The goodwill gestures that make staff happy revealed

HR departments frequently contemplate how best to motivate employees, with many an initiative or scheme rolled out at great expense.

But sometimes it’s the little gestures that matter; over two-thirds of workers say that they are made happy by goodwill gestures from their colleagues, according to a survey of over 1,100 workers by CV-Library.

91.9% of respondents also believe that these gestures help them to build relationships with co-workers, and 90.5% said that these gestures make the workplace a more enjoyable place to be.

Lee Biggins, Founder and Managing Director of CV-Library, comments: “Work can be extremely stressful, but it’s clear from our findings that small gestures can help to alleviate pressures and brighten an employees’ working day. Whether that’s lending a helping hand, offering a shoulder to cry on, or simply making a colleague a cup of tea; these acts of goodwill can go some way to making an employee feel happier and more confident about tackling their day-to-day workload. Encouraging this culture in your workplace can help to boost morale, improve staff wellbeing and ultimately, help with overall productivity.

The goodwill gestures that make employees happy can be seen below.

1. A colleague giving them support (58.6%)
2. A colleague making them cups of tea or coffee (43.3%)
3. Being complimented on their work (32.7%)
4. Being offered constructive feedback (28.2%)
5. Being greeted with a smile everyday (26.6%)
6. A colleague helping out when work becomes overwhelming (24.1%)
7. Being taught new things (19.8%)
8. A colleague bringing in snacks for the team (13.8%)
9. A colleague covering their shifts for them (3.5%)
10. Being sent funny emails (3.3%)

As we’re now entering the festive season, it’s a great time to think about what more you could be doing for your employees and the best practice attitude and behaviours that you should be promoting. We all appreciate these kind acts when they happen to us, so why not take the steps to brighten your workers’ day this December: Christmas is all about giving, after all