Most of us will have spent time working in jobs and enjoyed them far more than we’ve enjoyed others. Much of the time, this is down to the atmosphere of the workplace. But how can you create an atmosphere of peace and harmony in the workplace? A good work environment pays huge dividends in productivity and reduced staff turnover.
How to Create a Peaceful & Harmonious Workplace?
This begs the question “Why are some workplaces more of a desirable place to be?”. The truth is that there is no one single ‘secret’ to creating a peaceful and harmonious workplace. However, there are a number of reasons why some workplaces are more harmonious than others.
Encouraging Open Communication
One of the best ways to foster good relations within the workplace is to encourage dialogue and effective communication.
This should not just be amongst colleagues but between staff and management also. Encouraging the workforce to express ideas and views as well as suggesting improvements is a great way of achieving this.
Gaining feedback on performance, either as a team or in 1-to-1 sessions and giving workers clearly defined and realistic targets and deadlines, where they are appropriate to the role, also helps.
It’s also important to tackle any conflict in the workplace head on, and to have good conflict resolution strategies in place. Having a good system to deal with disagreements positively will foster better relations.
Creating Good Work Life Balance
Work can become unbearable if employers are only interested in making as much profit as possible. If they do not give any regard to the needs of their staff it reduces motivation. It’s perfectly acceptable to expect your workers to give you 100% when they’re at work. But it’s also important to recognise that they have a life outside of the workplace too. Creating a ‘family friendly’ environment is a very positive step.
Things like introducing flexible working practices, compassionate leave, or childcare facilities makes for good relations between staff and management. Steps like this will show that the company does have the staff’s best interests at heart. Companies which have put in place these measures have realised that the more interest they take in issues that affect staff outside of work, the happier and more productive staff will be in work.
Steps like this create a more inclusive work environment, and help to create a more harmonious environment.
Training and Development
No matter how much someone enjoys their job, many people will have career progression in mind.
To retain valued members of staff, it’s important that a company can provide them with workplace training and development. This might include training in house, offering them the opportunity for study, and even paying for the cost of external training courses.
Popular Misconceptions
Many employers will often say that they pay bonuses to staff for good performance. For many workers, especially those who work in sales oriented environments money will be a valuable incentive.
However, the truth is that money alone is rarely enough of a motivation for staff to stay loyal and to feel happy in their work. For many, commission related work often leads to incredible stress in an effort to hit targets. They may be happy when they see the bonus payments in their monthly wage packets. However, it’s not the case that this necessarily creates a happy working environment.
5 Important Elements for a Harmonious Workplace
The 5 most vital components any company can introduce to foster a harmonious and peaceful workplace are to:-
- Encourage dialogue.
- Care about your staff’s welfare.
- Realise the importance of their life outside of work.
- Offer flexibility wherever possible.
- Give training and development opportunities.
All these ingredients will create a happier workforce. Also, highly valued members of staff are more likely to remain loyal to the company, to ‘go the extra mile’ for a company when the pressure’s on, to perform to the best of their ability.
This will, ultimately save you money on recruitment and training, reduce absenteeism, lower staff turnover and improve morale which can only be good for both staff and employers alike.
