Professions are an integral part of human life which is even seen as a medium to fulfill countless aspirations. A job does not only give financial liberty to a person but it also provides a sense of pride. Workplace environment thus plays a pivotal role in one’s career. But what happens if employees get bored with their workplace itself. In a recent study, it is found that happy employees are 20% more productive than the unhappy employees and when it comes to sales personnel, happiness index even has a more profound impact, raising sales by over 37%.
Interestingly, between 1998 & 2005, stock prices of Fortune’s ‘100 Best Companies to Work For’ has risen by an average 14% per year as compared to 6% for the overall market. Happiness index thus has its worth and employers can’t afford to ignore this vital parameter.
Empowered Employees are the Torchbearer of Happiness
Empowered employees are the most significant assets for any manager. They are the front warriors, who always fight for the progress of the company. Empowered employees are the huge drivers of workplace cheerfulness and help to engineer and spread cultural alignment.
Renowned Author and motivational speaker- Simon Sinek, once said, “Empowered employees have the power to make decisions without a supervisor. They are entitled to go off script, bend the rules and do what they see fit if they believe it is the right thing to do for the greater good of the company.” They work as the change agent with the limitless possibilities to transform the company culture positively.
It is thus vital to strengthen the hands of an employee as empowered employees are loyal, committed and potentially more dynamic as compared to non-empowered employees. A manager can empower its employee by demonstrating belief, showing and mentoring lucrative career paths, praising their efforts, forgiving their mistakes and listening to them intently. Moreover, sharing leadership vision, goals, directions, providing information for decision making, giving frequent feedbacks can empower workers that ultimately help in improving company culture and can boost happiness within the office premises.
When employees are provided with the necessary tools and desired resources to manage or lead their own projects successfully, their enthusiasm goes beyond the expectation and benefits become endless. Prominent research, done by Harvard Business Review- revealed that- “when workforces feel empowered at work, it’s connected with stronger job performance, job happiness, and commitment towards the organization.”
Provide Flexibility for Work-Life Balance
None come top of the stack than family. In the end, family is what for a person struggle for. Family is that ultimate thing for which a person sweats all eight hours and goes through pressure, challenges, accomplishments and even failures at some point of times. However, with ever-increasing pressure and fast-changing global business environment office stays becoming longer. Extended hours many times make the thin line between work and home even more blur.
According to the Gallup poll, 4 in 10 Americans said they work more than 50 hours every week, and 2 in 10 more than 60 hours. Although- the average work week was 47 hours. On the other hand, science says: anything over 39 hours a week is a risk to wellbeing. These extended work hours are considered as harmful not only concerning health but for employees’ productivity as well. Therefore, many unions across of world have even joined the chorus of reducing work hours. In Jan 2018, more than 15,000 workers (who make car parts for renowned firms like Porsche) called a strike, for a demand of 28-hour work week with unchanged pay and work conditions. It was not about indolence, but about self-protection with stress-related diseases: they don’t want to die before their time. In France, a socialist politician proposes instituting a 32-hour work week for residents as well.
In a major research, which was conducted on 510 employees of Fortune 500 Company, it was found that more extended work hour and work interference with family often lead to distress and sometimes affects employees’ family life as well.
Problems are endless but what is the solution? Well, Flexible hours and working approaches can do magic and win employees’ trust. Flexibility in working hours can allow everyone to find the perfect balance between home and work.
Allow employees to have a flexible work schedule where targets delivery should be the priority, not the total working hours. Many employees have the capacity to perform certain task in a less time, once completed allow them to leave so that they can start and stop their day when they need to, based upon the requirements of their day on both personal and professional levels. Employees should be given the flexibility to work both from home or office as well. This not only shows your confidence in them, but also saves their hours which they spent on commuting. Those extra hours they can spend with their family and make a better work-life balance.
Vacations are also an excellent tool for alluring employees. Vacations can rejuvenate employee mentally and physically and assist them in recovering from every day’s stresses. This is vital as it will increase the individual’s focus and productivity when they return and help to reduce teams’ psychological distress.
Necessary adjustments thus the need of the hour; doing such things will not only help employees in balancing work and life but also strengthen employee’s commitment towards the organization. By giving your people freedom and trusting them to fulfill their duties – you will make them feel more valued. This will be repaid with an increase in productivity and profit.
