Today is National Happiness Day, a little known ‘holiday’ that can have a huge impact on yourself and others. As a leader who is tasked with mobilizing your team to achieve organizational goals, you need to find ways to inspire and make this happen.
What better day to do so. As we know that people want to be given recognition and rewards, today can be the day to turn this around if you are not doing so. Being recognized and rewarded leads to higher job satisfaction and engagement, while keeping people in the seats, i.e, retaining them.
Happiness is an internal state, an emotional state “characterized by feelings of job, satisfaction, contentment, and fulfillment” (Cherry, 2022). Finding those activities, or being around ‘those people’ that lead you to feel any or all of these states, is the end-result for anyone.
While you, as the leader, are not responsible for someone’s happiness, you do have a duty to find ways that will lead to it and for the reasons mentioned above, especially if you want to have a harmonious and high-performing workplace, not to mention dealing with turnover and the disruption this causes.
Here are some suggestions that are easy but can have big results:
- Greet your employees each morning, and by name (I worked for a CEO in a large hospital system who did this and can tell you the love and following he had by every employee)
- Ask how they are doing throughout the day, to assess their progress and emotional health; be a servant leader and pitch in if needed
- Have a ‘true’ open-door policy so employees feel encouraged to express concerns, ideas, progress, and the like. Create a culture of psychological safety
- Find out about your employees, such as their family, their hobbies, etc. Employees desire a boss that cares about them
- Have an all-on-deck meeting with the team and give recognition for accomplishments, birthdays, anniversaries, etc. Doing this in the morning can start the day off on a high-note
- Leave a hand-written note for the employee (can be anonymous) with a thought – recognition of their work, an attribute or contribution they give to the team, etc. You can buy small thank-you, or blank, cards or a sticky note will do
- Have a monthly lunch with either the team or a team member, or both. It’s a great way to learn more about them, update on their performance, hear any concerns, discuss future goals, and instill trust
- Send out a monthly newsletter to inform of any news from the company (meeting goals, financials, hiring’s or promotions, jokes). It’s a great way to keep employees involved and informed.
- Say thank you – and frequently. This is still the #1-way employees want as a reward
- Smile -Smile-Smile; it raises dopamine so you feel happy (and more relaxed), while it spreads to others.
Take time today to spread happiness around – it can make a difference in others’ and you will benefit, too!
“Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions.” Dalai Lama
If you want more tips like these, check out our blog and offerings; sign up for our free e-book, or call to learn more. Leadership – and happiness – is a decision.