Happy Employees are Productive Employees

Do Happy Employees Equal Productive Employees?
There may be a few who are still skeptical about the claims of employee engagement training experts, but they should heed the results of  workplace study after workplace study: happy employees excel in their jobs.

When we assess organizational culture, we know that healthy workplace cultures form the foundation for employee happiness and engagement.

How Managers Can Increase Employee Happiness
The question then for you as a manager is how can you positively influence how your employees feel and, as a direct consequence, improve your team’s performance?  If you want to create happy employees who are more productive, then follow these new manager training best practices:

1. Hire the Right People in the First Place
   Do not hire people who look at work simply as a chore that needs to be checked off every weekday. Search for and attract employees who care about how they will spend their time, who they want to work with and who seek meaning in what they do.

   Happy employees find their job fulfilling because they identify with the job’s purpose personally and professionally.

2. Lead Positively
   Listen to how you interact with your team and pay attention to the number of positive versus negative comments. The balance should be well in the positive (some say 5-to-1).   In fact, a recent study found that teams with a positive-to-negative ratio of greater than 3-to-1 outperformed their less positively led peers.

   While the positive feedback at work must be authentic and earned,  positive leadership is a great way to encourage the right behaviors and a “can-do” attitude.

3. Plan Opportunities for Informal Social Interaction
   The stronger the relationships among team members, the stronger their dedication to team goals. When employees are connected to their colleagues through caring relationships, the less likely they are to be discontented and disengage.

   You will know you are on the right track when employees have a close and trusting relationship with one or more coworkers, feel loyal to their immediate team or work group, and can depend on the other members of their team.

The Bottom Line
Happy employees are productive employees.  Make sure you create a work environment where employees want to work hard for each other, for you, and for the business. You will be rewarded with greater levels of advocacy, performance, and retention.

To learn more about creating happy employees and improving employee engagement, download the Top 10 Most Powerful Ways to Boost Employee Engagement