How Small Companies Keep Their Employees Happy
Tuesday, December 10, 2019, 6:00 AM | Leave Comment
Productive employees are the most important asset every company can have. However, no employer can expect from their employees to be motivated, productive and engaged.
The fact of the matter is that such things need to be inspired and not demanded.
Encouraging employees to become more productive comes from ensuring their happiness.
There are a lot of ways you can go about this matter but let’s have a look at how small companies keep their employees happy.
Image Source: Pexels
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Free gym membership
Exercise is vital for everyone’s health, especially for people who spend at least 8 hours a day sitting at a desk in an office somewhere. By providing a free gym membership to your employees as a reward or an incentive, you can ensure their happiness. However, not everyone is interested in hitting the gym as others and you certainly can’t force them to do so.
Still, most people don’t go to the gym due to lack of finances or they believe they can spend their money on more pressing matters. Therefore, having a free gym membership can overcome those obstacles and even people who are not very interested in exercising may reconsider due to the free pass.
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Encourage them to ride a bike instead of a car
As mentioned before, exercise is vital for health. Driving a bicycle is an excellent form of exercise and it’s far less demanding than the gym. Not to mention the cost savings on fuel. If you want to make employees happy, encourage them to ride a bike to work and help those who already are doing so.
As an example, provide incentives, such as bicycle commuter tax benefits and investments for a new bike. Also, provide other benefits, such as bicycle parking, bad weather gear and a free ride home if the weather gets extremely bad or if an employee gets sick.
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Supply the refreshment table
Social interactions between employees are essential. What’s more, providing employees with food and beverages, alongside other refreshments is vital for their happiness and satisfaction. Therefore, what better way there is to encourage social interactions than over a refreshment table? The number of companies that offer free refreshments and food has grown from 20% in 2014 to 32% in 2018.
In order to boost social interactions further, you can have sitting arrangements and dining tables so that employees can socialize over coffee and lunch.
Furthermore, you can design your office the same way large corporations, such as Google have so that people can bump into each other. These run-ins are planned and they’re called serendipitous interaction.
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Provide employees with payroll cards
We all know how inconvenient paper checks are, especially when it comes to salaries. A more convenient alternative to checks is definitely payroll cards. Not just that but these cards are more secure and beneficial in many ways. They provide your employees with all the benefits of having a traditional bank account without any high monthly fees and other inconveniences.
That said, personalized payroll card accounts can also be integrated with payroll software which can help you transfer funds with ease and automate your entire payroll process. Moreover, they are also cost-effective and less wasteful compared to traditional paper checks.
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Provide counseling and therapy
It’s no secret that work can be stressful at times. Our everyday problems combined with work-related issues can oftentimes become overwhelming. Every good employer should be aware of that and they should provide workplace counseling.
This is an employee support intervention designed to help employees across all sectors and in any work environment. Nowadays, having a specialist counselor available to employees at all times is considered every employer’s duty of care for their workers.
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Celebrate regularly
Office parties for special occasions, such as holidays and birthdays are crucial for employee happiness, especially since an employee engagement has been decreasing ever since 2007. Special occasions marked with an office party are the best way to celebrate company success and show appreciation for your employees.
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Go easy with the dress code
Imposing a strict dress code on your employees can have a negative impact on their overall mood and motivation. Instead, allow them to wear what they’re most comfortable with and focus on their accomplishments, not their suits.
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Provide more flexibility
Modern technology has made remote work as seamless as possible. Working from home can be a real advantage for your company and a great benefit for your employees. Therefore, allow your employees to work from home every now and then. It will help them improve their work-life balance and ultimately make them more productive, as well as more loyal to your company.
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Do some charity together
In order for your employees to become generally happy with your company, you must show them more than just a corporate mindset. That said, involve your employees in your charity work and show them that there’s more to the company than just products and services. This will help them understand the company’s core values and mission, as well as relate to those respectively.
Employee happiness and satisfaction results in engagement, productivity and overall motivation. No company can succeed without their employees and the hard work they do. That’s why it should be on every employer’s agenda to motivate and inspire their employees.
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Lauren Wiseman is a marketing specialist and contributor to bizzmarkblog.com. She helps clients grow their personal and professional brands in the fast-changing and demanding market, strongly believing in a holistic approach to a business.
