5 simple ways to make work happier

Tip #1. Let feedback be your fuel

If you want to know what employees really care about, just ask them. It sounds obvious, but you’d be surprised how often decisions are made without a single conversation with the people they affect.

But relying on one annual survey is like trying to sum up your whole year in a single selfie. You need a mix of formal and informal feedback loops to really understand how people are feeling. That kind of listening builds trust, belonging, and a sense that voices are being respected as well as heard. 

Try this: Set up an anonymous feedback form and get senior leaders to answer questions directly from the team. Honest answers trump a polished script any day of the week.

Tip #2. Build from a base of wellbeing

If you treat wellbeing like an add-on, people will treat it the same way. It needs to be part of the culture, with no taboos and no awkward silences when someone brings it up. Training managers to be confidants – people who can listen, support, and guide without judgement – makes a massive difference.  

And don’t forget financial wellbeing. Going beyond salary and providing meaningful support matters more than ever, especially since it tops the list of benefits employees say they want most.

Try this: At Perkbox, we host quarterly Wellbeing Wednesdays, where the team takes the afternoon off to do something that boosts their wellbeing. You could set up your own version and create a small but powerful way to centre wellbeing around how you work. 

Tip #3. Celebrate effort as well as outcomes

According to our Perkonomics report, recognition is the #1 factor for making employees feel valued at work. Which means every time you take a moment to celebrate a success or acknowledge someone’s effort, you’re building a more supportive workplace – brick by brick.

 And the great thing about recognition is that celebrating the small things can matter just as much as handing someone a glittery trophy while a confetti cannon explodes in the background.

Recognition programmes make it easy for peer-to-peer shoutouts on the go – and if you want to see how Perkbox can help you with that, you can learn more here.

Try this: With Perkbox Celebration, you can reward hard work with points that people spend on something meaningful to them.  

Tip #4. Turn looking back into moving forward

For many organisations, speed is the name of the game. Keep moving, keep shipping, keep ticking things off the list. The problem is, when you never stop, you never look back – and all that learning, creativity, and the opportunity to take pride in what’s been achieved gets lost in pursuit of the next target. 

Giving people the space to step back and share ideas about what they’re focusing on (or what they’ve already achieved) changes the way they see their work – and that short pause can be the spark that makes the next project even better.

Try this: We run regular team sessions where people talk through a recent project, sharing their wins and learnings. We call it Wins-Day (because it’s on a Wednesday – clever, right?). It’s our chance to stop, celebrate, and get that dopamine hit before diving back in. If you like the sound of it, nab it for your own team.

Tip #5. It’s all about belonging

Loneliness at work is a bigger deal than many of us might realise. Around 20% of employees experience it – especially younger and remote workers. And when someone’s already disengaged, their loneliness levels are pretty much the same as those who aren’t working at all.  

But when people find their work meaningful and feel connected to their team, loneliness can fade fast. 

And the beauty of connection is that it’s often found in simple moments – like a coffee in the morning or a quick quiz on a Friday. Maybe a team away day. Small things that remind people they belong here. 

Try this: Amongst our regular team days and virtual quizzes, we also run Lunch and Learn sessions. Sometimes it’s an external expert, sometimes it’s someone from the team stepping up to share what they know. Either way, it’s an easy way to bring people together and keep the human side of work alive.