Happiness at work week is NOT where it's all at...
Last week was happiness at work week. I love a bit of happiness at work. In fact, I’m probably one of those people who radiate that annoying glow of ‘just wanting everyone to be happy’
But this “happiness at work week”… I’m not sure I’m into it.
For me, happiness is intrinsic to basic human rights
Possibly it’s because I’m a child of the 80s and in my day everyone was happy all the time. Joke. That was (almost) certainly not the case. More likely the brainwashing of having been 8 at the time, living off a diet of Blue Peter and Rainbow.
I’m not into it because I’ve spent most my life off social media. So… having a media centric day to remind me to do something I feel is so intrinsic to basic human rights seems a little… pointless.
Don’t get me wrong. For anyone who’s forgotten that being happy at work is important, knock yourself out. Take this week as a reminder to do the right thing. Check in on your staff and ask them the awkward question. Are they happy?
As a founder, I am often ticking boxes
Am I doing everything I can to keep my team happy at work?
Clients… tick. Cash… tick. Staff… tick. Phew! Our heads are so full of all the tasks we have to do, it’s easy to forget some basic (important) tasks that we need to do.
Do your staff actually enjoy working for you? URGH. Hang on. Who knows?
In a world of ever inflating prices, I’ve read a lot of literature recently around keeping your staff happy at work, without breaking the bank. Flexible hours, working from home, coaching, professional development, unpaid leave. All great ideas in themselves and certainly worth looking at.
My problem is, we already do them all. Every single one with a few more on the side. In fact, they are the foundation of my business. Where can we go from here? Should I be worried?
The answer is no.
When asked recently how many of my staff leave to work elsewhere, I could hand on heart say very few (okay 1 over 3 years) AND that’s always with a spirit of collaboration, focusing on a better end result for all.
When asked how we find such great calibre staff so quickly (we usually fill places within 48 hours) the answer is … we have a backlog of top tier candidates lining up to work for us.
I’m not entirely sure.
All I can be certain of is when I ask them ‘are you happy’, I make sure I listen to their answers.
