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International Week of Happiness at Work 2021: 10 things you can do in your office

By 23/09/2021January 18th, 2022Leadership, Management, Motivation, Natural HR, News
international week of happiness

Today, September 23rd, marks the start of the International Week of Happiness at work. Here at Natural HR, we know that employee happiness and well-being are integral to any business’s success.

It may seem like employee happiness is something that benefits only the employees. However, many companies can benefit greatly from having happy employees. The range of benefits ranging from reduced turnover to increased productivity.

In this article, we’re going to look at some ideas of how you can boost employees’ happiness in your business – from offering tips on everything from how to create a welcoming and creative work culture to how to recognise the needs of individual staff members.

10 ways you can increase happiness in your workplace in 2021

It’s unlikely that every single one of the suggestions below will fit your company. Still, with the list, we’ve tried to make a range of applicable suggestions, or at least adaptable, to most businesses.

1. Celebrate your team wins: Whether it’s the addition of a new team member, the achievement of meeting a target or even celebrating the launch of a new product, appreciating the efforts of your team and giving them their due recognition for wins will go a long way in making a happy workforce. However, more crucial than that is appreciating and celebrating everyone’s wins, from the new starter to the team manager and the parts they’ve played in the success of your business.

2. Set up a proper break room in the office: Spend some time setting up a dedicated place within your office where your team can relax. This could be anything from a quiet corner where people can chat or read a book, to somewhere where they can eat their lunch. With time to relax and unwind, in a place where they can disconnect from the office, your team will be able to come back from their breaks feeling refreshed, more alert and better able to focus on their work.

3. Consider giving your staff their birthdays off: Nobody wants to have to work on their birthday, and while your staff could use up some of their annual leave, if they didn’t want to come in, why not give it to them as a day of paid leave? Just think how much they’d appreciate it if you gifted them the day instead.

4. Invest in a proper coffee machine (And proper Coffee!): Ask yourself what’s better, instant coffee or a nice Italian coffee machine as you see in Cafés? Purchasing a decent coffee machine for your office is bound to please many people, and get a lot of smiles! Staff will love that there’s always a fresh cup of coffee awaiting them at work, and they’ll love you and the company for bringing it in!

5. Get some plants for the office: Plants don’t just make the place look nicer — they clean the air, reduce noise levels and have a proven calming effect on staff. You could give each team a budget to brighten up their desk or assign a rota to ensure they’re watered.

6. Don’t forget to go festive throughout the year: A quick change of scenery does wonder for office morale! You might not want to switch up your office layout too often, and instead limit it to big events like Christmas and Halloween! Changing up the office will go a long way in making sure your team can enjoy social events!

7. Consider throwing a lunchtime pizza party: Pizza was made for sharing, even if it does have Pineapple on it, and so it’s perfect for the workplace to get the team together over a bite to eat! Furthermore, it’s a cheap way to fill your team up while still being tasty enough to be considered a treat for everyone including meat lovers, vegetarians, vegans and those with other allergies.

8. Consider having ‘early finish Fridays’: You know how hard it can be to focus when there are only a few hours left until the weekend begins, plus for many commuting staff the rush hour traffic can put a dampener on the start of the weekend. So why not be the people’s hero by letting your staff head off half an hour early on the last day of the week, providing that they’re on top of their work?

9. Promote health and wellness to your staff: Promoting healthy living in a workspace can provide a host of benefits to the productivity and happiness of your team. You could bring in a yoga instructor for a treat, offer gym membership as a work perk, or even offer something as simple as fruit in the office!

10. Allow your team to use headphones at work: It’s a decisive issue, while some managers shudder at the very thought of their staff wearing headphones at work, others don’t. If you’re concerned that staff may take advantage of the new policy, you could always employ a new policy so that it’s clearly defined when it’s appropriate to wear them, or when they should not be worn. Either way, giving your team the ability to tailor their work environment with tunes of their choice will not go unappreciated, so don’t be afraid to give it a try.

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