Thursday Thoughts :Innovation Happens When Employees Are HAPPY.

Happy Employees….Innovative Workplace! Its True!

We have heard numerous times that innovation and creativity lead to increased productivity. But did you know that Happy workers can be more than 13% more productive than unhappy ones?

In collaborative research done by Saïd Business School of Oxford University and British multinational telecoms firm BT, it was found that there is a significant correlation between happiness and productivity.

‘We found that when workers are happier, they work faster by making more calls per hour worked and, importantly, convert more calls to sales,’ said Professor De Neve. The study also concluded the fact that productive employees were not working extra hours but simply happy within their work time and, hence, being productive. Happy employees are more likely to miss less work, give a quality performance, and support company innovation.

So how can you make employees happy?

Though it is extremely difficult to find out what exactly an employee wants as people can have a vast variety of needs. Here are a few good practices an organization can adopt to ensure the happiness of their employees

  • Emphasize work-life balance- It was found that indifference in their working and personal hours created stress and dissatisfaction among employees. Even the happiest countries in the world are the Nordic countries where work-life balance is prioritized.
  • Flexible work schedules- The rapid increase in freelancers after COVID has proved that people are now more flexible towards their work and want more agility in scheduling their pace.
  • Create transparent culture- An organization with corruption and duel gameplay can make employees question their self-worth. This can even create doubts among employees about the goals and timeline of the company.
  • Have open ears- Always listen to what your employees have to say. Sometimes employees can give insights on the outdated management and techniques which the senior team might have never come across.
  • Don’t get stuck with scores- A team’s higher official can win or bust a project. Employees start to resent the head and eventually the work if they’re always nagged upon and shown on their achievements and mishaps.

Why is employee engagement necessary?

According to Gallup, only 29% of workers strongly agree that they’re expected to think out of the box to do things at work. But they’ve also found that “by promoting creativity, they engage workers, and engaged workers are more creative.”

The impact of idea generation due to creativity and innovation can lead to not only productive outcomes but increased we-being also. Here are some key benefits recorded in various research done on a similar field.

  • Increased job satisfaction
  • Higher performance levels
  • Enhanced interpersonal relationships among employees
  • Reduced level of stress
  • Personal development
  • Increased immersive work 
  • increased innovative approach

Take the steps

Business is fast pacing and abruptly changing with new leads. Being a business leader, one must value all the attributes to channel its growth and empower it with the right pace. 

Innovation is something we can not wait…we can not postpone!