How to Cultivate a Happy Workplace without Spending a Single Penny By taking small steps to create a cheerful and motivated work environment, there are likely to be fewer work-related conflicts, lesser absenteeism, and more productivity

By Pooja Singh

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

You're reading Entrepreneur Asia Pacific, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media.

The happier the employees are, the more successful the company is. There's overwhelming scientific evidence that links employee happiness to a firm's healthy-looking balance sheet. Even a company with the right product in a high-growth industry cannot achieve success if leadership creates a toxic culture at the workplace.

Yet, companies struggle to ensure that their workplace is healthy.

Know the perks

According to a study, which was conducted by researchers at the Columbia University in the US, the likelihood of job turnover at an organization with high company culture is a mere 13.9 per cent, while the same in low company cultures is 48.4 per cent. Another research by the economics department at the University of Warwick in the UK has found that happy workers are 12 per cent more productive than the average worker, and unhappy workers are 10 per cent less productive. Reason? Employees who are unhappy do not work more than what is the minimum because they don't feel appreciated and poor managers negatively affect their productivity.

"Having scientific support for generating happiness-productivity cycles within the workforce should … help managers to justify work-practices aimed at boosting happiness on productivity grounds," said Daniel Sgroi, the author of the University of Warwick study, which included 700 people.

In a Harvard Business Review blog post, Rob Markey explains, "Loyal, passionate employees bring a company as much benefit as loyal, passionate customers. They stay longer, work harder, work more creatively, and find ways to go the extra mile. They bring you more great employees. And that spreads even more happiness — happiness for employees, for customers, and for shareholders."

There's no need to spend thousands of many to keep workers happy. Small, considerate steps are enough. It's no secret that happiness is contagious.

Dorothy Yiu, chief operating officer and co-founder of EngageRocket, a Singapore-based startup launched in 2016 that helps companies build better workplaces using people analytics, offers three tips on how to create a safe, empowering and a positive work environment, without spending a single penny.

After all, people are an organization's number one asset, so keeping them happy should be all organization's number one priority.

Pooja Singh

Former Features Editor, Entrepreneur Asia Pacific

 

A stickler for details, Pooja Singh likes telling people stories. She has previously worked with Mint-Hindustan Times, Down To Earth and Asian News International-Reuters. 

Leadership

How to Move Fast and Not Break Things — 5 Lessons in Innovation From an Industry With Zero Room for Error

Every company wants to innovate. The trick is to do it in a way that actually helps customers and doesn't put the business at risk

Business News

Over 1,300 Google Employees Have Signed a New Petition Asking For Job Security

Google laid off thousands of employees in the past two years, which has left some employees feeling insecure about keeping their jobs.

Business News

'Nobody Ever Gave Me Anything': More Boomers Say They're Not Transferring Wealth to Family Until They're Dead

A new survey from Charles Schwab found boomers are more hesitant to distribute their wealth than other generations.

Business News

'When You Lock Up Products You Lock Out Customers': CVS Is Testing an App That Lets Shoppers Unlock Store Cases Themselves.

CVS is testing new functionality on their CVS Health app that allows users to unlock those annoying plexiglass cabinets.

Employee Experience & Recruiting

If You Want to Hire Good Entry-Level Talent, Offer These 3 Game-Changing Opportunities

Finding and hiring good entry-level talent can be a daunting enterprise for small businesses. What can they do to stand out in a time of talent scarcity?

Growing a Business

Why Empathetic Intelligence Gathering Is the Secret Weapon Every Leader Needs to Master

Strategic leadership hinges on empathetic intelligence gathering, balancing data, ethics and collaboration to drive impactful decisions.