Did you know that the last week of September is the International Week of Happiness at Work?
This 23-27 September, join people from across the globe as they raise awareness of the importance of happiness at work and share practical tips on how you can boost your team’s morale.
Read on to discover the importance of building a positive environment at your workplace and what you can do to help your employees thrive.
Why does workplace culture matter?
Research found that the average adult living in the UK will spend roughly 3,515 days of their life at work.
Since we spend so much time in our workplace and with our colleagues, it’s important to not only choose a career you enjoy but also a workplace culture that suits you.
This culture reflects the shared values and set of assumptions that people in a workplace share, including how your employees treat each other as well as how management treats them.
Poor workplace cultures can harm a person’s mental health and wellbeing, and chronic unhappiness at work can significantly impact the company’s bottom line.
What are the benefits of a positive workplace culture?
A positive workplace culture benefits both the business and the people who work there.
Fostering happiness at work can lead to benefits such as:
- Attracting world-class talent
- Ensuring employees are all working towards a united goal
- Encouraging employees to be more engaged in their work
- Improving productivity
- Reducing the likelihood of staff leaving
- Boosting performance.
What does a positive workplace culture look like?
Every company is unique, so your workplace culture should be tailored to your employees and business values.
However, there are four universal traits that can serve as a framework for a positive work culture.
1. Trust and psychological safety
You should try to foster a welcoming environment where employees have no fear of retribution from their supervisors, so they feel free to speak up and share their opinions even if they disagree with others.
2. A sense of belonging
Everybody wants to feel like they belong to a group of people who care about them. Ensuring your employees feel like they’re part of a team that is contributing to something larger than themselves will encourage them to continue working towards your shared goals.
3. Professional development opportunities
In today’s age, change happens quickly. Offering your employees the chance to develop their professional skills will help them complete their job to a higher standard as well as ensuring your business stays up-to-date with the latest advancements in technology.
4. Flexibility
The Covid-19 pandemic taught some workers that they didn’t need to subscribe to the traditional idea of a 9-to-5 office job to be productive.
Offering hybrid or remote working is one way to provide flexibility. It could encourage employees to stay at the company for longer, as you’re willing to trust them to complete their work without being in an office all the time.
What can you do to build a positive workplace culture?
If you want to encourage a positive environment in your company, it’s important to first examine what your current workplace culture looks like so you can plan the steps you need to take accordingly.
Discussing the changes your team would like to see is one of the fastest ways to understand how you can improve your workplace culture. While this will look different for everyone, read on for some inspiration.
1. Team-building exercises
Arranging fun activities or trips away from the office can encourage your employees to create close bonds and understand exactly where they fit into the team, so they can work more effectively as a group.
2. Foster communication
Encouraging open and honest communication is vital. This will allow your team to get to know each other better and give them the confidence to suggest new ideas or alternative strategies that could benefit the business.
3. Promote diversity, equity, and inclusion
You can promote equality at work by:
- Using diversity recruiting methods in your hiring processes
- Educating your team on their unconscious biases
- Ensuring that documents (such as the employee handbook) are inclusive.
Taking care to ensure that your business is inclusive to everyone may help your employees feel more comfortable and secure at work.
4. Be flexible
Offering hybrid or remote work isn’t the only way a company can be flexible.
It’s important to understand that life is unpredictable and allowing your employees to work the hours that suit them could encourage them to stay with your business for longer. This is especially important during difficult times in their lives. For example, if someone on your team or their loved ones are suffering from an illness or a recent bereavement, they may appreciate greater flexibility.
5. Acknowledge achievements
Recognising and rewarding your employees for their achievements will help them to feel valued and respected as an important member of the team, as well as reinforcing the idea that they are doing work that truly matters.
You may even want to encourage friendly work competitions, which can improve the relationships between your team as well as increase productivity and performance.
