Great company leaders, HR professionals, and managers know the importance of team morale in delivering day-to-day and long-term success. But what about employee happiness? The two are related but completely different. If you focus on both, you can raise workplace happiness and watch morale grow at the same time. 

While increasing happiness and morale require different approaches, we’re focusing this article on the happiness factor, because it’s a step in the right direction for increasing employee morale. Also, since March 20 is International Day of Happiness, we think it’s a great time to offer ideas to increase happiness at work – including for remote employees. 

How do happiness and morale differ in the workplace? 

Business leaders and managers who regard employee happiness and employee morale as the same thing are often blinded to what’s really happening inside their organizations. 

For example, a team member may love the personal fulfillment they get from their job (personal happiness) and at the same time be all-in and engaged with the company’s strategy and direction (high morale). This employee feels good at work, and they believe in the mission – a perfect alignment between the employee and employer! 

But in reality, such perfection across the board is extremely rare. Employees can be personally happy at work and simultaneously disengaged from the company. For example, team members might covet the work-life balance and flexibility of their work schedules, while also having no trust in leadership, no confidence in growth opportunities, and in general, they can feel undervalued or even disrespected.  

Read on for insights on what creates happy workers, and how this correlates to keeping employees engaged and motivated. 

7 high‑impact actions that increase employee happiness and job satisfaction 

Leaders and managers are largely responsible for keeping spirits high. Following are proven management techniques and activities that make a big difference in employee happiness, including job satisfaction, psychological safety, and overall wellbeing. 

1. Show genuine gratitude and reward employee contributions 

Many professionals in positions of leadership are familiar with the expression, “What gets recognized gets repeated.” While recognizing, praising, and rewarding desired employee behavior does reinforce that conduct, what’s relevant here is that doing these things makes employees feel good about their work, jobs, bosses, and employers. The investment is small and the payoff is happy employees. 

Showing employee appreciation is as simple as giving specific and timely recognition for a job well done, either in one-on-one meetings, during team or company meetings, and even with shout-outs on company social media pages. Celebrate small milestones (project phases, anniversaries) with brief team gatherings and a personal note from the manager. 

Simple rewards can include an extra day of paid time off (PTO), a modest bonus, or a company gift card. Many companies sponsor peer-nominated recognition programs on a monthly or quarterly basis, with cash rewards.

Be intentional and show appreciation often. Don’t wait until performance reviews!  

2. Support professional growth and career development 

Leaders and managers should take a genuine interest in their team members’ broader career goals. Doing so shows employees that management respects them and cares about their lives. This not only contributes to personal pride and satisfaction but also increases employee retention. 

Discuss career paths in one-on-one meetings. Connect professional development goals to real opportunities in the organization, such as lateral moves or promotions that align with an employee’s desired career path. Offer training, upskilling, mentoring, relevant assignments, or reimbursement of continuing education or certifications.

Help people see a future for themselves at your company. 

3. Prioritize employee wellbeing with work‑life balance 

There’s no getting around the fact that many members of the workforce, especially in-demand, top-tier talent, have expectations around work-life balance. For these professionals, flexible work models and sufficient paid time off are both happiness drivers and non-negotiables in accepting or staying in a job. 

Employers that respect and prioritize these conditions have happier employees who stay. So, where possible, offer flexibility in your working model, such as alternative working hours, remote or hybrid work options – or a combination of these where they make the most sense for your operating model. 

Basic wellbeing perks can also be added to the employee policy, such as more paid time off, mental health support, ensuring reasonable workloads, and establishing norms against after‑hours messaging, emails, and phone calls.  

4. Apply the psychology of leading by example 

Great managers set a good example by reflecting the company’s values in everything they do, and this includes showing individual employees how much they matter to the team. This is felt on a personal level by team members. It lifts their spirits and increases the happiness factor. 

For example, people love to work with bosses who roll up their sleeves and get into the action. It’s true that managers must spend most of their time managing; however, leaders who demonstrate hands-on skills with team members not only earn the respect of their people but also give individual employees opportunities to find greater job satisfaction by learning from the best. 

5. Show loyalty 

A big component of happiness in both life and work is knowing someone has your back. At work, people want to know that loyalty is a two-way street. Leaders can demonstrate good faith by promoting from within whenever possible. Almost nothing is more demoralizing for employees than having an outsider land a management role or other promotion for which they are ideally qualified – and have earned. 

Managers can also demonstrate loyalty by giving employees the benefit of the doubt during disputes or when a project goes awry. For example, it may be necessary to occasionally appease upset customers and address staff behavior issues – but the best leaders are careful to never humiliate their team members. This mistake destroys employee happiness.  

Build employees up with constructive and considerate criticism. Be loyal. Have their backs. 

6. Build trust and purpose by encouraging transparency 

Many workplace issues stem from a lack of transparency from leaders and managers, and between team members themselves. When information is withheld or inconsistently shared, others are left to make assumptions, sometimes the worst, and credibility takes a hit. Rumors, gossip, and misinformation also rear their heads in the absence of clear communication, and once unleashed, they’re difficult to correct. 

Transparency creates an environment free of anxiety, stress, and false assumptions, contributing to employee wellbeing and happiness. Companies that establish a clear policy of direct communication should ensure it applies to everyone, regardless of position. An open-door policy is also a good thing, giving employees a means to voice concerns without fear of retribution.  

Communicate openly about goals and changes and explain to each employee how essential they are to the mission. Always involve employees in decisions that affect their jobs and work.

Happiness comes from their confidence in knowing and understanding the ‘how’ and the ‘why.’ No surprises! 

7. Reap the benefits of periodic employee satisfaction surveys 

A positive Employee Experience is critical to a company’s ability to function at a consistently high level. This is personal to each employee, and understanding their experience requires one-on-one interaction and feedback. Smart companies make it a priority to measure and monitor employee sentiments. 

Best of all, conducting surveys allows organizations to research and track both happiness and morale to fully understand organizational health. 

Surveys give employees a voice, telling you how your company and workplace culture are perceived by your people. Depending on the questions asked, feedback reveals issues impacting personal happiness and satisfaction, including how they feel about their jobs, superiors, compensation, working environment, growth opportunities, and more. All have great bearing on employee happiness, engagement, and productivity.  

It’s essential that employers act on feedback (where you can) to make employees feel heard, seen, and valued.

For ideas and how-to’s, Survey Monkey has a great guide and platform for conducting employee satisfaction surveys, with 60+ sample questions, user-friendly templates, and textual and graphical reporting tools. 

Get more ideas to increase happiness at work 

Every organization is unique, and the size of a team and working model (remote, hybrid, in-office) can determine how employee programs are conducted.  

At Goodwin Recruiting, our nationwide team is fully remote and it’s a priority to offer an exceptional employee experience and company culture. We truly walk the walk and are honored to have been recognized as one of Inc. Magazine’s Best Workplaces. 

If you’re interested in more ways to increase the happiness factor, employee engagement, and talent retention at your company, contact one of our recruiting experts. We can offer ideas that are great fits for your unique company culture.  

We can also help you do what we do best – build stronger teams. 

Make Goodwin Recruiting a trusted partner in your talent acquisition and retention strategy.