Have you ever thought about how to increase employee productivity by happiness? Do you believe that by making your employees happier, you can drive their productivity at all? If not, then keep reading.
Consider this…
Few years ago Harvard Business Review posted a very interesting article that explains how employees’ positive mind-set and happiness can help the company go through tough times.
The example here is a famous manufacturer of personal-care products Burt’s Bees. The company was going into a global expansion, which how you can guess is very stressful.
The way that managers usually behave in this situation is chaotic. They arrange additional meetings, send out way too many emails with urgent demands. Such behavior increases the level of anxiety and stress, which naturally saps productivity.
However what John Replogle (Burt’s Bees’s CEO) did, was a completely opposite thing. Every day, he sent out an email with appreciation to a team member about his/her job in global expansion, he encouraged the managers to constantly talk to employees about companies goals and work happiness. Such leadership approach kept his managers engaged and cohesive as they successfully made the transition to a global company.
This example perfectly demonstrates how you can increase employee productivity by fostering positive mindset and happiness.
Why does happiness matter?
Studies show that happy employees are better collaborators, they tend to work toward common goals and produce innovative ideas better.
How to increase employee productivity by happiness?
It’s not the size, it’s the frequency that matters
Smaller, but frequent rewards keep employees happy for a longer time, than one big reward. When employees’ good job is frequently awarded, it makes them. When employees often receive little compensations for their work, it encourages them to work well all the time.
Focus on achievements
Managers should concentrate more on achievements, than destructive criticising. If you constantly point out employees’ falls and losses and pay no attention to achievements, you risk making the team disengaged and unhappy.
So, ask and listen to your team’s achievements. This will help to foster recognition. And if there’s something you want to improve – criticise constructively.
Try some subconscious tricks
You can make your employees happier simply by making them feel happy. Play some ambient music in the office, disperse a pleasant scent over the office. This will help to keep suffers in a good mood and associate a workplace like somewhere they want to be.
Get a time tracker to help you
Few things make employees more happy, than being in charge of their time. Yaware.TimeTracker allows employees to do that.
Employees can analyze their performance statistics to improve time management and project management skills. Being in charge of your work increases self-esteem and gives a feeling of personal power, which makes employee productive and happy.
So, now you know why employee happiness matters and how to increase employee productivity by happiness. Go ahead and make your company a more happy place!
