Why Happiness?
Happiness — Just saying the word brings a smile on our faces.
But are you really happy?
Well that’s a common question asked everywhere, be it workplace or home or college or even at your most precious place — ‘The Washroom! ’ :p
Basically, being happy is a must in order to feel good about yourself and enjoy yourself in the work you’re producing. This is not just a fact and I can prove it. Just ask yourself, if you were doing your work better when you had that smile on your face or when you had a gloomy or grumpy face? I’m sure the answer adds up to the fact.
So, on an individual level, there may be no better way to be more productive than being happy. When people feel engaged and passionate about their work, they work harder, faster as well as better.
10 Tips to hack happiness at your workplace –
Hacking happiness might be just the way to blur the line between employment and enjoyment. Whether you’re leading a team or just working with one, being happy brings about a big difference.
Here are few innovative and inexpensive tips to hack happiness at your workplace :
1. Smile
A smile is the happiness that you would find right under your nose. A study at the University of Warwick found that happiness makes people about 12% more productive.
Clearly, it was found that employees are more productive when they gain happiness and enjoy their work, and happier companies enjoy higher profitability. Hence, smile and take the first step towards happiness because it isn’t just about good feelings, it’s about good business.
2. Bright Ambiance
Unknowingly, bright shades have a drastic change on one’s mood swings.
Many might disagree but employees who sit near a window, having a view of the outdoors are better at staying on task, show greater interest in their work and represent more loyalty to their company.
According to HOK, a global design, architecture and engineering firm, better workplace lighting (both natural daylight and artificial light) has been linked to a *15% *reduction in absenteeism in office environments. Other studies have reported productivity increases ranging from *2.8% to 20% *attributed to optimum lighting levels.
Thus, keeping your work sphere bright and wearing bright clothes (not fluorescent), could make a huge difference to a person’s perspective and feelings.
3. Sales with Games
Gamification is the application of typical elements of game playing (e.g. point scoring, competition with others and rules of play) to other areas of activity, typically as an online marketing technique to encourage engagement with a product or service.
SalesScreen is one such product who combines gamification with data visualization in order to increase activity on KPIs and thus drive revenue. The system gives managers an all-in-one toolkit to measure and motivate sales performance, replacing the outdated sales bell and whiteboard with a 21st century solution to sales management. They also feature sales related content on their blog, The Art of Sales.
This solution not only becomes a stress buster but it also provides you a platform where you can define targets, measure performance on goals, set up leader boards, run contests, recognize achievements and celebrate achievements. By recognizing performance, companies build a culture of cohesion and growth.
Hence, gamification is indeed exciting because it promises to make the hard stuff in life fun!
4. Appreciation Badge/award
In few companies like McDonald’s or KFC, the employees are provided with an appreciation badge like 'Chef of the Day’' or stars or smilies badge, etc.
These small badges make them happy because no matter what, we are all kids at heart. So, a weekly agenda to celebrate wins among teams or just the freedom to choose a weekly outdoor treat are few ideas which would make the employees work harder to earn it.
5. Music creates Magic
You might have seen many students who would listen to music and do homework. Sometimes, there could be a slow piano tune in the background, and the kid would be studying for his/her exam as well. No, they’re not stupid or multi-tasking.
Listening to music gives soothing state to your brain and also makes you concentrate better. There are various genres so a person will never get bored of music. Employees can experiment with them and express their moods through music; also, they could avoid fights or job-politics as well.
So the next time you feel low or angry, just pull out your earphones/headphones and blast the music.
6. Offer flexible working
Allowing your team to work flexible hours, from different locations, can help reduce stress by making it easier for them to fit work around their lives and work the hours that they find to be most productive.
With so many great apps available to help your team collaborate remotely, it’s now easier than ever to offer flexible working.
At my company, Aeroleads, the profit is made even during flexible work hours when the employees are working from the comfort of their homes in their shorts. Also, they tend to have a follow up app, called Asana which tracks the daily tasks of the employees.
But you must also keep track of their work and not just be a lazy boss. *If they have to do their work then you have to do yours first.
*
7. Emotions and Sleep
Emotions play a major role in a work place. It’s not only highly contagious but a small act of kindness could make a person happy and get those good vibes. Maybe that’s why it’s known as a “random” act of kindness.
Also, few companies like Google, Yahoo!, Uber, Nike, etc. have proved, by providing sleeping pods or nap time during work hours, that sometimes sleep is all you need to be energized later and thus produce your work better.
This is because scientists have shown that small naps(30 minutes), boosts productivity, increases alertness, quickens motor reflexes, raises accuracy, improves decision-making skills, enhances creativity, and bolsters memory.
Hence, it’s okay to nap in order to snap.
8. Blur lines between employment and enjoyment
Everyone might have heard that the team that stresses together would bring victory together. But teams should not only stress together, but they should relief the stress together as well.
So small coffee breaks between work hours or small games with music playing in the background or a small gig in the workplace could make wonders to one’s mood and change it for the better.
Also, the teammates can go out on lunch breaks together and keep their team meetings there, as this would make them feel approachable to each other.
9. Give them Space
Give them space, physically as well as mentally.
By physical space, we mean providing a very spacious work place environment. Confined spaces make them feel like prisoners. It can make the employees feel uncomfortable as well as bored to come to the same place and same desk; hence they won’t have the urge to work to their maximum potential.
Giving them mental space basically means ‘letting them be’. You can try conversing casually with your employees rather than a serious boss-employee relationship. Share few personal experience and talk like a friend. But when it comes to serious matters, learn to draw the line.
10. Target Treat
Target treat, basically means celebrating a monthly target with your employees.
Who wouldn’t want to enjoy after a stressful month full of targets!
A small lunch out or even a small party in order to give a token of appreciation can give a sense of dedication in your employees. Hence, they would feel motivated to do their work better.
So, keep targets, and when achieved, don’t ignore, rather celebrate them.
Hence, if you are not happy, change it; and if you are happy, enjoy it.
But remember, no forced happiness or fake happiness because that would just backfire on you.
Author Biography
Navaneetha, commonly known as “nav”, loves to read, play badminton, play the keyboard and sing but when she’s not doing any of those, she loves to write. What started as a high school hobby to write is now her on-going passion. At Aeroleads, she manages Inbound Marketing and Social Media Marketing.
