As our Happiness at Work Week, in association with Personal Group, draws to a close, it is time to reflect on some of the trends and issues currently shaping this area of the benefits market.
Most organisations today recognise the correlation between happiness and productivity. In general terms, happier employees mean fewer sickness absences and better staff engagement. But what factors affect an individual’s contentment, and how can this be effectively measured when there are clearly a number of contributing factors at play?
One of the elements often hindering employers from taking action to address this issue is cost and whether they can really boost happiness while on a budget, as many believe that improving happiness requires money.
However, a report by recruitment organisation Badenoch and Clark, Multi-generational workforce, found that other than salary, flexible working is the most important factor contributing to the workplace happiness of UK employees.
There are also a number of cost-effective and budget-friendly benefits employers can implement and utilise in order to boost employee happiness. These benefits could be ones that work to motivate and engage staff.
Recognition, too, has a key role in ensuring that employees feel fulfilled, satisfied and happy, but this can take several forms and there’s clearly no one-size-fits-all approach.
In the past, employee recognition has consisted of long-service awards, annual performance rewards, or employee of the month programmes. But now, with job-hopping becoming increasingly common, employers must be more creative when it comes to showing their appreciation for their workforce.
Whatever your organisation’s approach, Happiness at Work was designed to help you take this to the next level through exclusive insights and opinions uncovering best practice in this area. These included:
- Budget-friendly benefits to boost happiness
- Fat Llama creates positive community with a low-cost benefits offering
- Vanessa King: The serious business of happiness at work
- Annie McKee: Who is responsible for happiness at work?
- How do different recognition strategies affect happiness and productivity?
- Bupa Care Services uses feedback, points and prizes to celebrate staff
- Katrina Philippou: What is the key to increasing workplace happiness?
- Professor Cynthia Fisher: Rewarding work influences employee happiness
- Perception versus reality: Effectively measuring the happiness of the workforce
- Gazprom Energy uses themed weeks to boost and gauge employee happiness
- Jonny Gifford: Measuring the happiness of the workforce
Kavitha Sivasubramaniam
Editor
Tweet: @kavithasiva_EB