When looking for a job people often have a list of what they want, need and expect from a potential employer- A good salary, benefits, good work location, and a positive work environment are usually some things on their list. A positive work environment is simply a workspace that promotes employee wellbeing, safety, growth, and performance. This type of environment is usually established by the higher ups of a company. When a good work environment is formed, employees feel a greater appreciation for the company they work for. They get excited for work. There is no hostility, no judgement and no selfishness. A positive work environment pushes for good collaboration efforts, positive work relationships and overall happiness of the employee. When your employee is satisfied with the company they work for, the sky’s the limit to their capabilities, quality and productivity.
Establishing a positive work environment is essential to a business’s success. The reason for this is because when employees feel a part of a community that works together to reach their goals, they want to work harder. They want to be better employees. They want to feel like they are heard, appreciated and valued. Having an environment that reflects positivity and collaborative growth will produce better results and outcomes for company goals. People who love their job, and the people they work with, will go out of their way to perform for their company.
Clearly, a positive work environment can affect employees greatly. The importance of a positive work environment is abundant in reasons but a few common ones are as follows.
Importance of Positive Work Environments.
Teamwork
Good collaboration efforts are important for business at times. Working with other coworkers is for some the norm, and others not so much. But having the ability to positively work with others, and having work relationships built from the start, help to make teamwork easier. It’s important for management to initiate these relationships to keep the work environment friendly, noncompetitive and engaged. Once, I interviewed with a large tech company, and I was surprised that the team members were in competition with each other for the annual bonus for that team. It didn’t seem like a healthy use of competition.
Better Wellbeing
When you work in an environment that treats you well, respects you, values your work and continues to support you, your stress levels decrease. You don’t feel like you have the world on your shoulders. You are less stressed, you are more productive and have a better attitude about work overall. A positive work environment can do wonders for an employee’s anxiety and mental health as a whole. Find the self-care that works for you and make it a priority.
Creativity
When your work environment is a happy one, innovation and creativity follows. Happy employees stay inspired and motivated to do what’s expected of them. When you love your job and it’s environment, and feel supported, you’re imaginative and charismatic and willing to take risks that usually come with great results.
Productivity & Performance
Of course if your team is happy they will better perform their tasks. A supportive work environment will promote growth. Productive people want to achieve goals so being in a positive workspace adds to their goal oriented mindsets.
Remember, employees respond to what environment they are in. They will take pride in a company that takes pride in them.
Your work environment can make or break your company’s reputation. If you have a negative work environment this usually results in a high turnover rate. No one wants to work for a company that doesn’t support or care about their wellbeing. A positive work environment is attainable, even for those who have a bad reputation. Change can always happen in the workplace with hard work, but pinpointing and understanding where your work environment is now, is crucial for changing the environment to be what it needs to be for your staff. So here are some warning signs that your business’s work environment isn’t positive and how to readjust your current work environment challenges.
Signs Your Work Environment Might Need To Make Some Changes.
No Engagement/No Motivation
If you don’t have staff engagement, positive collaboration efforts or motivated employees, your company needs to make some changes.
What To Do?
Prioritize feedback, and decrease the feedback loop. Give feedback as close to the event as possible. Find out what is going on within your workplace. You have to understand what is occurring in the workplace to stop it from happening again. Gain insight from those who work in the environment to change it. It won’t happen overnight but initiating a change by asking for feedback, whether through email correspondence, a meeting, or a quick survey, is a start.
Lack of Performance
You may see that tasks, assignments, and projects have been lower quality of work. Missed deadlines, lower productivity, disengaged employees? You might need to make some changes.
What To Do?
There could be many reasons why your staff’s quality of work has decreased, accessing why the quality of work is decreased first is important. Maybe it’s a personal reason, or there was a lack of understanding. Figure that out first.
Poor Communication
If your staff can’t speak with one another without being aggressive in some type of way, your company needs to make some changes. Also if your staff doesn’t feel comfortable going to management to speak about something bad or good, you need to reassess your entire leadership process.
What To Do?
Feedback. Is your staff comfortable in their space? Being personable and asking questions is sometimes the best thing for getting comfortable in the workplace. Setting goals and expectations help for expected tasks to be done to the quality you expect and need. Communication starts with management. You have to engage with your team in order for them to want to/ know to engage with you.
Your work environment can make or break your company. So creating an environment that is enjoyable, motivating and goal oriented for your team is crucial for your business’s prosperous longevity.