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How to Keep Employees Happy and Motivated in the Office

By California Business Journal Editorial Staff

Who knew smiles could turn a profit? Research shows that happy employees are at least 13% more productive than their unhappy counterparts. If you want to boost your company’s productivity, investing in employee happiness is where it’s at!

Oftentimes, when employees aren’t happy, it’s because they don’t know how much they matter to the company. Perhaps they’re unclear as to how their job role fits into the bigger picture, or they just aren’t feeling enough love from the higher-ups.

If you’re looking to learn how to keep employees happy, we’ve got your back! Go ahead and take a look at our 4 tips to promote happiness in the workplace.

1. How to Keep Employees Happy

If you want to know how to keep employees happy, you first have to understand what a happy employee looks like. Here are some telltale signs of happy workers:

Employees show up early to work
Employees socialize with each other
Employees are looking to advance within your company
Your company attracts new talent
You have a great employee retention rate

When employees are happy, it’ll show! If you’re not seeing the level of happiness you want from your employees, it could be because they don’t feel heard.

2. Listen To Feedback

Happy employees are people who know that their thoughts and ideas matter. To show your employees you care, set up a system to receive feedback from them. Here are a few ways to set up feedback systems:

Create a suggestion box
Hold weekly team meetings
Have 1 on 1 with employees

Your workers will appreciate having the opportunity to express what is and what isn’t working for them at your company. You’ll also get a chance to hear new ideas to improve productivity that you may have not considered otherwise. Allowing employees to give you feedback is an important step. However, you’ll need to take things further by giving them feedback on their job performance.

3. Let Employees Know Where They Stand

Oftentimes, employers will overlook the golden opportunity to give employees guidance. Employees need to know where they stand with the company and within their specific job role.

A great example would be sales-related job roles. If an employee has been failing to meet their quota, have a meeting to speak with them about it. Perhaps, there’s an area of improvement you’ll be able to help highlight for your salesperson.

After receiving feedback from you, your employees will know what areas they need to improve in, and what areas they’re already doing great at. While it may not be fun to hear about things that aren’t working, your employees will appreciate your transparency.

When your workers don’t have to worry about their job security, they’re more likely to participate in team events.

4. Create a Team Environment

Does your company foster a healthy working environment? Does it promote a team atmosphere?

Here are a few tips for creating a fun team environment:

Have employee potlucks
Set up a breakroom and buy wholesale coffee
Set up work teams and leaders
Promote friendly competitions
Have company outings

It’s great when everyone knows their job role, and how to succeed in it. However, it’s also important that employees have a basic understanding of the jobs their teammates are performing as well. When it’s clear how you’re company functions as a whole, it’ll help your workforce synchronize.