Have you ever wondered why you’re unproductive at work? Chances are you’re an unhappy employee. We often say that if our job paid us more we would be more productive. But a study done by the University of Warwick has proven us otherwise with statistics that shows an employee’s happiness leads to a 12% increase in productivity in the workplace. Here are 5 reasons happy employees are more productive!

1. Respect your employees

No matter your position in the company, you must respect all your employees. Showing trust in employees will also allows them to be more productive and complete their task. Don’t micromanage them either as no employee enjoys having overbearing bosses. If you’re going to constantly correct everything they do, they’ll lose the motivation to do future tasks. Instead, you can give guidelines on how to improve on their work. This shows you respect your employees and give them ample room to excel in their job. In return, employees will feel empowered and appreciated.

2. Give opportunities to reduce commute time

The amount of time it takes for employees to commute to work actually determines their happiness and stress levels. As such, some companies have offered flexible working hours and utilising co-working spaces to their employees. Employees who work 9 to 5 jobs should be given flexible working hours as this reduces the time of commuting to work and thus, employees can enjoy a better work life balance. On the other hand, you can also evaluate the work of your employees and ascertain whether it’s necessary for them to come to the office. If not, they can get work done from home or at a co-working facility. When companies show that they are flexible and understanding, employees are more likely to value and enjoy their job.

3. Ask for feedback from employees

Being the owner of the company doesn’t mean that you have the answers to everything. You might have implemented new rules in the company or change the management style and this can potentially cause unhappiness amongst employees. It’s best to ask for feedback from employees as this gives them the opportunity to speak and be heard. Ultimately, the office is where your employees are going to be at and they would want a healthy environment to work in.

4. Take a break from work

If you can’t imagine doing the same work everyday, neither can your employees do the same. Young employees want to form their careers based on their skills and loves to be challenged. What better way to test them than through team building activities? Forget about the boring and ineffective office games. There are exciting games such as bubble soccer, archery tag, laser tag, saber tag, ninja tag, and poolball for you to try! These team building activities will spark the creativity in employees and allow them to improve their communication skills. On top of that, they’ll be bonding too!

5. Provide with the right incentive

It doesn’t matter whether you’re in a start-up company or a renowned company. One thing that you have to ensure is to give the right incentive to your employees. Give them the reasons to be excited to get up for work and give their all for the company. Some companies give their employees perks such as flexible vacation time, gym membership, or even discounts to stores that you shop at. There are also a handful of companies who gives internal benefits such as opportunities to improve their knowledge and employee recognition. Whatever the incentive, remember to give your employees a reason why they’re working hard for the company! This would certainly help in motivating employees and therefore increases productivity in the workplace.