By Mark Kirkpatrick
Managers seeking ways of making employees more efficient have likely tried a multitude of methods. Some employers use a flexible approach to motivation, attempting to find ways to reach people on an individual level. They tailor their methods to each person.
Another option is to make use of teamwork to serve as a motivating tool. Numerous studies show that people who see themselves as part of a team will be motivated to work harder to ensure that they don’t let their teammates down. And employees who are working harder tend to see good results, which serves as additional motivation going forward.
Encouraging Happiness
One major aspect that contributes to making people successful is to start by ensuring that the individual employees are happy doing their tasks. The happy feeling among individuals will extend to other members, leaving you collectively with an office that’s motivated to do its best work.
One recent study revealed an idea, called the network phenomenon, that can apply to teams of employees. Researchers looked at 4,000 people over a 20-year period to study relationships at a basic level.
The researchers found that people who tend to have happy people in close proximity to them also will be happier in the long run. The happy feelings of individual people tend to “rub off” on those around them. According to the study, your individual level of happiness likely will be an average of the level of happiness of the five people with whom you spend the most time.
Going Beyond Happiness
There’s much more to having productive employees than just keeping them happy, as any employer knows. Once you’ve found a group of people who are happy about working together, creating a team can be another way of having them become more productive.
As the team begins working together, it will be important that they listen to each other’s ideas. Those working in a small group are sure to develop better listening skills, allowing them to form closer relationships with their teammates. While most people don’t have formal training on developing listening skills, they’ll be motivated to become better listeners as the bonds between the teammates become tighter.
With these stronger connections in place, the teammates will be more likely to enjoy their work together. They’ll want to perform well to gain the respect of their teammates and to work harder to attain the desired team goal. Hitting those team goals not only generates more happiness among the members of the team, but the feeling of success becomes contagious throughout the team.
Grateful Employees
As your employees see their levels of happiness and success grow, they’re sure to become more grateful. Having employees who are grateful at work can lead to better overall productivity, too, according to the infographic.
During a study run by psychologists at UC Davis, participants who made an effort to take note of items for which they were grateful on a weekly basis tended to be happier and more productive. During the study, the participants who kept a journal specifically listing reasons they were grateful had a more positive state of mind and performed better in all aspects of life.
People who are happier tend to be more productive and healthier, both of which will benefit them at the workplace and at home. Employers who can encourage habits that lead to happier employees will almost certainly find that their methods of motivation tend to work better, too. It’s the kind of circular relationship that employers and employees can both embrace!
Mark Kirkpatrick is an enthusiastic writer with a passion in business communications, and you may find more of his writing on 1800NumberNow.com’s blog.
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