Bossy Boss? Employees Needs To Be Happy

Is An Employee’s Happiness Important?

Just like most countries, the Kenyan government had announced lockdowns in mid-March that forced businesses to suspend, reduce operations, or close.  Kenyan journalists are among millions of people all over the world who have either been furloughed, lost their jobs, or had their salaries reduced.

Generally, most organizations, industries, both private and public businesses   have been affected in one way or another. Everyone wants a Pied Piper to kill the rats (read virus), but no one is offering hope.

But hey, should employers care about their workers’ happiness? Should employers be concerned with happiness or just productivity?

Bossy boss. Photo Courtesy

How to Make Your Workers Happy

So what makes workers happy? This may differ from an individual to the other. Money matters, of course, although the correlation depends on the industry. A research done by Oxford University students found out that a good number of employees are happy when they are well paid and on time.

The working environment also matters. Researchers found a correlation between feelings of unhappiness, low productivity, and miserable working conditions.  Employees are happy and more productive when in a peaceful and calm environment rather than chaotic and choppy environment.

Appreciation for a job well done also makes workers happy however little the efforts are. This can be done in different ways like word of mouth, salary increment, gifts/tokens, trips among other ways.

Good relations between the workers and the manager/management makes workers not only happy but also open and productive.

Employees are happy and more productive when in a peaceful and calm environment

So if you can’t improve salaries what should a manager has to do?

For an employer to create the happiness that may lead to prosperity and success in an organization, he or she should:

• Create Employee trust in their company’s leadership
• The employer should commit to employees and their success
• He should develop a culture where employees are encouraged to share ideas and individual opinions  
• There should be a workplace where co-workers feel like family or friends
• There should be Benefits customized to meet employee needs

So acknowledge employees when they do great work. Ask for their feedback and act on it when you receive it. And give them time off when they need it, whether it’s to re-charge their batteries or to load up on new skills and learning.

Make happiness a focus of your management. If you’re intentional, you’ll not only see more smiles but higher productivity too.