A Seattle businessman recently increased all his employees’ salaries to $70,000 in an attempt to make a difference in their lives. But can earning more money really make you happier at work, and how can employers without big budgets make a difference?
Urszula Lipsztajn, a Squamish leadership coach, workshop facilitator and founder of WorkBrite, says that, up to a certain point, money can make a difference but, “What matters more is that people want to feel valued. They want to feel heard and they want to feel like they’re contributing.”
And when your employees are happy, your bottom line is happy, she says explaining that happiness directly influences productivity. “Happy employees tend to generate better ideas faster, and are able to launch them more efficiently.” Project collaboration also receives a boost, with projects being carried out quicker and more efficiently. “It costs less for you if people are happy.”
Conversely, she says, unhappy employees cost a great deal often due to increased sick leave (they can be more susceptible to stress-related illnesses), leading to lost productivity and increased insurance benefits costs. And should someone be so unhappy that they quit, time spent recruiting and retraining someone new all adds up. “If you lose someone who’s great, you also potentially lose the source of your next big idea… and you’ll never have the chance to tap into that.”
When trying to improve employee happiness, many employers automatically assume that performance management programs are the way forward, but they’re often very costly in terms of time and money, explains Lipsztajn.
Instead, she recommends, “get a really good hiring process in place because if you don’t have one it’s highly unlikely that you’ll find the right person.” This means creating a clear job description and finding someone with the right skills who fits within your company culture and values, advises Lipsztajn, and be clear on what you’re looking for and how you will know when you’ve found them.
Genuinely listening, she says, is another great tool, and she suggests offering regular check-ins with all your employees. “One of the best ways to make your employees feel valued is to make time to listen to them. Meet people one-on-one to see where they are, what they need to move forward, and what’s holding them back. Really, the goal of a leader is to remove obstacles in the way of their employees so that they can do their work best,” she says.
Another tip is to lead by example, she says, because whether employers know it or not, employees are always watching them. “So if you want your employees to take a lunch break and to promote that break in the day, then you should be taking a lunch break. If you want people to leave at 5 p.m., a leader should be leaving at 5 p.m. And if you want people to make their meetings on time, then you’d better be making your meetings on time,” she says.
Being honest and transparent, she adds, promotes honesty among others; sharing company goals and company progress is just one way to do this. She also adds that leaders who behave in a way that resonates with company values help build trust among their team.
And finally, “Say thank you more. I know it’s not rocket science… but increased gratitude and graciousness towards people you work with is substantially clear in workplaces where people show that. And I don’t know anyone who doesn’t feel good when someone thanks them for something.”
