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Survey Says: Why a Happy Employee Is a Productive Employee
Happy employees say they spend twice as much time "on task," according to a new survey.
Posted 9/ 7 10 at 10:30 PM | Money, Sales, Management, Leadership
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Is that a light at the end of the economic tunnel? Let's hope it's not a freight train. The good news: Rich women are starting to spend more. The bad: If your staff's not happy, chances are they're not very productive either. Here's a closer look at some of the latest small-business surveys.Happiness Pays Off
While keeping your employees happy may be considered a nice thing to do, new data from research and consulting firm company iOpener shows it's actually a smart operating strategy as well. iOpener examined how much time employees spent "on task." For happy workers, it was 80 percent of the workweek. For unhappy workers, it was just 40 percent.
As if that's not bad enough, unhappy employees are not planning to leave anytime soon. Instead, they plan to stay at their jobs for about three years, even though before the recession they said they were planning to move on in six months.
I've said for years that keeping your team happy is more than just "fluff" -- it's essential to building a strong organization. Got unhappy employees? Either you -- or they -- have some shaping up to do. Otherwise, as this survey indicates, you're going to have a bunch of slugs on your hands. And in this economy, no small business can afford to carry dead weight.
Affluent Women Spending More
Growth in spending among wealthy Americans is coming from a new source, according to a white paper from American Express Business Insights. The report looked at the spending habits of affluent Amex cardholders (those with annual incomes of $150,000 or more) pre-recession, during the recession and during the current modest recovery.
While men age 45 and up have typically driven spending growth, Amex found that women under 45 spent slightly more (4 percent) during the recession, and a lot more lately -- their recovery spending grew 23 percent. Meanwhile, men 45 and over spent 5 percent less during the recession, though they've increased their spending by 15 percent in the recovery.
If you're targeting affluent customers, this may be good reason to focus on women, whose spending on charity, children and fitness all increased both during and after the recession. This doesn't surprise me. When we see great need, women are more likely to give, and buying stuff for their kids is the last thing they'll trim. As for the fitness, well, I just bought new sneakers.
Small Businesses See Glimmers of Hope
Small businesses are still facing uncertain times, according to the latest Office Depot Small Business Index, a survey that gauges economic trends. Small businesses in the survey were fairly evenly divided about economic recovery: 55 percent report no change in their outlook, but 45 percent are seeing signs of growth.
What are those bright spots? More than half (58 percent) report an uptick in the number of customers, and 49 percent say those customers are spending more. I sure hope this is a sign of things to come.
Rieva Lesonsky is CEO of GrowBiz Media, a content and consulting company that helps entrepreneurs start and grow their businesses. Follow Rieva at Twitter.com/Rieva and visit SmallBizDaily.com to sign up for her free TrendCast reports.
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Comments (Page 1 of 1)
My work keeps us happy by giving us a plug ticket to hand in for a slice of Pizza and a drink...How many employees do you think like this?
Where I work, we never know what our manager's mood is going to be; she writes notes if she find the least little thing wrong; she never gives out praise to the evening crew, but she acts as if the day crew are her best buds. I dread going into work, and I know several of my coworkers dread it, too.
I can relate to this.my husband has been with his job 26 years and in 2004 was purchased by someone else everything has been great up until this past month and now it's like nothing he does is right yet they take the credit for everything he does for them.Wierd huh,he has been there longer than the bosses and the 2nd employee being there the longest,he works overtime in excess of 60 hours a week and is on salary so there is no extra money for him when he is working all these hours and no extra money when he has to go out of town for 3 days to a week.He does what is required of him and the work of the other workers and management and during the meetings they take all the credit for what he has done and he is so kind hearted and soft spoken that he doesn't say anything they are taking advantage of his good nature and it's sad,but all we can do is pray and put it in the lords hands. Sharon Brooks
This is another laim HR brainwashing article based on common sense that a child has. All you have to do is treat employees right by appreciating what they do for your corporate gain, and pay them a fair wage. Don't create a hostile environment for them, and don't treat them like slaves. If you make your workers feel like they are appreciated and are part of the team, you will keep them, too. That is how you make them happy and in turn you create employee loyalty. Simple, isnt it.
YEA, STAY AND WORK FOR NOTHING... ARE YOU CRAZY. THAT IS WHY THEY CALL IT WORK. AND YOU ARE OBVIOUSLY, NOT ANYONE I WOULD LIKE TO WORK FOR... YOU ARE JUST STUPID, IF ANYTHING WE NEED MORE RULES TO PROTECT THE WORKERS.
Yes, just treat them wiht Common Sense .. But Come that magic time to Leave and go Home, they are the 1st to Fly out the door! God Forbid if they were to stay alittle extra for Nothing!
Just remember, You always Get back, what you hand /put out..
I think Salaried People should be paid 75% Salary and 25% Commission Bonus on the profits of the Company.. and get rid of tht Max 8hr day/40 hr wk law.. before having to pay them More per hour..
That's just to force Businesses to Hire More PT and FULL Time People..
Give someone the opportunity to work an exta 10 hrs a week for Regular pay and I bet they will take it.. All of Ours Did..and still do..