Fostering Happy Employees
Author Bridgette Hyancinth, states in her book, Leading The Workforce Of The Future that, “employees are only as loyal to the company as they believe the company is loyal to them. Loyalty is a two-way street. You cannot buy it.”
But, how do employees assess company loyalty? Is it compensation? Is it culture? It is not really one thing, but rather a combination of variables? And I’d argue that rather than focusing on loyalty, leaders should prioritize fostering cultures that yield happy, content employees, because happy employees tend to be loyal employees. Here are five ways to boost employee happiness.
Create a coffee shop culture.
Coffee drinkers understand the magic of a good café. A good café hits you at the soul level from the time you step through the door. The coffee is strong, and the atmosphere gives off a community vibe that invites patrons to stay and engage. Coffee shop cultures can have a similar impact on the workplace – they invite employees to lean in, contribute and foster a sense of belonging. Creating a coffee shop culture means fixating on putting people and diversity first. Forbes Magazine, described culture as the cushion that keeps employees “feeling at peace as they face new challenges and tasking demands.” Creating a coffee shop culture means recognizing that employees who feel truly valued will do their best work. What this looks like is providing space for employees to share their perspectives, participate in decision making and invest in growth. Creating a coffee shop culture can lead to happier employees and higher productivity.
Compensation is only one aspect.
When discussing what makes employees happy the first thing that comes to mind is usually compensation. While happy employees do want to feel like they are being paid what they are worth, money is not the only driver. Other benefits that employees often take into consideration when assessing job satisfaction are levels of autonomy, workplace culture, work-life balance, advancement opportunities and health & wellness benefits. As the workforce shifts to become more predominantly made up of Millennials and Gen-Zers the importance of company mission and social responsibility will also become a critical element of overall employee happiness.
Be a people focused leader.
Google spent 10 years studying leaders and identifying the common traits of good bosses. Their studies confirmed high performing employees tend to follow leaders who are people focused. Leaders who are people focused provide a clear vision, set expectations, coach instead of tell, make decisive decisions and create collaborative relationships; inspire trust and lead employees to deliver their best work.
Empathize with your employees.
If COVID-19 has shown us anything, it is that the line between our work and personal lives is continually being blurred and that the need to be able to empathize with the whole humanity of employees has increased. Fast Company cited empathy as the biggest single leadership skill needed today. In that same article, Professor Diane Crampton, from Gonzaga University, shared that “Empathy is a universal team value that promotes high commitment and cooperation in the workplace.” Empathy means to feel with someone. One way in which leaders can demonstrate empathy, is through getting to know an employee – what are they passionate about? What motivates them? What do they like or dislike? It can sometimes feel like a stretch to do this but taking the time to make sure your employees feel seen and heard will translate into them feeling more valued.
Set the challenge and trust your people to do the work.
Employees who have some autonomy and creative space tend to be happier because they feel trusted. Trust is one of the cornerstones to creating a happy work culture. There is a famous quote from Apple co-founder, Steve Jobs, that reads, “It doesn't make sense to hire smart people and tell them what to do; we hire smart people so they can tell us what to do.” As a leader, if you want to create an environment that yields happy employees, then give your employees the space and trust to do the work. A few examples of how this looks in action is instead of doing annual performance reviews make feedback a regular part of your check ins; instead of telling them the solution ask more probing questions to coach them toward finding a solution. Provide the vision, align on the expectations, and then the let your employees get to work.
The bottom line.
Happy employees are more productive employees – studies have shown up to 20% more productive. As leaders we tend to focus on KPIs related to productivity without always focusing on employee contentment when in fact employee contentment can have a direct correlation to output.
Leaders who are passionate about investing in their culture and creating happy employees will realize the benefit in a number of ways. Happy employees are not only more productive, but they also are healthier, more loyal and more invested than their peers who are less content. Nobel Prize winner, Albert Schweitzer once said, “Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.” And this has proven to be true, just take a mental inventory of your team. Look at your high performers, chances are they are high performers who are willing to go the extra mile, because they are happy. Now imagine what their productivity would look like if you actively invested in nurturing their happiness.
Written by:
DANNIELLE M. LOWE
Dannielle is a manager at Excelerate with 10+ years of combined industry and consulting experience, who enjoys partnering with teams to find creative solutions to solve tough problems. When she is not working, she enjoys collecting stamps in her passport.