If you’ve ever thought about how you can make your work a happier place, you’ve got it all backward. According to Johnson & Wales organizational psychology professor and online instructor, Scott Lyons Ed.D., happiness at work is an effect of a greater cause. “I come from the school of thought that organizations can be misguided if they are searching for happiness rather than good health or a positive organizational culture,” Lyons said.
With this in mind, we asked Lyons to give us his five biggest tips for anyone hoping to create a healthy and positive workplace. Here’s what he had to say:
1. Make Work Meaningful
“The drive for meaningful work continues to supersede the value of higher salary and benefits. Those organizational leaders who commit to a genuine alignment of personal values with organizational values has a greater chance of success. A recent survey by BetterUp Labs found that 90% of the professionals surveyed were willing to sacrifice more than 20% of their future earnings for work that they found consistently meaningful.”
2. Expand the Ways Wellness is Defined
“Organizations must expand the ways they define wellness. When they do, they have the ability to be more in sync with needs and wants of their workforce. Research continues to demonstrate that a healthy workforce is a happy and present workforce. Reports from the Society for Human Resource Management show creative expansion of ’family-friendly and wellness benefits‘ across organizations to meet the changing priorities of new generations entering the workforce and investing in wellness beyond fitness and EAP programs. For example, in recent years there has been a rise in the presence of standing desks, on-ramping programs for new parents returning to the workforce, and mindfulness programs and services.”
3. Empower Employee’s
“Job satisfaction is a perception; employers who acknowledge this fact and engage members throughout the organization in discussing and celebrating what brings meaning and satisfaction to their work are ahead of the curve. Empowering employees through committees, focus groups, and forums forges pathways for employees to create a stronger and healthier organization.”
4. Commit to Championing Communication Internally and Externally
“Stakeholders should hear regularly from organizational leaders about how the organization is serving its purpose and its employees. Additionally, employees should feel valued by receiving objective feedback through recognition and performance feedback programs that are delivered consistently throughout the organization. Furthermore, organizations (public and private) are measured daily by how well they deal with crisis and deliver on their promise. Even the most well-intentioned employees are limited on how they can positively contribute to an organization (whether or not they are in crisis) without established communication strategies that align with its organizational values.”
5. Set Standards
“This tip is vague for a reason. If organizations desire to be regarded as an exceptional place to work, they must set standards in as many areas as possible: from recruitment and onboarding to accountability measures at all levels of an organization. A greater sense of trust can be established with employees and consumers when standards are communicated and upheld. People are sharing their experiences far and wide through online channels; organizations need to decide if they’d rather be discussed about having high standards or not having high standards.”
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