Being a company manager can be a tiring and stressful job. All the major decisions are up to you, the future of your contracts and partnerships is up to you, and your employee happiness is up to you. It’s easy to see how many managers would buckle under the pressure and let the employees know how they feel; whether it’s through verbal communication, body language, indecisiveness or similar.
While it’s completely normal to crack here and there, it is important to maintain a healthy and open-minded environment in your workplace; your employees are your ships, and you are their lighthouse. You need each other to make the company work. Make sure that however you act, that’s how your employees will feel about you. We’re here to give you 5 tips on how you can get your working atmosphere to a positive and productive level.
Don’t intimidate
Let’s get the obvious out of the way; no one likes being intimidated. It’s frightening, demotivating and most of all, leaves a bad taste in the mouth. Try being open to your employees ideas and suggestions, don’t punish them for mistakes, instead let them know what they did wrong so they can do better next time, encourage pro-active behavior and make sure to keep a smile on your face. It doesn’t cost anything but it’s worth a fortune.
Recognize success
We’ve touched upon this already and it’s one of the most important things you can do as a manager. Telling an employee “You did an excellent job!” and tapping them on the shoulder can make their whole week, encourage further activity, make them talk about you with praise and most of all, it will affect a positive working environment where success and teamwork are encouraged.
Encourage physical activity
Office work can be stressful and spending the entire day in an office surrounded with four walls is a sure way of setting people off. Why not introduce physical exercises in your company? Decide on a day in which you will collectively go and play football, workout in a nearby gym or simply go for a run while having small-chat about this and that. Adding a discount coupon for gyms is also a good way to bolster physical activity and make sure your employees get out and exercise as much as they are working. Proper mental and physical health goes hand in hand.
Embrace creativity
Your employees are full of new ideas and workarounds but the only way they will speak up is if you encourage them to do so. Making sure they trust you enough with their ideas about your workspace and company by actually accepting their ideas and giving them feedback will encourage further ideas. Once your workers are happy with the way you react to their activity and open thinking, it’s just a matter of time until you come to a collective idea that you all pitched in in creating. Give it a try; you might be surprised by the way your employees are thinking and coming up with new ideas.
Introduce mentoring
This is the best way to make sure your employees are thankful and fulfilled at their jobs. By giving them a mentor or by hiring a motivational speaker to appeal to their sense, you’re helping them feel important and grateful for being in your company. Delegating jobs and having a mentor to guide a new employee through his/her years of experience will help them avoid common starter mistakes and get them up to speed more effectively. It also helps in bridging the gap between old and new employees; by having them work together from day one.
As you can see, the bottom line is that the happier your employees are, the better results they will achieve, and the company will strive overall. If that’s not enough, imagine a new partner strolling through your offices for the first time and seeing nothing but smiling faces and positive attitude in your employees. That’s the only sign you need; you’re doing a good job treating your employees as people, not just a source of revenue. Make them feel part of a team and they’ll do their job with a lot more drive and enthusiasm.
