10 Ideas to Keep a Happy and Healthy Workforce

Will Bridges looks at the 10 key factors you need to consider to maintain a happy and healthy workforce.

Having happy staff is undoubtedly important. A company that is able to keep its workforce happy can observe the significant benefits of increased productivity, creativity and reduced staff turnover.

1. Free gym membership can help improve everyone’s mood

Investing in a wellness programme can benefit your business in a multitude of ways. Healthy employees are more likely to work harder and add positive value to the workplace. The endorphins released during exercise will improve the mood of your employees and increase company morale.

In fact, more and more companies are beginning to recognise the importance of offering means to exercise throughout the working day. Some have provided local gym memberships at a discount, some offer free or reduced-cost exercise classes, and others have gone as far as to install treadmill desks in the office so their employees can work and exercise simultaneously.

Editor – If you can’t afford gym membership, why not try introducing some of these exercises into your agents’ daily routine?

• 5 Exercises for Contact Centre Agents
• 5 More Exercises for Contact Centre Agents

2. Playing music or giving out free fruit can promote positivity

Little things, such as allowing music to be played in the office or providing employees with free fruit every day, can improve the morale of employees significantly.

3. Try to offer some balance between work and personal lives

Companies that are able to offer their employees a balance between their work and personal lives have the opportunity to ensure their workers are happy in both aspects of their lives.

Understandably, this level of flexibility is not always something a business can offer and that makes it a greatly desired benefit. Providing an opportunity for this balance will keep your workers happy and should, in turn, boost their productivity.

4. Regular team meetings can make employees feel valued

Providing employees with consistent feedback is vital in developing their understanding of where they are succeeding and where they need to apply more effort.

An open communication channel between employer and employee will allow for a more productive working environment. If employees don’t feel heard, they may begin to question their worth within the company and search for prospects elsewhere.

Implementing monthly team meetings where all staff can share their ideas and concerns means that employees are more likely to feel valued and happy to continue working hard for their employer.

5. Nurture a feeling of solidarity amongst your employees

It is important to ensure your employees are able to work efficiently as part of a team. By encouraging interaction between workers, whether it be through team meetings or a weekly video conference, gaining an insight into what it is the rest of the company are up to should enhance the feeling of solidarity and working toward the same overall goal.

Another effective method of achieving this unity is implementing monthly or annual team-building activities. Creating a workplace culture where employees communicate and respect each other will boost morale significantly and make for a happier workforce.

6. Be honest and straight with your employees to build trust

Trust within the workplace is absolutely vital to employee satisfaction. A lack of trust can leave employees feeling insecure and affect motivation levels. This can damage both the company’s success and employee morale.

The important thing here is to always attempt to remain honest and straight with your employees as far as you can. This will create the trust needed to keep them happy and to stay loyal to the company.

7. Create opportunities for growth and career development

In order to keep employees engaged and motivated, it’s key to provide them with opportunities to progress within their job. Career development is one of the most important factors to influence employee satisfaction.

This can come in the form of funding advanced education and training courses or through providing the knowledge that there is potential for promotion within their job position. These opportunities help signify the importance the company places on the employee as part of their team and can boost morale significantly.

8. Stop micromanaging your employees

Micromanaging restricts the ability for people to develop their skills and achieve to their full potential.

Workers tend to respond best to being given independence in the jobs they are asked to carry out. If you allow employees to work without constant monitoring they will develop greater confidence in their abilities and will be much happier in their jobs.

9. Support a charity as part of a company-wide initiative

A great way to encourage a happy workforce is to get everyone involved in a company-wide initiative that makes a difference.

Having a charity that your business supports – whether that’s financially or through volunteering days, or both – is the perfect way to unite your team through the passion of helping a common cause.

The knowledge that they are part of a business which cares about the greater community is also a factor which will help to boost company morale and make for a more positive work environment.

10. Don’t underestimate the value of small rewards (like a “thank you”)

Even if the company cannot stretch to providing a massive end-of-year bonus, offering employees something to show them they are appreciated for the work they do will improve their loyalty to the organisation and make for a happier workforce.

Don’t underestimate the value of an early finish every once in a while, a dress-down day, or even a simple “thank you” for a job well done.

Taking these small steps to improve the atmosphere of the office can prove to be invaluable in keeping a happy workforce.

With thanks to Will Bridges, an HR Consultant at Unum