Call me weird, but I want people to be happy to go to work. It worries me that what seems to be a majority of us dreads going to work.When you think that most of us spend half of our waking hours at work, it is important that we find work a happy place.

A happy team has less sickies, is more productive, is safer, serves customers better and is more likely to be successful. An unhappy team will have higher turnover, will experience more conflict, and will care less about the organisation.

There is strong evidence that a happy, engaged workforce is more likely do well in terms of profitability, customer satisfaction, quality and many other measures of success.

Here are five things you can do as leader to increase the level of happiness and engagement from your team members.1. Make your expectations of their performance crystal clear. Don’t expect people to be mind readers. Just be straight about what you want them to do.

2. Give regular and honest feedback on their performance. This can be both formal and informal. The point is it must be frequent and authentic.

3. Share the vision for the organisation with them. Let people know what the big picture is. Where are you taking them?

4. Give them opportunities to grow and develop. People generally want to be the best they can be. Help them to be.

5. Create a team feel so that they feel like they belong. This is a very powerful concept. We all want to feel like we are a part of something.

It really doesn’t have to be much more complex than that. If we can help you to plan or achieve the above, let us know.