Happy Employees Happy Workplace

You are probably an employee if you are not an entrepreneur.  Working in HR I find that it is important to keep the employees as happy as possible.  They may not always agree with decisions that are made but as long as they are still happy with their career choice – we can do so many things to make it work.

Tips for Happiness

Say good morning – I am working on this.  I tend to walk in and if employees are there I say good morning but I need to get better at making the rounds once they all arrive.  Saying good morning can go a long way to show you value them in the organization.

Allow breaks – breaks don’t need to be long but everyone should have the opportunity to get up, walk around, stretch their legs and clear their head.  Sometimes they step into the breakroom for a few minutes, or walk across the street, or even just walk up and down the stairs a time or two.  This same practice works well in education with our students – no one likes to sit at a desk all day long.

Make work enjoyable – enjoyment isn’t always tied to food and eating  but we often do bring in treats (healthy and otherwise) to make our day more enjoyable.

Tools of the trade – don’t expect your employees to do their job well, and like it, if they don’t have all the tools they need.  If they are a secretary the need a computer; if they are a photographer they need a camera… a person cannot be held accountable for their tasks if they don’t have the tools they need.  Plus they will get very frustrated without appropriate tools and they definitely won’t be happy for long.

Goals – set individual as well as business wide goals.  Develop a plan to meet those goals.

As an Human Resources Manager it is important to keep these strategies in mind.  There are many other strategies but these are a really good place to start.