It’s well been established that the most important asset of any business is its team members. In order for workers to do their best, employers need to invest in not only their professional development, but the overall wellbeing of employees.
Fostering a positive working environment where employees are happy and content is one of the most effective ways to ensure workers feel fulfilled in their roles, leading to increased employee engagement and higher levels of job satisfaction.
Keeping employees motivated at work starts with creating a place where employees enjoy coming to; so that they end up staying. As the leader of a dynamic team, here are a few simple tips when creating an enviable workplace that fosters a fun and happy company culture.
Embrace the ‘breakout area’
There’s nothing productive about being chained to a desk all day. In order for employees to perform at their very best, it’s important to ensure that as a team leader, they find the right balance between work, rest and play. Installing a breakout area that workers can utilise is important in fostering happy workers.
Not only this, but having a designated space away from the work area encourages employees to build relationships outside of work-related tasks and duties. Not to mention providing somewhere that allows employees a moment to destress!
A simple chat between co-workers whilst making a coffee in the breakout area goes a long way in building friendly and positive connections, contributing to a more harmonious workplace.
Socialise outside of the office
They don’t call it team building for nothing! Arranging the opportunity for employees to socialise outside of the office by participating in team building activities or attending company events such as Christmas parties is a great way to foster meaningful relationships amongst workers.
The goal is improved teamwork and engaging in fun activities away from the office allows for workers to form friendships that will inspire collaboration back in the office. Trust is one of the most important elements in building a productive team and workers who socialise together and trust one another, are better placed to collaborate and work together more cohesively.
Encourage friendships
Socialising with co-workers goes even further than company events or team building activities. It’s not uncommon for employees who have genuine friendships with a colleague to have significantly higher engagement levels at work than those who don’t. Employers should encourage these types of relationships in order to not only improve job satisfaction and teamwork, but reduce the number of sick days taken by employees.
Wind down at the end of the week
Where possible, managers should encourage teams to wind down together at the end of the week. After a busy and stressful working week, sitting down with the team to discuss the week that was is an effective way to build camaraderie and foster teamwork.
Even more conducive to promoting teamwork is turning a weekly winddown into a session used to share learning moments and highlights, further championing a positive company culture. Employees who are confident in sharing their highs and lows with colleagues have higher levels of empathy and are more likely to embrace the skills and experiences other team members bring to the table.
Want more information on how to foster employee happiness? Check out our article on why happy employees’ equal happy customers.
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