Original post by Rina Gami on LinkedIn
Working in the data analytics space means I’m constantly surrounded by numbers.
In fact, in today’s world in general, it feels like we’re often trying to break everything down into a statistic.
What percentage of Australians are planning to look for a new job this year? How many people switched jobs last month? How many people would say they feel satisfied in their current role?
But there’s one thing we just can’t quantify in such a scientific manner: happy people perform better. Why?
And what does happy even mean?
hap·py
/ˈhapē/
“Having a sense of confidence in or satisfaction with (a person, arrangement, or situation).” As an employer, it’s impossible to cover all bases to ensure your employees’ happiness – there are simply some things that are out of our control. But doing our best every day to give our staff the things they need to be happy within the bounds of what we can control – that should be a priority, each and every day.
What does being happy at work mean?
Keeping your staff “happy” is a highly objective thing to approach. It means many different things to different people, so an overarching view is required. Some of these key factors contribute to happiness in the workplace:
- Feeling financially secure and fairly compensated/rewarded
- Feeling valued and recognised for contributions made
- The ability to see a path for development
- Job security and stability
- A strong, positive company culture
- A feeling of purpose and satisfaction
And what does being happy at work look like?
If you’re leading a happy workforce, it’ll manifest in various ways. For one, you’ll see it in the actions of your team; the ways in which they go above and beyond “just doing their job”.
Overall, you should look at happiness at work as a number of markers, including the following:
- How motivated employees are (how aligned their goals appear to be with the company’s)
- How productive employees are (less time being spent worrying or fretting about various aspects, more time being spent reaching for goals)
- Increased staff retention (a workforce who wants to stick around)
- An improved company culture (better interpersonal relations between co-workers; a positive, inspirational environment)
- A team of employee advocates (who refer more great people to come aboard)
And it’s not just about happiness in the workplace
Your employees’ lives outside of the time they spend at work should be your priority, too. That’s not to say you should be nosey or overstep any boundaries, but if there’s some way you could help them thrive both inside and outside of work, the benefits of doing so will be vast and far reaching. For example, over in the USA, many employers have an “employee assistance program” or similar. This is essentially a benefit which offers employees access to professional services and resources for the betterment of their non-working lives, such as counselling, legal representation, or financial planning even.
Happy people don’t just perform better. They inspire others to do the same; they drive results around them. They advocate for your business. A happy staff shows, and your customers will feel it. Happy people are what you need for a sustainable growth strategy, and they’re what every employer should aim to create. Because, performance and results aside, on a human level – why wouldn’t you want to?
We love creating happy humans – both those being hired and doing the hiring. The way we work doesn’t just mean making a placement and being done with it; our job is to help you keep hold of the amazing talent you’ve found, too.
If you’d like to talk talent strategy and retention, get in touch today.
