How HR Managers Improve Happiness in the Workplace

HR Managers have the ability to improve happiness in the workplace. They are perfectly placed to see what needs to be changed, help implement changes and monitor them. Changes to improve work satisfaction don’t need to be big. Sometimes the more logical and smaller changes can boost morale and all-around happiness.

Why Improve Employee Happiness?

One of the reasons why a company should be concerned with employee happiness and well-being is staff turnover. The reality is that staff turnover impacts a company’s bottom line and viability in the long run. Additionally, employee satisfaction has strong links to absenteeism and productivity. Essentially, those who are happier in their jobs are more productive when they are at work.

An effective way a company can retain employees is to try to improve and maintain employee well-being. A big part of which is happiness within a work environment. A common miscoception is that salary equates to level of happiness and good productivity. This is not true and the reason why human resource departments need to be aware of what really drives well-being. As well as what impacts the productivity of a team.

What do HR Managers Do?

Human Resource Management (HRM) is the efficient management of people within an organisation. HRM, therefore, encompasses human resource planning and strategizing. This includes recruitment, selection and induction into a company. It also involves overseeing performance and reward programmes, talent development and training, and management of labour and employee relationships.

A Human Resource (HR) Manager is therefore someone who oversees the HRM processes and systems. One of their primary goals is to maintain employee well-being so as to ensure a company’s viability and long-term sustainability. An HR Manager needs to be observant and understand the psychology of what drives people. Then based on the company dynamics, they need to be proactive and solution orientated.

How to Increase Employee Satisfaction

Establishing happiness in the workplace, and thereby increasing employee satisfaction, isn’t a linear process. It requires a multi-pronged approach that needs to be monitored and adjusted. This is because a work environment is dynamic. One in which expectations shift and people change.

3 Ways to Increase Happiness in the Workplace

1. Ask and Listen: Asking for feedback from employees impacts workplace satisfaction. Equally important is their understanding of how their feedback is processed and if it’s made a difference.
2. Praise Work-life Balance: Good health and work productivity are linked. As are workaholism, stress, burnout and bad health. Therefore, changing why people get praised can shift workplace experiences. For example, praise those who get things done efficiently during their work hours. Additionally, acknowledge those who invest time in exercising or pursuing a hobby and encourage others to do the same.
3. Celebrate Success: Those who have their good work and contributions recognised tend to perform better. Thus, sharing and highlighting an individual or team’s successes is an easy way to boost morale and job enthusiasm.

How can HR Managers Improve Happiness in the Workplace?

HR Managers are well-positioned to increase employee happiness and work satisfaction. It requires conscious and consistent effort. And the payoffs for the company are well worth the time spent doing so.

3 Ways HR Manager can Increase Workplace Satisfaction

1. Benefits matter: The aim of benefits can be to show that the company cares about their staff’s well-being beyond job performance. Therefore, benefits such as free debt counselling services or lunchtime meditation sessions are good places to start. Additionally, many employees see family-friendly benefits and health care as positively contributing to job satisfaction.
2. Invest in Futures: Have clear career and job growth paths which include opportunities to upskill. This way employees will know from day one how to advance their careers within the company as opposed to seeing their job as a stepping stone.
3. Remembering Remote Workers: The increase of people working from home creates the danger of side-lining the importance of maintaining their job satisfaction. This means that companies need to actively schedule feedback sessions or offer benefits that are specific to those working off-site. For example, providing the necessary tools and stationery one might find at the office.

How HR Can Boost Employee Productivity

How comfortable and enabling of productivity a work environment is, correlates to how well employees function in their jobs. The less frustrated an employee is by unnecessary difficulties, the more satisfaction they can derive from their jobs.

There are a number of ways that HR managers can make the physical work environment better for productivity. Many of which are easy to implement and have immediate positive work impacts.

• One of these is by ensuring that lighting is excellent. Ideally, natural light is best. However, if this isn’t possible, then making sure that employee stations are well-lit can assist in preventing eye strain, headaches and drowsiness.
• Studies have shown that office temperature impacts the rate of errors and productivity levels. It’s not possible to have the perfect temperature for each person, but it can be maintained at a setting which enables everyone to make themselves comfortable. For example, wear a light jersey as opposed to needing a winter jacket.
• A third way to increase productivity is to ensure that employees have access to the right technology. For instance, in some workplaces, it makes sense to have an internal instant messaging system whereas others work better with email.

Why Study Human Resource Management at SACAP

Being someone who enjoys working with people and boosting their well-being, are excellent reasons to consider a career in HR. SACAP’s Management and Leadership Courses are embedded in an Applied Social Science framework. This means that SACAP graduates are equipped with an understanding of both psychology and business practices. Which gives them a distinct competitive advantage when they start working. Contact a student advisor to discuss which Human Resource Management qualification is best suited to your career aspirations. Or enrol online today.