Happy Employee = Happier Clients = Happiest Company

The ultimate goal of any business is profit-making. It can be achieved by bringing individuals with different skill sets to a common ground and motivating them to deliver their best. For an effective work result, it becomes important that they enjoy a happy workplace which will help them develop a sense of loyalty towards the work. A positive work culture not only makes them happy but helps in extracting the best out of them and retaining them. A good work culture offers a positive environment for the employees to concentrate on their work. 

Work need not be fun, but the workplace can be. Dealing with organizational stress can be hard, and thus it is important to find the perfect balance between work stress and life. And the success of any organization lies in creating this perfect balance for the employees. Fostering a fun work environment inspires people to put in their best and enjoy what they do. Research has shown that happy employees are loyal employees. Based on such analytics, leading companies like Google, Apple, SAS Institute, etc have been giving importance to workplace culture. 

However, the work culture of a company doesn’t happen by chance or can be forced upon. It is more than an institutional paper, which needs proper planning and heartily nurturing. Every business progresses by taking the right risk. Happy employees are likely to take more calculated risks while unhappy employees avoid risks and play safe. This is because, in a healthy workplace, open communication is established and maintained, which makes the employees feel like a part of progress.  

Employee Engagement & Work Culture 

Before understanding the relationship between employee engagement and happy work culture, let’s see what employee engagement means. In simple terms, employee engagement is how the employees feel about the company and culture. With a strong culture, employees understand the process and their responsibility better.     

To build a culture of dreams, it is important to lay out the core values which will act as a foundation for the organization’s evolution. This can be time taking but it should include all significant stakeholders aligning their thoughts. While planning, consider everything right from physical layout to the communication pattern, etc. Once all these are planned, the real work starts with aligning the terms of the working environment with core values and preventing negativity.    

How to Create a Positive Work Culture

When it is clear that a positive work culture provides a whole lot of benefits, the hurdle comes in how to implement an employee-friendly work culture. Here’s your start towards higher productivity, lower turnover, and better customer relationship: 

• Departmental Goals: A clear outline of each department’s objectives and responsibilities can make the organization have tangible results to work towards. Also, keep room for feedback and revising KPIs when and where required. 
• Organizational Goals: Even if the departments succeed individually, it is important to succeed as a team. Thus it becomes important to set clear long-term organizational goals. This acts as a motivational source that demonstrates the individual’s commitment to the company’s mission. 
• Diversity & Inclusivity: A positive work culture welcomes and values individuals from different backgrounds equally. The management should ensure to make diversity a part of the recruitment strategy and it should be one of the elements of the foundation.  
• Fun: Work is stressful obviously, but making those stressful situations lighthearted is what makes a true happy work culture. The ultimate definition of positive work culture is where the problems are resolved, and the team gets back to grind with a better perspective and a positive outlook. 
• Zero Tolerance: It is important to ensure that the employees feel protected within the workplace. It is crucial to provide an open forum to discuss internal and external issues and have access to the support resource. Consider implementing an anonymous sexual harassment hotline, which will be a secure way for the employees to report any such incidents.
• Employee Recognition Program: Recognize and reward for achieving outstanding contributions and achievements. It will make them feel valued and motivate better performance.
• Feedback: In an engaging workplace, feedback is seen as a stepping stone toward betterment rather than considered an indication of you doing something wrong. Through constructive feedback, pain points are brought up and thus get an opportunity to be fixed instead of sweating over them.   
• Flexible: Employees do have responsibilities outside work and they should not fear taking time for themselves or to manage emergencies. Flexible schedules help in attracting more candidates and also earn respect among job seekers.  
• Transparency: Allowing open communication among the team, department heads and management keeps the employees engaged and feel valued. Internal newsletters or town hall meetings can be a good way to keep different departments in the loop. 
• Team Outings: Giving a platform for employees to gel with each other outside the office environment fosters friendly relations among them. 

How We Created Employee Friendly Working Environment in AtliQ

At AtliQ Technologies, we believe that a highly positive work culture leads to superior results. And this is why we have been always keen on establishing clear long and short-term goals and making sure that the team is in line with the same. We give a supportive and proactive work environment that allows the employees to engage with each other and stay healthily competitive.   

Determined to bring in a workplace revolution, we have been bringing in many changes within our organization. Being a company following bottom-up policy religiously, we have had several incidents where policies and regulations have been implemented based on employees’ suggestions and feedback. Right from bereavement leaves to menstrual leaves, we understand the importance of empathizing in difficult times. Our Wow Wednesday activities are proof that we know how to have fun while we work. With a 5 days/week working schedule and flexible working hours, our employees get a perfect work-life balance. While other organizations keep an eye on employees so that they don’t doze off, we keep a nap policy for them to have a break and get back better. Other aspects which make us enjoy an exceptional organizational work culture are: 

• Equal Employment Opportunities- Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam 
• No Bond- We bond on commitments & not conditions  
• Floating Festival Leaves- Welcoming all cultures wholeheartedly 
• Birthday Leaves- Your Day is your day in a true sense 
• No Sandwich leaves- Sandwich looks good on the menu, not on salary! 
• Referral Policy- Bring in a valuable asset, add value to yourself   
• Monday Lunch: No More Monday Blues  
• WowWednesday: Take It Sportingly 
• Remarkable Friday: Appreciating Small Steps  
• Trips: Break for Better 
• Toastmaster: Fun & Learn
• Mastermind Group: Master Blaster!  
• Hackathons: What the Heck!! 

Getting back to the office after a weekend might not sound tempting to many, but not for AtliQers. We have been designing an environment where every employee feels motivated and encouraged to give their best. We aim at providing equal growth opportunities and ensuring the physical and mental wellness of every employee. We know that we can’t control employees’ moods, but we know the hacks to create a bit of happiness for them by oozing positivity. And we are a happy productive team, working together towards our goal of giving the best to the clients.