22 Mar The Astonishing Power Of Positive Workplaces

If you’ve ever been on public transport in morning rush hour, you can see how most people view going to work. You rarely see people who look excited to go to work. Turns out, only about 30% of people are.

Time spent at work takes up a huge portion of our lives. The environment and culture of the workplace can be the difference between an engaged, productive workforce or stressed, unhappy workers who cost the company due to turnover, lowered productivity and increased healthcare costs.

Engagement, or a lack thereof, has a real impact on an organization’s success. Organizations with high employee engagement have:

• 21% higher productivity
• 22% higher profitability
• 25-65% less turnover
• 10% higher customer ratings

There are a few key elements that contribute to positive working environments:

1. Shared Vision and Alignment with the Company’s Goals and Values

Engaged employees feel like they are a part of something bigger than just themselves and their immediate day-to-day tasks.

Modern Survey found that employees who say their organizational values are “known and understood” are 51 times more likely to be fully engaged than an employee who responds that their organization does not have values that are known and understood.

Sadly, only 40% of the workforce know about the corporation’s goals, strategies, and tactics.

2. People Feel Valued

People need to feel that their contributions are appreciated and they are contributing to the success of the company.

The number-one reason most people leave their jobs is that they don’t feel appreciated. Gallup found that 65% of people surveyed said they got no recognition for good work last year.

69% of employees say they’d work harder if they were better appreciated and recognized, Globoforce found.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics found that only 29% of employees feel valued in their jobs.

If you want happy, productive employees, start letting them know that they (and their work) is noticed, appreciated and valued.

3. Having at Least One Friend at Work

Interpersonal relationships are an important part of engagement. Those with a best friend at work are 7 times more likely to be fully engaged in their work.

The McKinsey Global Institute found that productivity improves by 20-25% in organizations with connected employees.

Consider holding social events and activities that encourage interaction between employees. You can’t expect friendships to flourish if people are held captive in their cubicle all day.

4. A Good Manager

Managers can make all the difference in a team’s environment and productivity. Gallup found they are responsible for at least 70% of the variance of employee engagement scores and 50% of people have left a job because of their manager.

Employees who say they have more supportive supervisors are 1.3 times as likely to stay with the organization and are 67% more engaged. (The Energy Project).

65% of employees who report having had a meaningful discussion with their manager about their strengths describe themselves as flourishing at work (The VIA Institute on Character)

Companies need to take the time to train their managers. Of course, hard skills are crucial, but don’t neglect the soft skills of empathy, listening and problem solving.

5. Work Life Balance

Work/life balance has a dramatic impact on happiness and productivity. Happy employees are more self-driven to work compared to an unhappy employee who is striving to get the right balance between work, family and self.

30% cite work/life balance as a leading contributor to their loyalty (Staples) and 29% of American employees resign due to work overload and lack of healthy work-life balance (Cornerstone).

Create a Positive Working Environment that Fosters Engagement and Productivity

Since managers have such a huge impact on engagement and happiness, positive changes can start on the team level, or even with the individual.

The good news is small changes can have a huge impact on culture of a business and the engagement and productivity of the teams within.

5 Positive Psychology Hacks Can You Implement

Make sure you check out 5 Powerful Positive Psychology Hacks To Transform Your Team for some great techniques that you can use to help you create a more positive mindset, life, and business.