Employee happiness and satisfaction in the workplace is the most crucial aspect in the company. Suppose employees aren’t happy in the workplace. In that case, this affects their overall performance and the reputation of the company as a whole. Without that satisfaction in the workplace, the company won’t thrive, with employees constantly leaving. This is why it’s crucial to measure employee happiness in the workplace to do something about your employees if you find that they aren’t happy with the workplace. In this article, we’ll be talking about how to measure happiness in the workplace.

7 ways to measure employee happiness

1. Conducting surveys

When it comes down to it, conducting surveys is one of the most straightforward and concrete ways of measuring employee satisfaction in the workplace. Most companies give out monthly or annual employee satisfaction surveys so you can learn whether your management style is working for your employees or not. If not, you can use these surveys to your advantage and improve your management to make your employees happier. The best thing about these surveys is that they measure employee satisfaction in every area, such as leadership, coworker relationships, career progression, and other relatable areas. This way, your employees can tell you through the survey which areas need more improvement and which ones are okay. Surveys are generally anonymous, leaving confidentiality out of the question so your employees can answer with more confidence and security. The most effective employee satisfaction surveys are a mixture of multiple-choice and open-ended questions, so you need to ensure you’re asking all the right questions to gather the data you need. It would help if you also noted two varieties of surveys – qualitative and quantitative. You might want your employees to take both for more concrete data on employee satisfaction.

2. One-on-one meetings

This is the most personal and vulnerable way of knowing whether an employee is satisfied and happy with the workplace. While this isn’t as credible in providing employee satisfaction feedback as surveys due to the anonymity, you should still try. This helps you express your concerns and needs vocally, and the same goes for them. The average time frame of these meetings usually is 30 minutes, so you can assure that you have all the time to talk about everything you need to know whether an employee is happy with their job or not. You can even use this opportunity to see everything they aren’t saying through the use of body language and voice tone. In these meetings, you can talk about their performance, their emotional state, job expectations, what keeps them motivated, and any challenges they may be facing in the workplace that’s hindering them from performing at their best. These concerns will help you get the answer you’re looking for on whether they’re satisfied or not. Some employees enjoy the intimacy of one-on-one meetings. It leaves a good impression that you care enough to want employees to be happy with the workplace.

3. Install an employee suggestion box

Another way of measuring employee satisfaction in the workplace that has anonymity has an employee suggestion box. Employees always have something to say that they aren’t comfortable saying upfront. Having a suggestion box, they’ll be more comfortable providing feedback and suggestions on how the workplace can be improved. This lets them voice their opinions and feedback without the fear of being judged or criticized for what they have to say. You also don’t have to worry about asking the right questions when you have a suggestion box since your employees will give you the answers you’re looking for. It’s also a bonus that a suggestion box is beneficial for employees and management. They help with problem solving and innovation. Suppose you think there’s anything the management can do to improve employee satisfaction. In that case, you’ll find all the answers you’re looking for in the suggestion box. A suggestion box doesn’t have to be an actual thing as it can be virtual, whether on your website or an app. Anonymity is the most significant aspect in the suggestion box.

4. Take advantage of the Employee Net Promoter Score (eNPS)

If you aren’t familiar with the eNPS. In that case, it’s a metric that lets employees show their satisfaction with the workplace or the company. This metric asks employees just one question – on a scale of one to ten, how likely are they to recommend the company to others? The results will tell you which ones are delighted with the company, which ones don’t feel strongly about the company, and which ones are most likely to leave. This metric is a good indicator to let you know how many of your employees are extremely satisfied and how you’re going to change the minds of those in the other two categories. This metric is used by many companies worldwide because, as a company, your employees also reflect your success. If you frequently have employees who find reasons to leave, something is wrong with the management, not the employees. This is basically what the eNPS indicates. What percentage of your employees are proud to represent your company and promote it to others and what percentage falls in the other two categories.

5. Review employee performance

When it comes down to it, nothing reflects employee satisfaction more than their performance. You can easily sense how happy and satisfied an employee is by delivering the work and how they choose to present them. For instance, if an employee always provides their deadlines beyond the expected time and doesn’t care about the impact of this tardiness, it can be a sign that they aren’t happy with the work they’re doing. Still, it can also be another factor that you’re missing out on. What you can do is after a review of an employee’s performance. You find that they’re performing poorly, this is where you can initiate a one-on-one meeting with them to get a more concrete answer for their poor performance. To put it simply, an employee’s performance will tell you so much about their satisfaction by the way they’re thriving in the company. This is why you’ll see some employees having the initiative to do tasks outside their job description – because of that employee satisfaction that both the workplace and company provide. It may take work and time to review the performance of each employee and gather data from them. Still, you’ll be able to see a pattern on whether you have effective management or not.

6. Hold exit interviews

When the unlikely happens, and employees leave the company, you can get the frankest and direct answer since they have nothing to lose any more withholding back their answer. Most companies that choose to hold exit interviews are looking for data on why employees decide to leave, whether it’s the company’s fault and if there’s something they can do to change that. The last thing a company wants is for employees to keep leaving, so exit interviews are a great way to get your answer. As unfortunate as an exit interview situation is, this is your most direct answer from an employee as they’re about to leave the company for good. You can ask them questions such as what you could have done to help their career growth or what about the management they particularly disliked. Most importantly, they’ll give you the answer to the question of what triggered for them to leave the company and resign for good.

7. Use specialized software

Realize that we live in an era surrounded by technological advancements. You can use those advancements to your advantage with specialized software. There is software designed for surveys and gathering data from your employees to confirm employee satisfaction. OfficeVibe is one of the software you can use to keep a close eye on your employees to drive positive change. You can hold anonymous questionnaires and respond to employees’ response without breaking your identity as a manager. There are several more software similar to what OfficeVibe aims to provide. The bottom line is that instead of relying on the traditional way to make surveys, you can use software to your advantage to gather data more accessible. This way, it’s more convenient to make changes in adjustments based on these virtual surveys.

In conclusion, I hope this article was able to shed insight into how to measure happiness in the workplace. Not everyone becomes satisfied with their work. When you are happy, take it as an opportunity to embrace your work further. The primary way on how to measure happiness in the workplace all comes down to the strategy that works best for you. Some companies thrive in doing anonymous surveys and suggestion boxes. They find their employees are more comfortable knowing that their identity is safe, while others thrive with one-on-one meetings.