Whether you are a business leader or an employee, employment law and the best practices that surround the working life will affect you. Everyone wants to be happy in their place of work. If you are a full-time employee, a great deal of your waking life will be spent in the workplace. To have an unhappy workplace will lead to you feeling miserable for much of your days and weeks. Whether the unhappiness is brought on by the stresses of the job, or because of workplace interactions, nobody should have to work in an environment that makes them unhappy.
Unhappy workers are demotivated workers. And a lack of motivation leads to a lack of productivity, which in turn leads to a lack of profits. These knock-ons are vital for companies to take heed of, and so many companies out there ignore this basic premise. If you look after the happiness of your staff, then you are looking after the profits of your business.
Here are some ways that a business can work to ensure their employees are happy.
Better Scheduling
If you are a shift based employee who does not know when they are working from one day to the next, you may feel as though you have no control over your life. You will struggle to make plans around your work and you may find that your home and social life suffers as a result.
While the nature of some businesses means that their employees need to work on a shift basis, it is important that managers remember that their employees have lives. Working to live does not mean that they should have to live to work. By doing their best to preempt the needs of the business, they should look to set schedules as far in advance as possible. A reasonable amount of time could be a couple of weeks to a month in advance, but it should at the very least be a week before the shift.
Often, poor scheduling comes down to an inability to plan ahead and a lack of planning resources. With the simplicity of modern technology at our fingertips, and in an ever-connected world, communicating shift patterns has never been easier. Business leaders should invest in the right scheduling software that allows their employees to see their shifts from their smartphone. The right piece of software would also allow employees to book time off well in advance, cutting down on the amount of paperwork needed. It also speeds the payroll process up and prevents issues with inaccurate payments. Learning what to look for when selecting employee scheduling software is vital to any business leader who does not want to lose valuable employees, or have to deal with the expense of high staff turnover.
Thorough Training
One of the areas that cause employees the most upset within their workplace is stress. Very often, stress can be caused by a lack of training and support. When an employee feels burdened in their role, often it is because they have been poorly equipped with the skills and resources to complete the job from the get-go.
By investing in training and developing all of its employees, a company would demonstrate that they are very much interested in their staff. Not only will better training make employees more productive because they will better understand the role they are expected to complete, but a full development demonstrates that an employee is valued. This will further motivate them and empower them.
A training program should not just be a matter of reading a few handouts. Everyone has different learning styles and it is important that training materials acknowledge this. Having learning that is geared toward different types of learners will mean the information will go in far easier than if it was just delivered in one way.
Hold Appraisals
Having one-to-one meetings with employees is crucial. Businesses need to check in with their teams and provide in-depth feedback into their performance. But feedback should be delivered in a positive manner, even when it is constructive and developmental. This means letting them know where they are succeeding in their role or even exceeding expectations, while then providing a tactful discussion around areas that need improvement. Where changes are needed, suggesting the right way to go about those changes is vital.
An appraisal meeting should work both ways. It should be an opportunity for the employee to get any concerns that they have off their chest. There should be ample chance for them to talk about how they feel they are performing and what they need from the company to assist them in taking their performance to the next level.
If there are any issues that need to be raised such as anything in the culture of the workplace, the employee should be provided with the safety to talk about this in the meeting.
Have An Open Door Policy
Business leaders need to be aware of any issues within the workplace. Whether the stress and strains of the role and causing problems, or whether there are issues surrounding workplace bullying, discrimination, or any other grievances, a good manager should have their ear to the ground at all times and be acutely aware of the signs of this. Not only will serious problems such as these cause a drop in productivity and profits, but they also cause a toxic work environment, and may put the happiness and safety of employees at risk.
Having an open-door policy will mean that business leaders are approachable and are willing to hear the concerns of their employees. This means having a transparent and open grievance policy and providing an environment where employees are not afraid to talk about serious concerns that they have over any aspect of their work within the company. After all, business leaders have a duty of care toward them to ensure that their health and happiness within the working environment are kept in the highest of priorities.
*contributed post*
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