Did you know that Bristol is currently in search for the Happiest Workplace 2018? This is a competition being hosted by local Bristol firm Wylde IA in partnership with Bristol Mind: Happiest Workplace Competition. Entries are still being accepted, if you’re local to Bristol and your business has initiatives in place to support employee happiness and wellbeing then get in touch and enter the competition! The competition has been running for four years; last year’s SME winners were software developers; Ghyston, which showcased creative solutions to retain a happy workforce, including;
- Modern workplace
- Morale budget – specifically for employee events and activities
- Working from home flexibility
- conducting regular happiness surveys in the workplace
Happy employees in the workplace are generally more motivated, creative, committed and productive. As noted in one of our previous blogs for Mental Health Awareness Week; according to a recent HSE report (Health & Safety Executive Report) “Work-related stress, depression or anxiety accounts for 40% of work-related ill health and 49% of working days lost, in 2016/17” – these stats highlight the volume of employees off for work related stress is high.
Unfortunately, there’s not a magic trick or one single factor which managers/leaders can do to ensure a happy workforce. However, there are a number of contributing ideas that can be implemented. Sometimes, it’s the smallest of changes that can have the most significant impact.
Some ideas to creating a happy team and happy workplace
- Offering flexible working – supporting work-life balance
- Engage with your employees – schedule regular 1:1s: set goals, an opportunity to listen, thank and catch up with your staff.
- Create a ‘suggestions box’ empower employees to voice their ideas and express their creativity.
- Making time for team meetings, events and activities.
- Training – invest in someone in the firm to attend Mental Health in the Workplace Training, knowledge to be cascaded and shared to management and all employees.
- Introduce time for individual Mindfulness sessions.
- Promote good health and exercise – gym discounts, yoga classes, team running/cycling club.
- Conduct an annual anonymous survey to find out how your staff are really feeling, act and respond to the findings.
These are just a few suggestions, if you are doing something to support employee happiness and wellbeing we’d love to hear from you. Additionally, if your business would like any support or advice on building a happy workforce, we’d love to work with you to create a plan of action. Let’s face it, a lot of us are in work a lot of the time, so let’s make that a happy time…
Please do get in touch with us direct: CitrusHR Consulting, call us on 0844 854 6704 or email us at info@citrushrconsulting.com.