Are Your Employees Fully Engaged At Work? 5 Simple Ways to Cultivate a Happier Work Culture
A good office dynamic is crucial for a happy and productive workplace. The prevalence of office politics as a cause of negativity and stress at work suggests that many companies are struggling to manage their office culture. It is also worrying that employees spend their ‘off-duty’ hours full of anxiety and dread about returning to the office to face certain colleagues and a heavy workload. Research has shown that over half of the UK workforce find it difficult to switch off from their day-to-day working life. While we all have our ‘off’ days, it is unacceptable to be plagued by such overwhelming anxiety and stress to the point where it has a severe impact on the quality of an individual’s life.
So what can be done to curtail the office politics and stimulate greater employee engagement?
Here are our tips that will help make the office a less stressful and more productive and enjoyable place to be:
1. Do away with micromanaging
If employees feel as though they are expected to behave in a certain way, they are more likely to feel tense. If they are encouraged to be their authentic selves, they will not only feel happier but better placed to leverage their strengths and unique perspectives, which in turn will have a positive impact on the business. If leaders step back and guide employees to mature within their roles and responsibilities by giving them the freedom to show their full potential, they will feel valued, challenged, trusted – and content.
2. Respect – give it and take it
When employees feel that their leader doesn’t care, they may begin to shut down and grow bitter. They will be much more engaged and have more respect for their role if they feel as though they are not confined to an environment of limitations and constraints. An employee will respect a leader who allows every member of the team to take ownership of their role. Likewise, a leader will respect an employee who makes the effort to discuss ways they can work together to make changes to the workplace if there are feelings of anxiety. With an abundance of positive energy in the office, there’s no time for harbouring ill feelings.
3. Look beyond the obvious
Look at what each member of the team naturally gravitates towards – what makes them excited? Forget about their skills on paper and focus on the areas that they enjoy contributing to most. Everyone wants to feel a buzz from what they do at work; sometimes it requires a bit of detective work to figure out what makes each member of the team truly flourish, but it’s time well spent. Work together to build an effective and dynamic team – one that can fully engage with the business and generate excellent results, and take pleasure in the process.
4. Share successes
Keep momentum up by celebrating successes together. Sharing accomplishments and great results as a team is a sign of trust that organically creates engagement. If a leader is transparent in expressing not only the successes a business enjoys but also vulnerabilities, this will garner more respect and support. A leader should not always be right, or perceived as perfect. The journey should be a shared one, which means experiencing both the highs and the lows. This kind of genuine collaboration drives engagement and creates an authentic and meaningful work culture.
5. Look after one another
Employees are more likely to disengage if they don’t understand the company goals or their leader’s style and approach. If everyone in the team knows that the leader has their best interests at heart, they will feel secure, motivated to succeed – and more likely to stay in the role. Assuming that employees will be loyal is a sure-fire way to lose top talent. Communication is key – which means checking in regularly with each other, not just to see if targets are being met, but to ensure that nobody is bottling up negative feelings and taking their worries home with them.
About First2Recruit
First2Recruit, are an owner managed recruitment consultancy providing a full recruitment service including; permanent and FTC positions in Accountancy Practice and Insolvency across the UK.
Alternatively, visit www.first2recruit.co.uk or call one of their friendly team on 01722 440 168.