Creating A Happy Workplace

Managerial Responsibilities

Your managers and senior staff are there to set an example not to coast on their job title.  Everyone has to understand that when someone really messes up they’re going to be in the same amount of trouble regardless of whether they’re a junior paper pusher or a senior head of department. This goes for missing deadlines, bullying or harassment or poor client relations, any slip ups are dealt the same way regardless of someone’s job title and everyone has to be aware of this.

Get To Know Your Staff

Some staff will look like they spend all day playing on Facebook and looking at pictures of cats with silly captions under them yet they always seem to come through with the work. Other staff will be the first in and the last to leave and be doing more than their fair share and other staff will coast along doing the bare minimum and always expecting someone else to pick up the slack. A good workplace will know these personalities, they’ll form teams based on the best combination and they won’t keep dead weight on.

Staff Health

You’ll have various health and safety protocol to comply to but try going above and beyond when it comes to the health of your staff. Make sure they’ve got comfortable chairs to support their backs especially if they’re sat at a desk all day. Offer safe and secure bike parking for staff who want to cycle to work or even team up with a local gym to offer a special discount. If you’ve got a large workforce you might even want to consider inviting an aerobics or yoga instructor in after work once a week. Healthy staff are happy staff and they’ll be less likely to call in sick if they’re in better physical condition.

Away From Work

Let your staff know they can come to you if they have any problems, whilst you don’t want everyone bringing all their problems to you, telling everyone to leave their personal life at the door is impractical. If you know one of your staff are having marriage troubles you’ll know not to schedule them for that big presentation next week. By being approachable for personal problems your staff are more likely to come to you when they have work problems. Managers that tell their staff not to bring emotions to the office can’t be surprised when the first thing they know about their staff being unhappy is reading their letter of resignation.

Encourage Creativity

Team building days might seem a little cliché and expensive but getting your staff to work together on a project away from work can be great for moral. Is there a way you could contribute to the local community? Do your staff have their own ideas on how productivity could be improved? Are there any new tools or systems a group could trial and report back on? They don’t have to spend every second from 9-5 Monday to Friday chained to their stations.
How do you measure if you’ve managed to create a happy work environment?
There are plenty of ways to check if you’ve achieved a great place to work but the most obvious way is to look at your staff – do they look happy? You’ll notice productivity increases, your work place won’t go from hub of activity to ghost town in thirty seconds flat the second the clock hits five, happy staff will be happy to hang back to finish what they’re working on, your staff will be happy to talk to you if they’re not feeling happy.

Author Bio:
Jessie has worked in many offices over the years as a freelance writer and is currently working with http://www.panthergroup.co.uk/ where they understand happy staff create happy customers