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There is always a lot to be done in a work environment.  Employees need to reply to emails, answer phone calls, and complete projects, and the work is even more if you work in a larger organization. This can sometimes be overwhelming and may affect employees’ performance at work. According to a survey conducted by CareerBuilder, 61% of employees suffer from work burnout.

Employee happiness is necessary if you want to boost employee organization.  To manage your business better,  you need to take some actions. So, what online tools can you use to maintain employee happiness and increase engagement? 

But first, let’s look at the importance of employees’ happiness. 

Why is employee happiness important?

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Employees feel more productive and creative when they are content and feel appreciated. They need to achieve a work-life balance for them to maintain this happiness.  Happiness is necessary for motivation, retention, and dedication. 

According to Gallup,  highly engaged teams lead to an increase of 21% in profitability. Unhappiness leads to disengagement, frustration and even stress. Happy employees are more productive than the ones who don’t.  They also support their colleagues and form good team members.

They always give their best in their roles. They’re also more likely to stick around, which reduces costs associated with turnover.

Employee retention tools ensure that you provide a great environment that favors employees’ well-being. If employees aren’t happy, they will likely leave to look for an environment with a positive culture. 

Happy employees are also less likely to get sick since stress is a leading cause of sickness. Caring about employees’ well-being makes the workplace fun.

Online tools for boosting employee morale

There are several online tools that you and your team can use to help boost employee morale. Here are a few to keep in mind:

1. Surveys and feedback tools to measure employee satisfaction

If you want to get to the heart of what your employees think and feel, you need to use surveys and feedback tools. These tools will help you collect data that you can use to make informed decisions about improving employee satisfaction.

There are several different survey and feedback tools available online. So, take some time to research the options and choose the ones that will work best for your organization. 

Some of these tools include 15five, TINY pulse, and Culture Amp. A Personalized feedback interface allows regularity and anonymity.  With such feedback tools, you can hear your employees’ opinions and try to respect their sentiments. 

Once you have the tools in place, make sure to use them regularly to track employee satisfaction levels over time.

Whenever you receive negative feedback, work on it and always uphold the company’s culture.

2. Rewards offering tools

Employees need to feel appreciated. A reward is a sure way to boost their morale.  They love it when you notice the efforts they are putting into their work. You can always offer offline rewards like retreats, physical gifts, and bonding events to ease off the pressure that comes from the work environment. 

You can also take the employee for lunch or dinner or offer them a staycation. One of the online apps you can use is  Kazoo. This mobile app allows the employer and employee to connect, making it easy for employees to receive the rewards in time.

The app also has a feature that enables employees to gift each other. This is an excellent thing for any work environment.

3. Health checking resources

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According to a report by the American Psychological Association, 89% of employees are likely to recommend their workplace as a good place if they support wellness activities.

Employees’ physical health contributes to how well they work. When employees are in good health, their engagement increases. Plan health-related activities to improve healthy wellness. 

You can help additionally use fitness apps to monitor employees’ fitness. If you’re looking for a way to get your team moving, Fitbit is a great option. It tracks steps and is also easy to use. It helps employees feel accountable for their health.

Employees can compete on who makes the most steps during the day.

Another app is limeade which uses surveys and videos to educate users on health matters. Employees can learn how to take care of their health. A healthy employee is a productive employee. 

4. Productivity planning tools

Use productivity tools to keep employees in the know. Knowing what to do at a particular time keeps them organized. One such tool is Trello. It’s a straightforward collaboration tool, and employees can easily navigate through the app or the website option. It allows you to track work time and let employees know how long a project will take. It gives employees flexibility.

5. Encouraging work-life balance with virtual activities and events

While it’s important to encourage employees to take time for themselves outside of work, creating a culture that encourages work-life balance is also essential. Here are a few online tools that can help you do just that:

• Doodle is a great way to schedule virtual social events and activities, like happy hours, book clubs, and fitness classes.
• Team tailor is an online platform that helps businesses organize and manage employee social events and activities.
• Asana is a project management tool that you can use to plan and track progress on work-related projects and goals.
• Google Hangouts is a video conferencing tool that you can use for virtual meetings, team-building exercises, and social events.
• Slack is a messaging app that can communicate between team members and announce company news and events.

6. Using social media and AI-powered chatbots to engage with employees

You can use social media and AI-powered chatbots to engage with employees and keep them happy. Use social media pages to update employees on company news, product launches, and other important information.

You can use AI-powered chatbots to answer questions about company policies, benefits, and other topics. Employees don’t need to be present all the time to answer some queries.

7. Mood monitoring tools to measure employee moods.

An employee doesn’t need to report their moods to the boss. However, knowing how employees feel from day to day is a great way to gauge how they feel from day-to-day basis can reduce employee turnover. Some employees are constantly sad and don’t know how this affects their work performance.

An excellent tool to measure moods is Hppy. It shows if a user isn’t motivated and gives the reason why. The app regularly asks users whether they are having a good or a bad day. They then compile the information and then send the employers to evaluate. 

 Employees can then make an assessment and plan on ways to improve.

8. A programming tool to streamline different activities.

One program that streamlines different activities is one way to boost employees’ productivity.  Different programs can be confusing and can be hectic.

One such tool is Google suite which offers businesses a variety of tools in one place, including video and emails.

Google hangout enables employees to keep in touch. There is also Google Drive, where employees can access information in Google apps like sheets, presentations and docs. 

The Gmail and calendar feature sync allows you to arrange meetings and even set reminders.

Whiteboards and keep features come in handy, especially during meetings.

9. Great storage

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Your company needs a cloud server or storage where employees can access important files. Cloud storage allows you to access information anywhere, even if you aren’t in the office. You only have access to the software platform and internet connection.  A private cloud or server guarantees secure data, which benefits your organization.

Cloud storage is vital as it allows you to centralize information and improves efficiency. You don’t want to lose information accidentally. It also increases and improves employees’ productivity.

Some of the cloud storage you can use are Idrive, Google’s workspace, pcloud, Microsoft One Drive, and Spideroak.

How to maintain a positive work environment

It’s important to create a positive work environment for your employees. Here are a few tips on how to do that:

• Encourage open communication: Employees should feel comfortable communicating with their hiring manager, supervisor and colleagues. You can do this through team-building exercises, regular check-ins, and an open-door policy. Companies with high worker satisfaction outperform low-satisfaction companies by 202%.
• Promote work/life balance: Employees should feel like they have a life outside of work. Encourage them to take vacation days, offer flexible hours, and provide other benefits like child care assistance or wellness programs.
• Recognize achievements: A little recognition can go a long way. Be sure to praise employees when they do a good job and offer incentives for meeting goals. This will help them feel appreciated and motivated to do their best work.

Improve work culture

Employee happiness should be top of mind for any organization. Having the right resources at your disposal is necessary if you want to ease the pressures that come with the work environment. 

To ensure more engagement, prioritize employees’ well-being; this includes physical and emotional aspects. The above tools are great to get you started. 

Author bio: Cosmas Mwirigi

Cosmas alias Cosii-Riggz is a technology enthusiast and SAAS writer who helps clients understand products by explaining services for businesses. 

He has been featured on websites such as PV Magazine and Bitcoin Kenya. He likes traveling to new places and exploring what’s new on the internet.