Employee happiness is something that every dedicated leader wants for their organization. However, when it comes to putting in the resources to revamp your internal processes or to build an employer branding strategy from scratch, it may be difficult to justify the investment. The results of your hard work to create a happier workplace don’t appear overnight and you might find yourself putting it off because you need to focus on “priorities”, such as this month’s customer satisfaction numbers and sales figures.
Now, don’t get me wrong, your customers’ happiness and increased sales are absolutely important to your business. However, you might be just spinning your wheels if there are more fundamental issues with the people who serve those customers and close those deals, your employees. Here are six ways how employee happiness benefits your organization and makes you more successful in the long run.
1) Happy Employees Are More Productive
Several studies have shown that happy employees are more productive and deliver better results than their unhappy or indifferent peers. For instance, Social Market Foundation discovered in this research from 2015 that happiness can increase productivity on average by 12%. The highest increase in productivity seen in the study was 20%. It makes sense, if your employees are unhappy or indifferent about their work, the chances that they will go the extra mile for your organization are pretty low. Instead, if your employees are happy and engaged with their work, they are more likely to give their 200% and consequently, create more profit for your business.
2) Happy Employees Serve Your Clients Better
Most companies realize that in order to be successful, they need to be able to make their clients happy and create positive customer experiences. However, too often these same companies seem to forget who serves their valuable clients, their own employees. If you tell your employees that they need to make the customers happy, you might see a small improvement that may or may not last until next month. However, if you make your employees feel appreciated and valued for the important work that they do and you give them all the tools that they need to succeed, don’t you think they will make your customers even happier? Because I do, and not just for a month or two.
3) Happy Employees Are More Creative
Creativity comes in different forms from disruptive innovations to finding new solutions to everyday problems. You cannot make somebody start coming up with creative ideas but you can build an environment that encourages and fosters creativity. Employees who work in a positive and psychologically safe work environments feel comfortable bringing up new ideas without the fear of being judged and trying new things without being afraid of the failure. Thus by creating a happier workplace, you are actually fostering your organization’s creativity.
4) Happy Employees Help You Save on Employee Turnover Costs
Losing an employee is costly in terms of time, effort, and money. The SHRM has estimated that the direct cost of replacing a departing employee can be as high as 50%-60% of their annual salary and the total cost associated to the departure can reach 90%-200% of the annual salary. Sounds quite high, huh? That is because in addition to the obvious costs such as offboarding of the departing employee and the recruitment and training costs of the replacement, turnover causes several types of hidden costs. These include delays in delivery, lost clients, and a domino effect when other employees decide to leave, too. Happy employees are more loyal to your organization and more resilient in difficult times. They are more likely to stay with you longer and thus reduce your cost related to employee turnover.
5) Happy Employees Are Healthy Employees
While we all catch a cold every so often, one of the characteristics of an unhappy workplace is employees continually taking sick days for physical or mental illness or coming to work sick. The constant state of stress and anxiety can be harmful to both, physical and mental wellbeing. Unhappy employees also call in sick unnecessarily because they just can’t bear the idea of going to work. This, of course, costs your business money and productivity. On the other hand, if your employees come to work when they are not feeling well, that should raise a red flag, too. They may be too afraid of being seen as “lazy” by their supervisor or they don’t trust their teammates to cover for them while they are out. So they will rather come to work and cough and sneeze at their desk. Happy employees in a psychologically safe workplace get sick less frequently, don’t take unnecessary sick days, and stay at home and get better faster when they actually fall sick.
6) Happy Employees Are Promoters of Your Business
Happy employees are the strongest ambassadors of your business. Whether they endorse your products or services to their friends and families or recommend your organization as a great place to work to future talent, these brand ambassadors are beyond valuable to your business. People trust their friends and family more than any advertisement. Therefore, employees who feel a passion for your company can be valuable assets in your marketing and employer branding efforts.
Creating a happier workplace requires resources and commitment but in the long run, it will help you save on several costs related to unhappy workplaces. Happy employees also go the extra mile for your business and help make your organization more successful which makes your efforts totally worth every minute and penny you spend on your employees’ happiness and wellbeing. Ready to create happier candidate and employee experiences? Keep up with the upcoming articles by subscribing when you click “follow” in the footer!
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