The Dollars and Sense of Employee Happiness

Yesterday, I wrote a post on how you are in charge of your own employee happiness, so this recent post and infographic by Good.co on the high cost of unhappy employees is timely and relevant. As Good.co writes, unhappy employees have a direct impact on the financial success of the business so it only makes sense that companies evaluate how best to create a balanced culture and workplace that recognizes, develops and connects employees.

According to the State of the American Workplace, a 2013 Gallup study, seven out of 10 workers in the US say they aren’t fully engaged at work, meaning they aren’t working to their fullest potential. The resulting loss of productivity can cost companies between $450-$500 billion a year. We have seen reports on how employees who aren’t happy with their supervisors claim that they’re disengaged and ultimately less productive, how new hires quit or are fired within their first 18 months, and how all of this churn costs as high as 100-300 percent of the departed employee’s base salary.

On the flip side, satisfied employees perform an average of 20 percent better than their dissatisfied counterparts, are 87 percent less likely to change companies, may outperform their competitors by as much as 202 percent, and employees who are content have 31 percent higher productivity, generate 37 percent more sales, and are three times more creative than their disengaged counterparts.

Savvy employers are also paying attention to their employees personal needs:

• Recognition: Workforce Mood Tracker survey found that 69 percent of employees have said that they’ll work harder for a company that recognizes their achievements.
• Work / Life balance: Net Impact found that 88 percent of employees polled believe it’s crucial to have a healthy work/life balance, as well as a positive atmosphere in the workplace.
• Collaboration: Jobsite UK found that 70 percent of polled employees say that cultivating friendships at work generates a positive influence on their productivity and happiness.
• Personal Development: Gallup found that managers and supervisors would do well to focus on their employees’ individual strengths, as this can ultimately double the number of satisfied, happy employees.

What does all of this say about employee morale and how it affects productivity? Plenty, according to the statistics. That’s why savvy business owners are paying more attention to the concept of creating a corporate culture/workplace climate that’s conducive to overall employee satisfaction. Implementing these changes may cost a bit more time and money, but, according to the wealth of research being done, the payback can be invaluable, not just in terms of employee retention, but also productivity and earnings.

Original Source: The High Cost of Unhappy Employees [INFOGRAPHIC]