Do you remember how much energy you had as a child? Once we reach adulthood, we look at children and marvel at their energy and the fact that they never seem to get tired. Adults on the other hand feel drained and have little energy at work. It seems amazing to think that companies have yet to truly figure out how to improve staff mood and productivity. Instead, they are content to keep things as they are and allow their team to feel tired, unmotivated, and fed up.
Happiness leads to productivity
One of the reasons why companies have a tired workforce is that the words ‘fun’ and ‘happiness’ rarely exist in the office. Some organizations even believe that preventing fun and imposing a strict code of conduct will lead to increased productivity. Guess what? The opposite is the case!
There is an undeniable link between happiness in the workplace and increased productivity. The iOpener Institute has some very interesting data which indicates that employees that are happiest at their work are 100% more productive, take 10 times less sick leave and help their colleagues 33% more often than co-workers who are unhappy in their job. Those who enjoy their work spend more time on any given task while those who don’t like being at work will ‘pass the time’ rather than be productive. If you are reading this as a manager, take a closer look at your team tomorrow and see how much work is actually being done if there are no smiles in the workplace.
Happiness In The Workplace: It’s Not Always Up To The Manager!
Although management can elect to spice things up, even team members can make a contribution to bring some light into the workplace by combining productivity with fun. For example, why not issue a friendly challenge to fellow sales teams in your office? The team that gets the most sales gets taken out for lunch by the other team. This is a great way to boost performance while also becoming friendlier with your fellow staff members. This creates a competitive spirit and urges each team member to work harder to win their little wager. Being in such a race is tremendous fun and a good way to boost morale.
Happiness Is Win-Win-Win
Allow me to paraphrase an old saying: ‘Do what you enjoy and you’ll never work another day in your life’. The key is in the word ‘work’. For most team members, this is a phrase that has negative connotations and involves doing something they don’t enjoy. As a manager, your duty is to find the aspects of the job that each team member enjoys the most and allow them to focus on these duties. While this may not always be possible, even helping your team out in this way from time to time will greatly improve their happiness. This is because they will be working on something they are passionate about and it will be a pleasure rather than a chore.
In a nutshell, happier team members equals more energy in the workplace, a more productive group, higher quality work and ultimately greater sales and standard of product/service provided by the company. Therefore, the team ‘wins’ because they genuinely enjoy coming to their workplace and being creative, the company wins because of the increased productivity and the consumer wins because they receive better service. This is what you call a win-win-win situation!
Can you think of other fun ideas that you can use to bring more smiles into your workplace?