Here at Smile IT, we’re big on happiness. The kind that gets you up in the morning with a spring in your step. The happiness that puts a genuine sparkle in your eye and fills your soul with such contentment you can’t stop it bursting through your smile.
We do everything possible to keep our team as happy as they can be. It’s important for us that they love their job, feel valued and respected. They need to enjoy their time in the office, focusing on health, wellbeing and being in the right headspace for work. So we incorporate little things that make a big difference, like smoothie machines, standing desks, gym balls, and regular feedback sessions.
Every day is Smile Day for us, but the first Friday of every October is Smile Day for everybody. It’s World Smile Day, recognised across the globe and designed to inject cheer and positivity into our lives.
In honour of this pretty sweet international occasion, we’ve put together a list of 10 benefits of a happy workplace. Check them out:
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Happiness Encourages Creativity.
You want your employees to be innovative and inspired. A positive environment where they don’t feel judged is going to contribute greatly to their creativity and mental flexibility, leading to improved problem solving. The solutions your business needs will be provided more efficiently and effectively.
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Employee retention.
If you’re happy with your situation, you’re not going to look to change it. That’s why happy employees are loyal employees. They’ll stick around, giving big ticks to your staff retention program and saving you the hassle and expense of looking for new staff.
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Better customer service.
There’s nothing better than getting served by a super happy employee who clearly loves what they’re doing. It’s the best advertising your business could possibly have. When your staff are happy, it permeates through to your customers. And they’ll love your company for it.
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Improved productivity.
Stress is the ultimate productivity killer. Stressed employees get less done, end of story. Happy employees think clearly and form solutions quickly. They’re not distracted or consumed with worry and have more energy to direct towards their work.
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Happiness is contagious.
Ever tried not to laugh when a group of people are laughing around you? It’s just about impossible. Happiness is contagious, it spreads through your business and becomes part of your corporate persona. And then everyone wants to deal with you. What an outcome!
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Happy employees aren’t afraid to make mistakes.
Life is one long learning curve, but if we’re too afraid to make mistakes we’re not going to learn anything at all. Having a supportive and understanding culture means employees won’t be scared to try new things, learn from their mistakes and ultimately become better at what they do.
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Happy people want to work together.
Engaged staff in a positive work environment will appreciate each other as much as they do their workplace. They’ll want to support and encourage each other, allowing your business to benefit from the amazing synergy that happens when team work is done right.
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Inspiring leadership.
Happy leaders who enjoy their job are going to going to inspire team members below them to work as they do, with confidence and commitment. Positive role models form the backbone of any business.
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A team with the right attitude.
A negative attitude is no good at all in the workplace. By fostering a happy work environment, you’re going to instil the right positive attitude in your team. They’ll take a can-do approach to everything that needs to be done, allowing them to individually succeed and for your business to succeed as a result.
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Cost saving.
As well as boosting productivity, keeping your customers satisfied and solving problems faster, happy team members will save you money in another way: they’re less likely to take sick days. Their positive approach to life means they’re physically and mentally healthier than unhappy and negative workers.
Well there you go. If you want to chat about these 10 benefits of a happy workplace, please get in touch! One of our positive and cheerful staff will be glad to answer any question.
When he’s not writing tech articles or turning IT startups into established and consistent managed service providers, Peter Drummond can be found kitesurfing on the Gold Coast or hanging out with his family!