A healthy company environment plays a very important role in the well-being of your employees and the overall productivity of the company. You must have heard this saying “the happier your employees are, the more successful your company is” and this is indeed very true. Many corporate population crave for a healthy environment because they know how it feels to work in a toxic environment.
Creating a healthy working environment is not that difficult as we think, just follow these eight expert tips to see the game change within no time.
1. Respect Your Employees
You can accomplish a happy and safe company culture if the administration trusts and regards the majority of its representatives. Each employee from the lowest position to the top should feel in charge of their obligations and should feel trusted to achieve their daily work goals. You’ll see that your employees will go out of their way to perform better and better for your company if they feel respected and valued. A company should also encourage its workers to build a solid friendship among co-workers as this will help alleviate toxicity of any kind. It would be difficult for co-workers to plot against each other when they’re friends.
Since 2013, Google has been topping the charts for the best working environment company on the grounds that the organization regards their representatives. According to some stats, 95 percent of Google employees’ state that the management has shown immense trust and this has enabled them to succeed.
2. Build Trust
Organizations that go through problems in employees’ performance and behaviour should consider building a feeling of trust. Trust constitutes the basis of an organization when it comes to relationships and collaborations. Building strong work relationships should be considered as important as strengthening the personal bonds.
Trust among management and workers brings so many positive results like:
- Enhanced creativity levels
- Enhanced productivity amongst staff
- Sense of security and comfort
- The capability to stretch more for the organization
Now, the question is “how to build trust?” Follow this and witness the outcome yourself:
- Be honest with your employees.
- Be neutral and unbiased
- Own your mistakes with an open heart
- Treat employees like your family
- Encourage team decisions
3. Encourage Friendship, Fun, and Freedom
A healthy company culture encourages fun, fostering strong friendships, and giving freedom to accomplish your goals that don’t necessarily have to do with work. Celebrate your employees’ birthdays, work anniversaries and other achievements. This may sound cliché but this does work. This also seems high on budget if your organization has a good worker strength but if you hold these celebrations within a team then it might not be that hard on the budget. You should encourage your employees to go out together even after work.
Integrating these three F’s will help your employees to have a positive outlook on life, they will enjoy more and this will significantly boost their productivity. Ask your workers to enroll in online bootcamps and then reward them with a certificate for doing so. This will also increase their aptitiude.
Employee retention is a part that is overlooked by nascent companies. The thought that hiring new employees if the old one leaves the company should change. Companies like Google, Southwest, IBM, Dell and Schneider Electric are known for their employee retention strategies.
4. Enable healthy food choices
Some of you may have had a laugh when you’ve read this but food is a great source of happiness. And healthy food is a blessing. When our generation feels down and low, they often choose to splurge on snacks. It’s not their fault actually, we live in a busy world and cooking at home often gets difficult.
If you’re blessed enough to have a cafeteria in your office, consider providing healthy options for your workers. Don’t offer soft drinks, instead set up a healthy food beverage vending machine. Don’t offer deep-fried items and snacks, instead offer fruits and vegetables salad. You can also design a healthy cafeteria policy which will be followed by the cafe in-charge.
5. Managing the breaks
Another tip is to manage the breaks during work strategically.
Productivity does not expect you to work relentlessly like a robot. Despite what might be expected, working like this will only lessen the productivity.
Regardless of the amount you need to work, there are aspects of your life that work can’t satisfy, for example, love, family, and wellbeing. That is the reason our life wheel is comprised of various fragments, versus only 1 major portion. Each fragment gets affected by the other. If you’re having some family issues, it will affect your work-life, if you’re going through a medical illness, it will leave an impact on your performance.
Understanding that your employees have a life apart from work is essential. They cannot work non-stop by sitting in front of a computer hurting their eyes just for the sake of some money? NO! They need peace of mind and a relaxing working environment. Encourage them to manage their work according to their own style. Ask them to take a few breaks because this will help them recharge.
If you’re working in a shift with flexible work timing, you’ll know how easy it makes for you to work when you have no restrictions. You know you’re in an adaptable environment where you can leave the work area, get a beverage, go to the washroom, go for smoke breaks, etc.
6. Offer Rewards, Financial Incentives, and Positive Feedback
It’s astonishing to read that such a less of 24% of workers are happy with the degree of acknowledgment they get at work. Furthermore, 70% of workers state that acknowledgment and praise have no money value. So, how can you please your workers in the company?
Bonuses: Employees typically react to financial rewards and bonuses as an acknowledgment of their good performance.
Advantages: We see a huge response to advantages that weren’t just monetary, for example, a relaxing environment, half days, office get-togethers, and other social hangouts outside of the workplace.
Positive acknowledgment: Recognizing somebody out in the open for his good performance can have a major effect. It’s very important to give feedback on every little task that your employees do.
7. Praise and Acknowledge Often
Do you know that feeling overlooked at work is the #1 reason Americans find employment elsewhere? Number one! Low pay, limited off days and insufficient adaptability for life outside of work are the reasons for this.
A stat as alarming as that one should be considered immediately by management.
Praise and acknowledgment of even little achievements pay a big role in a healthy working environment. Ask your teammates how they want to get acknowledged and then act upon their advice.
For example, if your employees earn a certificate through an online IT bootcamp, praise them and encourage them. Understand that they are doing this for your organization.