The 25th – 29th of September 2023 is International Happiness at Work Week. Read on for five easy but effective ways to boost your staff’s happiness and keep your team smiling, healthy, and engaged.

The average Brit will spend 3,507 full days at work including 204 days of overtime in their life. That’s a whole lot of days and it’ll feel even longer if you have unhappy staff on your hands…

That’s why for your retention rates, company morale, and so much more—it’s important to keep your people cheerful.

Happier people tend to be more productive, creative, and accurate—just add punctual and voila, you’ve got the perfect employee.

So, what can you do to boost happiness in your workplace?

1. Create a culture of recognition

When your employees feel appreciated and their hard efforts are rewarded they’re much more likely to feel their serotonin rise, lifting their wellbeing and satisfaction at work.

In fact, according to Quantum Workplace, employees are 2.7 times more likely to be highly engaged if they believe they’ll be recognised for their contributions.

Investing in an easy way to show your employees’ some recognition is a good place to start. Even better if you have a tool that lets you turn it into a fun game your staff can get involved in, like BrightHR’s employee praise platform.

2. Run socials or internal initiatives to give your workplace culture some TLC

Holding internal events and finding fun activities you can share with your staff is a great way to keep them engaged. Examples include company bake-offs, raffles, socials, competitions, sports teams.

Just make sure if you hold a work social outside of the office you set down the rules for proper conduct with staff. And remember social events are an extension of the workplace so if anything goes wrong, you still need to follow the correct disciplinary procedures.

3. Offer your team some perks. Why? Because everyone loves a perk!

Staff perks should be a huge part of your employee package. Not only are they vital to keep your current employees happy and feeling valued at work but they’re a great way to set your business apart in a competitive market.

Find a low-cost provider who can give your staff access to unique benefits like an employee perk platform where they can access thousands of cost-saving discounts and offers.

4. Offer a dress-down day if you’re usually business formal

Having a dress-down day or a fancy-dress day is a great way to boost staff morale. Whether you’re raising money for charity or celebrating an occasion, it’s a bit of fun your staff can opt in or out of.

Just make sure you have the right and fair guidelines in place for proper employee dress code before offering this to staff.

5. Encourage employees to take a break

According to Censuswide, less than 40% of UK adults took all their annual leave allowance in 2022. That’s a huge amount of people forgoing the wellbeing-boosting and happiness-bringing benefits of taking a break away from work.

According to Heads Up and the Mentally Healthy Workplace Alliance, the benefits of employees taking their annual leave include reduced stress, lower risks of anxiety and depression, and improved mood—all of which result in happier employees, of course. Scientific studies have also found happiness can make people healthier, therefore lowering the likelihood of sick days and absence from work.

So, if you want happier staff in the long run, make sure they book that time off, whether it’s to enjoy a getaway, or simply relax at home!

Finally, what’s the biggest enemy to happiness? STRESS. Watch our on-demand webinar Workplace wellbeing: Essential HR policies for success. For practical tips from HR specialists on reducing burnout and supporting your staff through challenging times.