What Makes Employees Happy At Work? 11 Tips

Happy employees can improve your company culture for so many reasons. For starters, happy employees are more creative. On top of that, they work harder, and they’re generally more engaged at work. All of that leads to a better working environment where employee retention and job satisfaction are through the roof. It’s enough to leave you asking: What makes employees happy at work? 

There are so many ways you can keep your employees happy at work. From fun team-building activities to a better work-life balance, here’s how to keep the whole team smiling. 

11 tips to keeping employees happy at work

These 11 tips can help you keep your employees happy at work. 

• Ensure a healthy work-life balance
• Offer opportunities to learn
• Take your team’s feedback and suggestions seriously
• Plan fun activities
• Set flexible working hours
• Give individualized benefits
• Show employees what they’re worth 
• Give recognition and celebrate wins
• Make sure they know the purpose behind their work
• Focus on high-quality management
• Keep your meetings concise and effective

1Ensure a healthy work-life balance

For peak employee happiness in the workplace, you should encourage your team to strike a balance between work and their personal lives. With the right work-life balance, you can lessen the chances that your team members burn out, and you can boost employee productivity.

That’s not just a fun idea – the numbers back it. According to CompareCamp statistics, 85 percent of organizations that prioritize work-life balance saw a rise in employee productivity. Try setting a “no emails after working hours” policy and ask how else you can give your team members time away from the job. The more your team members can detach, the more they’ll return to work as their best selves. 

2Offer opportunities to learn

Happiness in the workplace starts with listening to your employees and figuring out the ingredients in your team’s ultimate happiness recipe. This can include opportunities beyond the usual day-to-day tasks for your team members to learn and grow. 

When you prioritize team members’ interests and strengths, you’ll know what types of growth opportunities could fit the bill. That’s a great shortcut to increased engagement and motivation. So listen closely during your one-on-one meetings, then set everyone up with professional development opportunities that can take their potential to the next level.

3Take your team’s feedback and suggestions seriously

A happy team is a team that can help make key decisions – and that has a voice within the organization. That’s why you should give everyone space to safely and freely share their ideas and constructive feedback. With Fellow, you can ask for anonymous feedback to help get the ball rolling. 

Anonymous feedback is a great way to get input from team members who might otherwise stay quiet. And when managers address this feedback, they show that they want to make the organization work for the team, not just the other way around. 

4Plan fun activities

All work and no play makes for a dull team. Team bonding ideas such as an escape room or a scavenger hunt can bring some fun into the mix. During these activities, your team members will learn more about one another in a low-stakes environment while also becoming closer. This is important: People want a sense of belonging in all areas of their lives – work included.

5Set flexible working hours

Flexible working hours or hybrid work schedules can increase work-life balance and, in turn, happiness at work. A flexible work schedule can cut down on your team’s commute time so they can spend more time with loved ones. Plus, when you set flexible working hours, you show that you trust your team to get things done on their own terms. 

6Give individualized benefits

It’s common to offer standard benefits – health insurance, retirement plans – and a few extra perks to keep your employees happy. But when you offer benefits on an individual basis, you show just how much you care about each and every team member. After all, each team member is unique, so you should cater to their needs. This can mean more personalized retirement programs or free higher education courses based on your team members’ interests and skills. 

7Show employees what they’re worth 

When your employees feel valued at work, they’re more likely to feel fulfilled and happy too. After all, you’ve hired team members for a reason – for that special something only they can bring to the table. Team members are more likely to stay at an organization when they’re respected and valued.  

8Give recognition and celebrate wins

At work, everyone wants acknowledgement for their contributions. That’s why you should recognize your team members’ achievements. You can give weekly shout-outs during team meetings in Fellow to highlight a team member’s effort or dedication. When your team can clock out at the end of the day knowing their contributions matter, there can be a ripple effect of positivity. 

9Make sure they know the purpose behind their work

For employees’ work to feel meaningful, you should keep them in the loop about the “why” behind it all. This way, your team members know that everything they do is working toward a larger goal. This sense of meaning can lead to employees paying more attention and working harder. It can also lead to better employee engagement – and, of course, happier employees. 

10Focus on high-quality management

Managers set the tone for your whole work environment. That means employee happiness starts from the top down. If you start with good management, you’re more likely to have happier employees who feel supported to produce great work. 

11Keep your meetings concise and effective

If you schedule too many meetings that last too long, you’re less likely to develop a winning strategy for employee happiness. To keep your team happy and avoid burnout, hold only straightforward meetings with a clear purpose. 

Sure, it can be tempting to send a calendar invite for every question or concern, but some meetings should be an email. And if you do need a meeting, you should plan ahead to keep it effective and to the point. With Fellow’s meeting management platform, you can start all your meetings with a clear meeting agenda and get your next steps lined up quickly. 

A happy team is a productive team  

When you encourage work-life balance and gently push everyone to take their vacation days, you’re investing in your team’s happiness. All these positive feelings at work can go a long way for any team. 

A great place to start is by taking a look at how you run meetings. With Fellow, efficient meetings become a breeze – you’ll have all the tools you need to get it right every time. You can also look at what’s working well and find potential improvement areas with Fellow’s feedback tool. You can give and get constructive and positive feedback – and act on it all to make the whole team happy.