How are your employees feeling today? If you work in HR, chances are good that you regularly ask this question. The answer may have more of an impact on your company’s success than you realize. Would you consider your employees happy? Would they consider themselves happy? If the answer is no, or even a questionable yes, it may be time to evaluate the company culture and come up with a strategy for improvement.
Employee satisfaction is linked with performance, so it is in the company’s best interest to create an environment that allows workers to thrive. When employees are overworked, and possibly under-compensated or otherwise stressed out, these aspects can be improved upon to create a better situation for everyone involved. It is up to HR to hone in on these signals and determine a strategy that will allow the company to operate more smoothly and productively.
As is detailed in an article for Fast Company, a Gallup poll shows that 18 percent of American workers are disengaged. While this disengagement could be blamed on a number of factors, it’s worth noting the factors that contribute to the high happiness rates among Danish workers.
The article details that conditions like reasonable working hours, more vacation time and paid maternity and paternity leave contribute to high satisfaction rates. However, workers in America know that things are a bit different here, as overworking is highly common. In fact, the article details that Danish employees also experience higher levels of autonomy in their companies, and this involvement is written into the country’s laws.
HR practitioners can take a cue from these practices when considering how to develop ways to increase employee satisfaction. HR software solutions can help develop and implement the HR system that will work with your company’s unique needs.