Today we celebrate the International Day of Happiness along with people from 160 countries around the world. It was started by the United Nations and celebrated for the first time in 2013. Small business owners tend to allow the success of their business to determine their level of happiness. However, this is not where happiness should come from. Happiness does not come from your financial situation, but you can your finances to spread happiness to others. Whether your business is booming or you need working capital with no credit check, you can spread happiness at work today.
What is The International Day of Happiness?
The International Day of Happiness was established by the UN in an effort to shift the focus of progress from economic success to making people happy. Studies have found that even as our financial success and status in society improves our level of happiness does not. Therefore, our happiness is unrelated to our success. Instead, they recommend doing these 10 things to be happy:
- Do things for others
- Connect with people
- Take care of your body
- Life life mindfully
- Keep learning new things
- Have goals to look forward to
- Find ways to bounce back
- Look for what’s good
- Be comfortable with who you are
- Be part of something bigger
How to Spread Happiness at Work
There are an endless amount of ways that you can spread happiness as a small business owner, but here are 5 ideas to get you thinking:
1. Do the Little Things
“No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted” – Aesop
The small things can go a long way at work. Most small business owners think that their employees are motivated only by financial incentives, like pay raises and bonuses. Wrong. There have been many studies that have proven that different people are motivated by different things. Studies have also found that financial incentives are one of the lower motivators. Employees do however, love the small things. As a small business try things like the following to spread happiness at work:
- Bring in doughnuts. Or better yet, cater in lunch for the whole staff. Food makes people happy.
- Let your employees each take a day to leave an hour early (or come in one hour late) and pay them for their time.
- Take orders and buy everyone their favorite Starbucks drink.
- Keep the lunchroom stocked with some free drinks and snacks all the time.
2. Pay for Training
“Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” -Chinese Proverbs
Helping your employees further their education and better their lives increases how happy they are. People love when others believe in them enough to invest in them and their future. Investing in your employees will not only make them happier, it will help your business. Whether you have an abundant budget or need working capital with no credit check, you can use some of the funds to provide your employees with training.
3. Celebrate the Small Victories
Celebration is a “tool that can leverage big and small wins and keep you and your team focused and motivated during the not-so-good times.” – Frank Gruber in the book Startup Mixology
One way small business owners can make employees happy is to celebrate the small victories with them. Companies need to have big goals, but there are smaller victories along the way and they should be celebrated. Look for reasons to compliment your employees. Find things they are doing right and make a big deal out of it. If your employees work together to achieve a small goal bring in pizza or ice cream or another treat that is popular in your area.
4. Find a Way to Volunteer Together
“Remember that the happiest people are not those getting more, but those giving more.” – H. Jackson Brown Jr.
Everyone has heard that giving is better than receiving, and it’s true. Gather your employees together and take a vote on a way to serve your community. Many businesses collect donations for certain causes, but take your employees one step further. If you collect donations allow your employees to go and be a part of dispersing and delivering them. Allow them to see the people they are helping. Or, pick a volunteer opportunity where you can all go and serve together. Not only will this help others, it will make your employees happier and bring them together as a team.
5. Help Your Employees Set Fulfilling Goals
“A wise person knows which goals are ultimately fulfilling and which offer only the illusion of fulfillment.” -Robert Emmons
Small business owners set goals and then ask their employees to work to achieve those goals. While, this is necessary to grow your business it is also important to help your employees set fulfilling goals. Encourage your employees to set goals for themselves that they want to work to achieve within your company. It could be training in a certain area, coming up with a solution to a problem, or reducing errors in a department. The key is that the goal has to matter to the employee or it will not provide them with the same fulfillment and happiness.
Once the goals are set, look for ways to help your employees reach them. Can you provide training? Allow an entry-level employee the chance to interview for a management position? Maybe you have a book you can lend to your employee that would help educated them in an area. Helping your employees achieve their goals improves their level of happiness.
Bounce Back From Setbacks with working capital with no credit check
One of the keys to happiness is learning how to bounce back from setbacks. This usually hits home with most small business owners struggling with working capital. If you need funding and do not have a strong financial past, you can obtain working capital with no credit check. iBusiness Funding works to provide working capital that cannot be approved by traditional lenders. Qualification and approval is fast and easy. Complete the online form to celebrate the International Day of Happiness with working capital with no credit check to grow your business.
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