There are many facets to having a great workplace environment. It should be safe so provisions need to be in place for a safe workplace. It should be organized so the work can get done efficiently. And it should also be a positive place where employees are happy to work.
It sounds easy, but the reality is that many companies miss the mark on all of these areas. It takes a lot of work and foresight to be able to pull it off. With the right mentality, however, it is possible and should be the goal of every company to provide a positive environment at work.
Not only are your employees happier, but they are also more productive and it saves the company a lot of money by preventing turnover.
In this article, I will go over how to transform your company into a positive place to work.
1 – Conflict resolution
Every workplace is going to have some employees that don’t seem to get along. It could be that they have different personalities and can’t seem to find a middle ground on solving a problem or they could have power play issues.
The key thing that differentiates a positive workplace with one that isn’t is how these inevitable conflicts get resolved.
Using the The Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument is a good place to start because it uses a scientific method that employs tactics known to help resolve issues. It’s basically a prevention measure that starts out by giving employees the tools to make sure that conflicts are avoided before they have a chance to cause a problem.
It ensures that people go from competing with one another to collaborating and avoiding issues to accommodating other positions. When workers feel like they already know how to deal with a conflict that is brewing they have a much more positive feeling about going to work.
2 – Be a leader
Being a leader can mean that you are able to inspire others to follow your lead and tackle obstacles holding back progress. In this sense it is a little bit different.
A leader also leads by example and can set the tone for the workplace culture. It is up to you to be positive and calm and that will flow down to the managers and then on to the employees.
Make sure that you don’t get aggressive or even passive aggressive if things aren’t going to plan. Don’t gossip or always bring up the negatives in others or in a situation.
If you do then others will feed off of the negativity and it will snowball into a toxic work environment. If you stay positive and make that the example then you will have employees that are able to stay positive and calm themselves.
3 – Be a communicator
Information is everything and when people know what to expect they have peace of mind. This communication can come in many forms.
Chief among them should be that you are able to clearly communicate what the goals are that the company is trying to achieve. And secondly, how you expect everybody to work to achieve those goals. This way everybody knows their job and why they are doing what they are doing.
Keeping people in the dark or not giving clearly defined roles can lead to people feeling like they are not being properly utilized as employees or that they are doing somebody else’s job. In fact many jobs do end up overlapping as a result which wastes everybody’s time. And that creates negativity.
4 – Give them a voice
When people feel like they are an integral part of the company this gives them some ownership and makes them feel like a big piece of the puzzle. And this comes from giving people a voice in what goes on in the company. Workers like to give opinions on how things are going and even provide some ideas.
Even if the idea is not going to be implemented it should at least be heard and considered. And some may even just need a little bit of work and have contributions from others to fully flesh out the idea. All of this is good as it also helps the company with fresh eyes on a problem that could provide the answer.
5 – Reward hard work
People usually work harder when they feel that the hard work won’t go unnoticed. If you give them rewards that is a great way to acknowledge the hard work. It doesn’t even have to be a raise or promotion. It could simply be a special parking spot or a gift certificate to a local restaurant for hitting a target.
No matter what it is, though, it should be sincere and heartfelt when you acknowledge the hard work.
Interesting related article: “What is Motivation?“