From a young age, we are told about the importance of values such as kindness, compassion, and generosity, and this should be no different in business. Teaching children to make good financial decisions alongside being valuable citizens is something that will benefit them and those around them. Unfortunately, there are far too many organizations and businesses putting profit before the well-being of people such as their employees. This is something that we need to move away from, particularly since this will not benefit the long-term health of your business. There are many reasons why you should take care of your employees, principally, because of the very same reasons we were told to care for others as children, but also because a happy employee means a productive and engaged employee.
Workers who engage with their job are more likely to want to stay with their employer and not move to another company, as well as being more likely to perform well. This is because productivity is closely associated with job satisfaction which means that workers who feel valued will have a motivation to do well. The overall reputation of your business will increase if you show yourself to be a company that looks after your workers, and this will encourage people to seek employment within your organization
The key ways to ensure the happiness of your workers, and increase the levels of overall job satisfaction are not complicated. Included below are several straightforward ways in which you can look after the wellbeing of your employees as well as the overall health of your company.
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Pay decent wages
More than any other factor, the amount you pay your employees will directly affect their desire and motivation to work for your company. Paying a fair, and competitive salary will ensure you lower your staff turnaround, and allow you to keep on quality members of your team who might otherwise go to a competitor who pays a better wage than you. Paying a minimum wage is not the same as a decent wage or even a living wage, and so paying a competitive salary to your workers will be more beneficial for the growth of your company in the long run.
Healthcare
Having a generous sick leave policy and not penalizing your employees who take sick leave, will increase the productivity of your business, as nothing wipes out an office like a round of flu. In places of work such as offices, germs and illnesses will spread quickly, and you could see half of your workforce knocked out by one employee who decided to come to work. Many workers are reluctant to take sick leave as they feel that they may get penalized for this and will come in even though they are still contagious or not well enough to do their job properly. This is where you need to step in and ensure that your workers feel supported in their decision to stay at home, even if this means working remotely until they feel able to come into the office. Regarding ensuring that your workers are covered for health problems or work-related illnesses and accidents it is important to provide insurance and compensation to cover both their back and yours as well. It is worth investing in a workers compensation lawyer to help you deal with your workers’ compensation claims and make sure that this is handled as efficiently and as professionally as possible.
Create a fun work environment
Creating an enjoyable work environment doesn’t mean that you have to be less professional. It simply means that you provide your employees with certain activities or perks that will increase their overall satisfaction. Some ideas for this include having a designated games room which people can choose to frequent during their break or might include fun snacks and drinks that your employees can freely take throughout the day. Another idea to boost performance is through fun motivational activities; this might be a regular icebreaker each day or a day set aside for team building activities. Many companies are choosing to include casual Fridays, into the working week as a low-cost and easy way to make their employees feel comfortable at work.
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Childcare
A flexible approach to childcare, where your employees can work their children’s needs alongside their work schedule will be appreciated by your employees. More companies than ever are including on-site daycare options for the children of their employees which save the time spent commuting to other child-care facilities and instead of cutting their work day short, allows parents to spend more time at the office.
Encourage a healthy work-life balance
Professional burnout can occur when a worker is stressed or overworked and can manifest itself in various forms, such as a loss of motivation and productivity and in extreme cases in a nervous breakdown. Avoid employee burnout by encouraging a healthy balance between the hours spent at the office and the downtime of your employees. This can be as simple as having a policy where employees must have a decent lunch break or cannot stay at work past a certain hour. To avoid certain triggers of stress or anxiety make sure that you provide clear, realistic expectations for your employees to meet.
Have an employee of the month
Having a company employee of the month is a simple way to show your workers that they are valued and that you notice individuals within your organizations. Don’t just make this about who is the most productive or who has made the most sales for example, but make factors such as acts of kindness or generosity an equally important reason for becoming the employee of the month. For example, someone may have covered someone else’s shift or helped another colleague with a project in their own time. Consider providing rewards such as allowing the employee of the month to choose half a day off work that week, vouchers or even a small bonus. Creating small incentives such as this, will increase production and create a sense of unity within a company where the individual is just as important as the whole.
