closed curtain, your employees won’t easily warm up to you or your work atmosphere. You may have a lot of work to do, but your employees are the lifeblood of your business – make sure you make yourself available to them.

3.) Allow Individuality

Avoid having a strict dress code if at all possible – uniformity in the workplace is an antiquated notion. People want to be themselves, even when they’re at work. Of course, there are limits to this, but instituting a casual dress code to allow your employees a little more freedom in what they wear is a no-cost solution to making them a little happier. The same goes for workspaces – allowing employees to make their space their own will make them more comfortable at work.

It Doesn’t Cost More to Manage Smarter

One thing you may have noticed about all four of these ways to make your employees happier is that none of them costs a significant amount of money. In fact, most of them are completely free. This is a very important point, as many of the ways to improve the productivity and morale of your workforce follow a similar pattern; they just require a commitment to research-proven best practices to yield often impressive results. At TPG HR Services our team of HR professionals consistently keep their skills and knowledge cutting-edge, so that you can reap the rewards of their expertise.

When you partner with us you’ll get the benefit of that expertise as we share the proven techniques and approaches that can enhance all aspects of your workforce, particularly in the area of employee morale and motivation. And, as you work with us, you will find that “managing smarter” often doesn’t cost any more than following worn-out and less effective approaches. Furthermore, once you experience the enhanced productivity, retention, and even recruitment that results from these methods, you’ll see that partnering with TPG can actually save you a tremendous amount of money over the long term in reduced recruitment costs and enhanced productivity.

Today’s Tight Labor Market Increases the Stakes

The current tight labor market in the US makes keeping your current employees happy much more critical than it has ever been before. As it becomes more difficult (and costly) to find the highly-skilled candidates companies need for their open position, each current employee becomes that much more valuable to your company’s success. Given this reality, why wouldn’t you want to do everything you could to keep your employees happy on the job, particularly when even small things like the four points mentioned here can make a big difference?

By keeping your employees happy in the workplace you can dramatically reduce turnover and hence the need to return to the recruitment treadmill at a time when it has become much harder to find the talent you need. In addition, acquiring a reputation for having a positive and flexible work environment where employees feel comfortable and respected actually makes it much easier to recruit new employees when you need to – even from today’s shrinking labor pool. Today’s tight labor market requires all companies to reassess a variety of policies and approaches in order to keep their workforces staffed with highly-skilled and motivated employees who fuel business success. Ways to keep your employees happy in the workplace should be at the top of the list for every business.

4.) Be Mindful of the Work Atmosphere

The layout of your office may be hampering your employees, making them less productive and less happy. People need enough room to work, adequate supplies, and a comfortable environment. You may want to consider adding green plants into the office to give your employees a small connection to nature and improve air quality. The way their work area looks will influence an employee’s feeling about their job; make sure you’re office atmosphere is promoting happiness and productivity.

TPG HR Services has extensive experience handling the administrative needs of businesses of all sizes from all over the country. Allow us to improve your employee satisfaction, retention, and production through our employee relations and communications services. Contact us today to learn more about our services.

Contact us today at 732-917-6000 to learn more about our many HR services and how we can help your business run better.