What are the overall business benefits of a happy team?

Generally, happy employees are engaged employees, meaning keeping your employees happy provides various business benefits. Working to increase employee satisfaction can improve business growth and productivity. Let's look at the key benefits of having happy employees.

Increased productivity

Employee happiness impacts productivity, with happy employees working more efficiently and reaching their goals. Happy employees typically have better focus and concentration, so they make fewer mistakes and produce high-quality work. Research suggests that happy employees have better critical thinking and problem-solving skills, so employee happiness can help your business develop creative solutions to challenges. Engaged employees also build good client relationships, leading to greater customer satisfaction and repeat business.

Better employee recruitment and retention

There's a strong link between employee satisfaction and engagement, meaning happy employees stay in their roles rather than seeking new opportunities elsewhere. Good employee retention helps your team collaborate effectively as they can build relationships. By contrast, high turnover leads to fragmented relationships, impacting employee engagement. You'll also spend more time and money recruiting and training new employees.

When you need to recruit new talent, happy employees are more likely to act as ambassadors. They may share their experiences with friends and encourage job seekers to apply for roles within your company. Suppose you encourage interviewees to speak to your current team during the interview process. In that case, happy employees are much more likely to speak about the positive work environment, making you an employer of choice.

Reduced absenteeism

Employee happiness can help reduce absenteeism. Mental health issues can affect anyone. However, happy workers with good workplace support often feel more able to deal with temporary stress in their work or personal lives. Mental and physical health are linked, so employee happiness can also impact physical well-being.

Good employee engagement can also motivate employees to come to work. Unhappy employees are more likely to take a day off for a mild illness or mental health struggles when they may benefit from seeking support from their colleagues.

We've discussed the benefits of having happy employees. Now, let's consider some ways to improve employee happiness. Ensuring your employees feel valued can underpin all your efforts and support your company's long-term success.

Methods for keeping your employees happy will vary depending on your work and employees' needs. However, several simple principles can help you improve workplace happiness and create a positive work culture.

Foster a positive workplace culture

Employees feel empowered to speak openly about their challenges and concerns in a positive work environment. A positive company culture also encourages mutual respect, where colleagues can exchange ideas to improve their work.

A positive workplace culture starts at the top and must feed through to every level. This typically involves leading by example. For example, an open-door policy can increase workplace happiness by enabling employees to discuss concerns. However, it's unlikely to be effective if managers respond negatively.

Ask for feedback

Asking your staff for feedback helps them feel valued and lets you assess employee happiness and engagement. You can use surveys to ask employees about job satisfaction and happiness and what would help them be happier at work. Repeating these surveys later can provide measurable data to show whether initiatives to improve employee happiness succeed.

There are other approaches to assessing workplace happiness. One-to-one interviews can offer useful insights. Staff forums encourage open discussion and let team members speak with a nominated person to raise concerns or offer suggestions.

Encourage strong workplace relationships

Having a good friend at work is great for employees' well-being and happiness. It motivates employees to come to work and also provides valuable support.

You can encourage workplace relationships by arranging opportunities for staff to get to know each other away from their desks. These could include lunchtime walking groups or a shared lunch where employees can chat informally. These have the added benefit of ensuring everyone takes a proper lunch break and return to their desks refreshed.

Support employees to create a positive work-life balance

A good work-life balance keeps employees happy by letting them spend time with their loved ones on activities they enjoy. Happy employees are more productive, and taking time away from work has numerous mental health benefits.

Flexible working is also a highly-valued employee benefit. Offering flexible working hours or letting employees work from home means your employees can shift their working hours around other commitments, such as caring responsibilities.

Help your team manage stress

Flexible working can be an effective stress management tool, but it's also worth considering other options. Work-related stress can cause psychological and physical symptoms such as low motivation, irritability, and insomnia. While at work, staff may be less productive, procrastinate, or avoid stressful tasks. They may take more time off work or start working longer hours in an attempt to keep up.

You can support your staff by encouraging them to go home on time and use their annual leave allowance. Stress awareness training and access to resources such as mindfulness and meditation apps can help.

Offer financial security

Financial worries can impact employee happiness, so offering a financial safety net or support to help your workers save money can make them happier. A market-value salary is vital, and you can also consider providing an employee discount scheme to help them save money on their regular expenses or treats such as holidays.

It's also worth providing a safety net should workers need time off work due to illness. For example, enhanced sick pay can make sickness absences less stressful because workers know their bills are covered.

Celebrate success

Happy employees feel valued and appreciated, meaning you can increase workplace happiness by recognising their efforts and celebrating their success. Employee recognition can take various forms. You can ask employees to nominate someone who has achieved great results or supported them through a challenge and reward them with a treat.

If your team has worked hard on a project, celebrate with a shared lunch or give gifts such as bottles of wine or a voucher they can spend as they wish.

Support personal and professional development

We've mentioned that having happy employees can enhance employee retention. Workers are also more likely to stay with your organisation if they see a clear career development path. Providing opportunities to learn about other roles within your team or the work done by other departments can help them see the possibilities. You can also offer training, mentorship, or work shadowing.

You can also increase employee happiness by supporting them in enjoying life outside work. This doesn't have to involve spending money. You can share ideas for activities or classes for employees to explore.

We've already mentioned flexible working and ways to celebrate employees' successes. Here are some paid benefits that can also increase employee engagement and happiness.

Financial support

Enhanced sick pay can ease employees' financial stress during an absence. Group income protection insurance provides a cost-effective way to cover an employee's salary while they're away and frees up funds for you to source temporary support if needed. Critical illness insurance also pays a lump sum if an employee is diagnosed with an illness covered by the policy.

Finally, group life insurance pays out a lump sum if your employee dies during their employment, so it may not benefit them directly. However, it can make them happy to know that their family will have a financial safety net should the worst happen.

Health insurance

Group health insurance lets employees access private medical treatment and various services that support their health and well-being. These can include direct access to counselling, physiotherapy and 24/7 virtual GP appointments. Most health insurance policies also have a rewards program with discounts on gym memberships, spa days and access to mindfulness apps that can support their mental well-being.

Corporate policies for businesses with 250+ employees often provide support to help you develop workplace wellness initiatives that can improve workplace relationships and employee well-being.

An employee assistance program

Employee assistance programs (EAPs) provide confidential telephone support and counselling. While they typically focus on mental well-being, many services also include legal and financial support, which can reduce stress and increase employees' happiness in various ways.

Many insurance companies offer EAPs with their health insurance at an additional cost, or you can choose a standalone service.

Providing your employees with practical support can help them navigate life's ups and downs. At Globacare, we help our clients find the right insurance to support their employees and have a happy workforce. Contact us for advice tailored to your needs and budget.