Would you rather be making wonderful memories or looking at some spreadsheets? For most of us, the choice is obvious. Work, by definition, is more of a necessity than it is enjoyable or fun.
Still, there are ways to make work more bearable and maybe even exciting. As an employer, you want to immerse your employees in a positive work environment. Here are 4 reasons why a positive office environment is crucial to employee success.
Promotes Productivity
We’ve all seen the cliche of workers working hard but only when their bosses are around. We want to avoid this scenario. A positive office environment means treating employees like people, not workhorses. This in turn creates an environment where employees work hard because they want to see the company grow. Workers take pride in what they do and push themselves for the sake of the company. In fact, 94% of employees with positive feelings towards upper management report a sense of passion while on the job (Built-In).
Sparks Creativity and Innovation
The ability to generate innovative ideas is essential for any business to get ahead. Positive work environments encourage outside-of-the-box thinking by making work a comfortable safe to propose new ideas. Employees in positive workspaces are energized and eager to disrupt the status quo at the snap of a finger. Happy employees are willing to take calculated risks, while unhappy employees are probably just going to play it safe.
Going further, a positive work environment inspires teamwork and collaboration among co-workers. And everybody knows that two heads are better than one.
Manage Employee Stress
Poor workplace stress management can spiral into a hot bundle of mess in the office. High levels of employee stress promote cutthroat competition, poor peer relationships, and adverse health effects (e.g. weakened immunity, anxiety, burnout, etc.), among many other negatives. The comfort and ease of a positive work environment is conducive to creativity and productivity. That’s because employees can focus better and use all their energy on work-related matters.
It’s impossible to eliminate employee stress completely. Rather, we’re trying to reduce high levels of workplace stress to something more manageable and healthy. In fact, some (keyword some) stress is good for performance and health.
Skyrocket Employee Retention Rates
Unhappy employees are probably looking for a new job opportunity as we speak. After all, who wants to be miserable every day at work? Taking the time to create a positive workspace shows your employees that you care and that you’re willing to listen and have an open dialogue. Employees won’t feel inclined to hold their grudges, and will actively try to resolve issues instead of letting them linger.
When employees know that you care, they become loyal to you and your business. This loyalty increases job satisfaction, meaning employees are far less likely to quit. These higher employee retention rates have the extra added bonus of saving you time on hiring and training, while also creating a team of experienced (and loyal) superstar employees.
https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/331549
https://hbr.org/2015/12/proof-that-positive-work-cultures-are-more-productive