In 2023, many employees’ expectations have changed. Instead of focusing solely on income or status, many people have taken a step back and realized that they want to be happy. They want to be happy at home and they want to be happy at work.
That lack of happiness was the driving force behind the millions of people quitting their jobs throughout 2021 and 2022. Now, companies need to prioritize the happiness of their employees if they want to enjoy the higher productivity, profitability, and employee retention that comes along with it.
In this post, you’ll learn:
- Why employee happiness is so important
- How company culture affects employee happiness
- Strategies to improve employee happiness
- How to measure and sustain happiness at work
Why You Should Care About Employee Happiness
Some business leaders don’t think happiness is the purview of the company. They mistakenly believe that happiness is the employees’ responsibility—and while that’s true, to an extent, employees spend the majority of their days at work. So if they’re not happy at work, chances are their overall happiness is going to suffer, too.
It’s not just employees who benefit from being happy at work, though.
Benefits of Happy Employees
When companies strive to help employees be happy, that happiness translates to improved business results in more ways than one. Here are some of the greatest benefits of employee happiness:
- Happy employees are 13% more productive. When employees are happy, they have a better attitude toward work, coworkers, and the company in general. They’re more likely to give each task their all and to collaborate with those around them.
- Happy employees sell 37% more. Sales teams are the backbone of many businesses, and when those employees are happy, they sell more.
- Happy employees have an 18% lower turnover rate. Happy employees are much less likely to look for a new job because they already enjoy their time at their current job.
- Happy employees have 41% lower absenteeism. When employees are happy at work, they won’t feel the need to skip days—instead, they’ll consistently show up and do their best.
Organizations with happy employees outperform those without happy workers. It’s as simple as that.
5 Proven Strategies to Boost Employee Happiness
Do you want a more productive, more successful, and more loyal workforce? Helping them increase their happiness is the way to do it—and here are five ways to increase workplace happiness for all.
1. Acknowledge Employee Efforts
The number one reason employees are unhappy is that they don’t feel valued for the work they do. So being open and clear about how much you value each employee should be priority number one. Here are some ways you can acknowledge employee efforts more:
- Recognize employees more often. When leaders regularly recognize their employees, every measure of morale, productivity, and performance go up. Show genuine appreciation to employees for their work, and they’ll respond with greater happiness and motivation.
- Offer plenty of rewards. Reward employees for milestones such as service anniversaries, birthdays, or personal events like marriage or graduation. Rewards should be customized to fit each employee’s interests and wants.
- Show more trust. When you show employees you trust them, that proves that you value them and believe in their skills and work ethic. When an employee is shown trust, their productivity, motivation, and happiness all go up.
Provide your employees with recognition, rewards, and trust, and they’ll respond with better work, more efforts, and greater motivation.
2. Create a Culture of Fairness
If employees perceive that they’re being slighted or treated unfairly in any way, they’re instantly going to be unhappy and dissatisfied. Favoritism, uneven recognition, or any sort of inequality are some of the worst offenders.
In order to improve fairness at your company, focus on:
- Offering fair compensation for all positions
- Giving bonuses, overtime pay, or rewards in a fair, evenhanded way
- Being fair with promotions and open positions
- Being open and honest in all communications
Communication is important for this step, as well. No company or leader is perfect, and that’s okay—just be transparent with the efforts that you’re making to increase fairness and equality and treat any complaints you receive seriously. Employees will appreciate your efforts.
3. Promote Work-Life Balance
Happiness naturally follows when employees have the time to take care of and enjoy their personal lives. Workplace stress can lead to anxiety, burnout, and poor mental and physical health, which all lower happiness. Stress also makes employees 3X more likely to quit their job.
Organizations need to help their employees reach a work-life balance that maximizes productivity without adding stress. Here are some strategies to do so:
- Offer whatever flexibility you can, whether it’s hybrid work, flexible schedules, or unlimited PTO.
- Offer benefits such as child care, adult care, or floating holidays to ensure employees have the support they need to take care of personal obligations.
- Set boundaries that everyone—from executives to direct reports—follows, including when to clock out, stop answering emails, etc.
- Talk with employees individually about their workloads to find out if anyone feels overwhelmed or overworked. Ensure that expectations are clear.
4. Prioritizing Growth and Development
No one wants to be stuck at a dead-end job. Employees who feel that they can’t learn new skills, gain more responsibilities, and move up in the company aren’t going to be very happy. Ensure that employees have opportunities to learn new skills, take on new work, and develop their professional resume.
Professional development helps with retention as well as employee satisfaction, so it should be an important part of your employee experience.
5. Build Camaraderie and Friendships
When employees have friends at work, they are 2X more engaged, produce higher-quality work, and have a greater sense of well-being. In other words, having friends at work increases employee happiness.
Companies need to give employees the opportunity to make and strengthen these relationships:
- Allow teams to have weekly breaks to play games or get lunch together.
- Hold company parties that encourage getting to know new people.
- Set up Employee Resource Groups where people with similar interests can find support and camaraderie.
These are all ways to help boost friendships at work, which brings all sorts of benefits.
Examples of Companies With Happy Employees
Here are the top three companies with the happiest employees according to a massive survey by Comparably:
- Hubspot: Over 90% of employees agree that they feel cared for and welcome at Hubspot. 93% of employees state that they’re given enough responsibility and that leadership is honest in their communication.
- RingCentral: Many employees state that RingCentral has created a fantastic company culture with supportive policies, work-life balance initiatives, and a sense of teamwork that extends to their remote employees.
- Adobe: Since its inception, Adobe has focused on a people-first approach to work. As a leader in pay parity, benefits, and professional development, Adobe invests in their employees.
The common denominator for all of the companies on Comparably’s list are that they focus on making employees feel supported, empowered, and taken care of. That’s the kind of culture you need if you want happy employees.
Measuring Employee Happiness
So you know employee happiness is important, and you want to work on improving it—the first step is to see where you’re at now and where you can improve! Here are some steps you can take to measure your employee happiness:
- Use surveys. Surveys on a weekly or monthly basis are a great way to get a read on how employees are feeling. Ask questions such as how they feel about their role, their work, and their well-being.
- Frequently hold 1-on-1s. Nothing makes up for a good old fashioned conversation. Make sure managers are talking with their employees face-to-face frequently. Often, these conversations are more candid than survey responses.
- Hold stay and exit interviews. If employees are hanging around, set up an interview to ask about their experience at work. What’s making them happy enough to stay? If they’re leaving, ask them what made them unhappy enough to leave?
The main strategy you have is just talking with your employees. However, these strategies are only effective as long as the company acts on the feedback they receive. Happiness will tank if the company asks for feedback and then promptly ignores it when they get it.
Make Happiness the Center of Your Company
Happiness is tied to engagement, satisfaction, productivity, and retention. It’s a simple equation, really: when employees are happy at work, they perform better. Instead of trying to force results from your people with grinding hours and results-oriented goals, try focusing on improving the happiness of your people. If you do, the results will naturally follow.
