Article: 3 ways to improve your employees’ productivity

Everyone wants to be happy and live a good life. In fact, increased happiness levels have been proven to boost productivity, according to a study by the University of Warwick. 

The study found that participants who are subjected to happiness-inducing techniques experience an increase in productivity of 12 per cent. Success is therefore no longer viewed as the singular path to happiness – instead, businesses are realising that it works the other way around.

Shawn Achor, author of “The Happiness Advantage,” explained to Inc. Magazine that optimism is the best predictor for entrepreneurial success as it enables the brain to conceive more possibilities.
 “Only 25 per cent of job success is based upon IQ. Seventy-five per cent is about how your brain believes your behaviour matters, connects to other people and manages stress,” Achor said.

With proof that productivity is directly driven by happiness, how can organisations ensure their company culture encourages happiness in the workplace? Here are three ways to approach the challenge:

1. Revise your benefits
From savings options to healthcare coverage, offering benefits that can add security to your employees’ future will naturally result in a happier work life, something Forbes contributor Susan Galer agrees with.
While the attraction of certain benefits will vary from company to company and employee to employee, your employees will still appreciate added security. 

2. Introduce flexible work conditions
Implementing “work from home” policies has become a noticeable trend among many organisations. According to John Rampton in Inc. those employees with young families, particularly, will often benefit from reducing the stress levels usually incurred by long commutes from the suburbs,
The hyper-connectivity enabled by the internet has made it easy for employers to provide workers with schedule flexibility while ensuring the work can still be done effectively. Our recent Work from Home survey results clearly show that offering the option of working from home is a growing trend among New Zealand organisations.  For further information on this survey see HERE >

3. Recognise your employees
One of the most effective ways to boost happiness levels is to acknowledge your workforce’s good work. Implementing solid employee reward and recognition programmes can take this a step further by actively incentivising good performance while making productive employees feel valued. 
Strategic Pay specialises in providing organisations with effective reward and recognition programmes, as well as advising on ways of improving performance. If you want to learn more about how you can make a positive change, get in touch with us today.