Are your people satisfied at work? If not, listen up. Unhappy employees are often unproductive, which can directly impact your business’s bottom line. But offering more money isn’t always the answer. Research shows that you don’t have to give your team a raise to make them happy. There are a variety of ways to boost your employees’ happiness at work, which can improve your business function too. Here are three secrets to making your employees happier at work.

Replace Excess Meetings & Emails

In a recent interview, Sydney Sloan, director of customer and social marketing at Jive told Business News Daily that many employees often feel “flooded” with emails. A full inbox and constant meetings hinder productivity and waste time. We’ve all felt the pressure of a packed inbox. All of those messages are hard to keep track of. And forget keeping them organized! And just when you’ve settled in to work, it’s time to go to a meeting.

There is a simple solution. Sloan suggests replacing some of the meetings and emails with technology that can not only save time but also help your team collaborate more efficiently. Collaboration tools such as Jive or Slack can connect your team wherever they may be, whether traveling for work or working from home. As a business leader you can automatically subscribe your people to “news streams” based on their role, which means no more time wasted at meetings and fewer emails to send out.

Encourage Fitness

Regular fitness plays a vital role in a person’s overall health and happiness. This can directly impact work performance. According to the health experts from the Mayo Clinic, exercise in nearly any form, from running and yoga to lifting weights or riding a bike, can work as a stress reliever. Exercise improves mood, boosts feel-good endorphins and allows the mind to be distracted from daily worries. As a business owner, you may have already discovered the secrets of regularly working out, but have your employees? Encouraging your team to take part in fitness can actually boost their performance at work. From signing up your office for a charity run to offering discounted gym memberships, you can help your business run more efficiently and take care of your employees at the same time.

Flexible Vacation

It might sound crazy at first but an unlimited vacation policy may just be the best secret to keeping your employees in the right mindset for work and also keeping your business running like a well-oiled machine. Dozens of companies including ZenPayroll, Netflix and Virgin have adopted unlimited or flexible vacation policies and it works. With an unlimited vacation policy there is no tracking involved. As long as the work gets done, it’s a win-win for everyone. Even if you’re not ready to adopt an unlimited vacation policy, start small and follow HubSpot’s lead. This company makes it mandatory for employees to take two weeks off per year. Flexible and unlimited vacation policies have led to a higher employee workplace satisfaction rate, less turnover, boosted productivity and increased morale. While you may be skeptical it is worth considering.’

 

About the Author: Lauren Topor is a lifestyle writer based in the Southwest who spends her days writing about food and health, fashion, fitness and entertainment.