Employees thrive in supportive environments and tend to reduce their output in uncaring environments. As a manager or employer, you can have a huge influence on how your workers feel about coming to work each day. Some leaders mistakenly believe they can’t personally connect with workers and still maintain their respect. However, the opposite is often true. Employees are often more willing to put in hard work and maximize their productivity when they know management cares about them and their experiences.
As a bystander, it’s hard to know what someone else goes through in their day-to-day life. That worker who’s struggled to stay on task the past week may be mourning the loss of a loved one. The employee who rarely smiles at work might be struggling with chronic health issues and pain. Just one small act of kindness could lift the spirits of someone who’s feeling discouraged or depressed. Here are five creative ways you can brighten an employee’s day and keep the environment at work positive.
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1. Create a Care Package
If you know one of your employees is ill, injured, or dealing with a personal tragedy, don’t ignore them. Some people worry about saying the wrong thing, so they opt for total avoidance instead. Unfortunately, respectful silence can often feel like indifference to the person who’s dealing with challenges alone. It’s almost always better to reach out and risk saying something “wrong” if it lets the other person know you’re thinking about them.
Visiting an employee in the hospital or attending their loved one’s funeral are two great ways to brighten their day. If you’re unable to visit or feel like your presence might make the worker uncomfortable, there are other ways to show you care. For example, you could put together a heartfelt sympathy care package for them. Such a gift respects their privacy while still letting them know you’re thinking about them.
2. Inquire About Life Events
If you know little to nothing about the everyday lives of your workers, it’s hard to genuinely care about them. You can quickly brighten anyone’s day by showing interest in the things they find important. For example, if one of your team members is going to school, periodically ask them about their classes. If an employee competes with a local soccer team, consider attending one of their games or talking with them about soccer.
You might also choose to recognize notable life events as a company. For example, you could throw a celebratory office luncheon for someone who just graduated from college or returned to work after having a baby. Some companies also hold monthly birthday parties for every employee whose birthday falls within the same month. These types of efforts show you’re committed to learning about and celebrating your team members’ lives.
3. Offer a Surprise Team Lunch
You don’t have to wait for an excuse to be nice. Sometimes, the best way to brighten someone’s day is by choosing to be kind just for the fun of it. Treating your team for no reason at all harnesses the power of surprise. This, in turn, can trigger the release of dopamine (one of the body’s feel-good hormones).
If you notice workers seem a bit tense or irritated with each other, consider offering a surprise team lunch. You might choose to have the lunch catered to your office or take the entire team out to a location of their choice. No matter which option you choose, your team will undoubtedly appreciate the surprise. When they return to the office, they’ll likely have the energy and desire to be more productive.
4. Implement an Employee Rewards Program
Many business owners choose to offer employee reward programs to workers. Such programs incentivize employees to work hard and consistently strive toward a common goal. They may offer the following types of rewards for a job done well:
- Cash bonuses or gift cards
- All-expenses vacation
- Pay raises
- Work parties
- Company swag
When you work hard on a project, it feels good to be recognized and rewarded for your efforts. The opposite is also true. If there’s no reward waiting at the end of a difficult task, you’ll feel less inclined to complete it. As a manager, it’s crucial to keep this in mind if you want to motivate employees and make their days brighter.
5. Providing Frequent Recognition
Publicly praising someone’s performance can be even more powerful than monetary rewards. Harvard Business Review shares that 40% of American workers would put more energy into their projects if they received adequate recognition. Unfortunately, many managers choose not to regularly acknowledge their team members’ efforts. Whether they do this out of laziness or indifference, the message to the worker is the same: your efforts don’t matter to me.
Frequently recognizing and praising the hard work of your employees can help make each workday brighter for them. Top performers will have an easier time staying engaged and maintaining their current level of effort when they know their contributions are noticed. Public recognition is often more effective than private praise. Consider hosting regular employee recognition events to help workers get excited about working hard and achieving their goals.
Your employees are unlikely to care about the long-term success of your company if they believe you don’t care about them. They need to feel valued and appreciated, or they may quit and seek fulfillment somewhere else. Use these suggestions to brighten your employees’ workdays and help them feel a greater sense of belonging and professional motivation.
