Office morale isn’t an optional extra. It’s been proven to have effects on, not just the happiness of employees, but also their productivity and loyalty. How can you keep morale high without sacrificing your workflow?
Here are a few things to consider when you’re looking for ways to make your workplace a more enjoyable place to be.
Encourage Office Friendships
If your employees have to work together, they’re going to form relationships. While there’s nothing wrong with professional relationships, there could be significant benefits to encouraging friendships in the workplace.
There are a few ways to do this. One thing you can do is encourage employees to take breaks. While this seems like it will reduce productivity, regular breaks actually do the opposite. Studies suggest that taking small, regular breaks, interspersed with longer breaks, allows people to work more effectively without getting as tired.
If people are able to talk to each other or even play games during their breaks, they will get to know each other as more than just colleagues. This means that they will also work better as a team. Even better, people like to spend time with their friends, even if they aren’t doing something inherently enjoyable. They will enjoy work a lot more if they like the people they’re working with.
Happier employees are more productive and are less likely to look for different opportunities.
Employee Opportunities
Speaking of looking for opportunities, there are a few primary reasons why people often leave their jobs. These are:
- Change in circumstances, such as poor health or a house move
- Unhappy at work, either due to the work, the environment, or poor pay
- Better opportunities elsewhere, either for more pay or advancement in their career
Keeping morale up obviously helps to mitigate the middle option. There are limited things we can do to keep employees on if there’s a change in circumstances. While sometimes you can be more flexible to allow people to work on a remote basis, sometimes someone is simply unable to work for you anymore.
But as for the final point, one thing that employers can do is to encourage employees to get advanced training and extra qualifications.
This means that they can have more control over their careers and they can push forward while staying in the same company. You can keep skilled staff and help them advance to fill internal roles. Simply put, everyone wins.
A Pleasant Office Space
One thing that can have a huge impact on employee morale is the environment they work in.
The most important thing about a workplace is that it should be safe and practical. You can’t put loads of decorative items in a factory, for example, because it’s unsafe and will get in the way.
But you can make sure that the workplace is clean and attractive, within reason. If people work in offices, allow them to have some decorative control so they can feel more comfortable. All of this makes the workplace a nicer place to work.
