Three Ways to Make Your Employees Happy — American Express OPENForum, Families and Work Institute

The company culture you build has a major impact on how successful the business will be as it grows, writes Dan Schawbel, personal branding expert, at American Express OPENForum, a small business media hub. 

One of the biggest trends in the past few years is workplace flexibility.   A new study by the Families and Work Institute shows that more than 75 percent of employers now offer some form of flex time. This number is up from two thirds in 2005.   In addition, 63 percent of companies allow employees to work from home at least sometimes, which is up from 34 percent.

Schawbel elaborates:   

here’s a reason why everyone wants to work for Facebook, Google and other startups: Those companies create an environment that makes people happy.

Here are three ways to change your workplace for the better.

1. Give Unlimited Vacation

Most companies give workers between two and six weeks of vacation a year. Some employers allow you to carry over days and others give more days to people who have worked there longer.

Hubspot, a Boston-based company, gives employees unlimited days. The inbound marketing-software company expects that its employees will be responsible with the time they take off. Management trusts that employees know that they have a lot of work to do.

A study by CareerBuilder found that 12 percent of participants say they feel guilty that they’re not at work while they’re on vacation. When you don’t keep track of vacation days, it’s easier to manage and your employees have more freedom and flexibility in their lives.

2. Allow Work From Home

A Cisco study shows that 70 percent of students and young professionals think that heading to the office isn’t necessary anymore. A good 45 percent of the U.S. workforce has a job that’s suitable for telecommuting, and more than 34 million people work from home occasionally.

You don’t have to see their face every day to be sure that they are doing their job. As long as they check in with you periodically, show up to conferences and on conference calls, it’s more than acceptable for most work situations.

3. Create Social Events

Autodesk has nights out after working hours. The informal events attract 20 or more people to play video games, eat and talk with each other. The company also has larger events with karaoke.

By creating social events, you’re making work a part of your employee’s life. The events become an opportunity for networking, building trust and making people feel like they are part of a team.

The closer your team is, the easier it will be to get work done, increase productivity and make work enjoyable for everyone.

 

Don’t Worry, Be Happy.  The Work’ll Get Done. 

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