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As I often cluck about, there's a chicken and egg relationship between humor and workplace culture: Humor drives a more positive, innovative workplace culture, but it's also the end result of working in a successful, phenomenal work environment. Similarly, there's a relationship between employee engagement levels and various aspects of a healthy workplace. For example, safety levels are higher in organizations with higher employee morale, prompting the eternal question: Are people happier because they feel safer, or do they act in a more safe manner because they are happier? Likewise, a study from HR Solutions found a near-perfect correlation between hand washing compliance in health care facilities and employee engagement levels: as engagement levels rise, so does the frequency of hand washing.
So in addition to implementing all the ideas from your weekly dose of Humor at Work, what are some of the key areas you can focus on to improve your workplace engagement levels? A survey from Alberta Venture magazine prompted the following top five suggestions for improving employee engagement:
71% Listen to employees' opinions
68% Communicate clear expectations
58% Give recognition and praise
57% Provide learning and development opportunities
98% Bring Michael Kerr in to speak to our leadership team*
(*Okay, so no one gave the fifth response, but really, it's not a bad suggestion if I say so myself.)
There are obviously multiple paths that can have a positive impact on employee morale and engagement levels. The key is to be intentional about your workplace culture. When making decisions at work always ask: How will this decision/idea/plan impact our culture? Does it both build and reflect our desired culture? And what is just one, simple thing we can start doing tomorrow that will have an impact on employee engagement?
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