A recent study by Zipdo shows that 85% of employees believe the work environment affects their mood and productivity. Truth is, people want to feel valued, heard, and supported at work. If you foster a positive work environment, you are bound to have happy and efficient people at your back.

Let me paint a picture for you…

You land a marketing gig, excited to dive in, but soon find yourself walking around a supermarket with a wooden sign, promoting products. Definitely not what you signed up for, but hey, bills need paying.

At the end of the day, you’re drained, falling short of your targets, and just counting the minutes until you can crash at home. 

Then, in walks your smug manager, ready to put on a performance.

Here’s the kicker:

If you hit your goals, you get a round of applause and a pat on the back. But if not? Well, get ready to be the center of attention – and not in a good way.

The team forms a circle and they make you stand in the middle.

You are then forced to act like a chicken because apparently, you chickened out instead of hitting your targets. 

Everyone is laughing at you, and no one is going out of their way to hide it. Some are even visibly talking among themselves about you. You feel humiliated, to say the least.

This is clearly not the supportive, uplifting vibe you were hoping for, huh? It’s moments like these that make you wish you could hit the eject button on this job, turning every day after that into a bit of a nightmare.

Lessons

What if I told you that this isn’t a fictional story – it actually happened?

Put yourself in the shoes of this person. How would you feel after being publicly humiliated in that way? Would you be excited to work the next day?

How much would you care about the company?

A bad work environment can be the reason why the entire business crushes. When your employees don’t like you, they don’t care about your success.

They will be in it only to put food on the table, and the signs will be visible.

5 Ways to Build a Positive Work Environment

A positive work environment fosters happiness, productivity, and strong relationships among coworkers, making every day at work more enjoyable and fulfilling.

Here are 5 ways to make your workplace a positive environment:

1. Open Lines of Communication
2. Recognition & Appreciation
3. Good Leadership
4. Conflict Resolution
5. Work-Life Balance

1. Open Lines of Communication

‘Communication is key.’

This might sound cliché, but it couldn’t be further from the truth.

In many instances, a bad work environment starts to build up when people feel like they cannot speak up. They feel that their opinions are not valued and will not be taken into consideration.

Make sure to encourage your employees to be open, honest and transparent among each other and with you. This helps to build trust and avoid misunderstandings.

Here are two ways that you can implement this:

• Use Different Communication Forums

Sometimes, and especially in a new environment, people are scared of speaking up for fear that they may not be heard.

To build a positive work environment, you need to have different communication channels. Build relationships with both individuals and teams within the organisation.

• Accept Feedback and Act On It

Feedback requires honesty, and by allowing people to speak to you freely, you enhance communication within the organisation.

Asking your team for feedback shows that you value their opinions and you believe in them and their expertise.

After you have received, feedback, be sure to act on it to affirm that you appreciate what was said to you.

2. Recognition and Appreciation

Have you seen how people light up when you tell them they’ve done a good job? It’s magical! 

How often do you pat each other’s backs?

A positive work environment is where people will openly celebrate one another’s achievements without it feeling like a competition.

Everyone values words of affirmation, especially in the workplace where we’re all pulling our weight towards the same goal.

Here are two ways to make sure to recognise and appreciate people in your small business:

• Put the Right Systems in Place

Recognition and appreciation need to be built into the company culture. The best way to do this is to put the right systems in place. Create employee recognition programs like ‘Employee of the Month’ or a reward system of sorts.

It could even be as easy as starting your meetings by recognising people for their great work.

At Outside ideas, we ring our bell on Gather Town for all our accomplishments. Then, we clap for each other and celebrate the accomplishment together.

• Events and Celebrations

Another good way to build relationships is to have events and celebrations that cater to everyone. These could go a long way in making people feel valued and appreciated. It will also motivate them to keep working harder.

3. Good Leadership

Think about this for a minute – Do you have a good supervisor who you could never forget? What were their attributes?

Good leadership is the key to a positive work environment!

A good leader is empathetic, supportive, and approachable. They don’t exercise harsh authority, and they make the team feel heard.

When you embrace good leadership, your team is even more inspired to work hard. They will feel at ease around you and open to telling you how they feel. This kind of feedback can be a game-changer for the organisation.

Here are two elements of good leadership:

• Lead By Example

When it comes to leadership, you can’t preach water and drink wine. It builds resentment with your team.

So whatever rules and policies you implement for the team, you have to practise them yourself.

• Empowerment

Good leadership also involves empowerment. You need to give your team the autonomy to make decisions on their own, and you need to trust those decisions.

Bring them along to big meetings and allow them to share their opinions. This is how you help them to grow.

4. Conflict Resolution

What’s the right way to handle issues in a small business? When someone makes a mistake, or two people are arguing, how do you deal with it?

Good conflict resolution is a crucial part of building a positive work environment. Why?

Conflicts are often sensitive issues that can either motivate or demotivate your team.

Address conflicts and issues promptly and constructively. Provide mechanisms for employees to voice concerns and resolve conflicts fairly and respectfully. Compose yourself before handling any form of conflict, and make sure not to lose your cool.

Here are two tips for conflict resolution:

• Be Solution-Oriented

Instead of assigning blame to any of the parties, you need to find a constructive solution. It’s a waste of time to dwell on the issue rather than how to fix it. Draw the conversation towards lessons learned and how to avoid a repeat mistake in the future.

• Understand the Issue

Actively listen to all parties to understand the issue. Everyone should be given the chance to give their side of the story without interruptions. Ask as many questions as you can to fully grasp the context of the issue, and identify common goals or interests shared by the conflicting parties.

5. Work-Life Balance

Another essential part of a positive work environment is work-life balance. Make sure that your team has a life outside of work. Encourage them to develop hobbies and emphasize the need to spend time with loved ones. You can promote a healthy balance by offering flexible work hours, remote working options, and enough vacation time.

Another thing you could do is encourage downtime after work. Unless completely necessary, the team should be allowed to completely disconnect after hours and pick up the next day.

Here are two ways to drill in a work-life balance at work:

• Promote Boundaries and Time Management

Your employees need to set boundaries between work and personal time, and the best way to do this is to develop healthy time-management practices.

Create a space where your employees can easily tell you that they don’t have the time to do a particular task, and then you can figure it out together.

Set realistic deadlines and discourage after-work communication unless it’s an emergency.

• Practice What You Preach

If you are always working past hours and on weekends, your employees will likely do the same. We all need adequate sleep. We all need downtime. And we all deserve a break from work. 

So make sure that you also have a work-life balance. Encourage your employees to do fun stuff over the weekend, and to take a vacation every chance they get.

Our Summary – Five Ways to Foster a Positive Work Environment

A good work-life balance is healthy for a business. It’s always nice to have something to look forward to outside of work – whether a vacation or even just a movie with friends. 

Work-life balance helps the team to refresh and reset, and when they come to work, they have the energy to work hard.

In conclusion, here are 5 ways of creating a positive workplace culture:

1. Open Lines of Communication
2. Recognition and Appreciation
3. Good Leadership
4. Conflict Resolution
5. Work-Life Balance

If you would like to have a chat about creating a positive work environment or anything else business-related, we’re only one Zoom call away! Get in touch with us, and let’s talk business!