Make employees happier in 2021 with new approaches to staff scheduling

A new year. A fresh start. What could be more welcoming?

As 2021 dawns, one of the wisest business resolutions you could make would be to spend more energy on your employees’ happiness. After all, according to research by Shawn Anchor, the single greatest advantage in the modern economy is a happy and engaged workforce. A decade of study proves that employee happiness raises nearly every business and educational outcome. It raises sales by 37%, productivity by 31% and accuracy on tasks by 19%, as well as a myriad of health and quality-of-life improvements.

Here are some specific scheduling actions you can take to increase the happiness quotient among your employees.

Adopt flexible self-scheduling

The beauty of self-scheduling for organizations that employ shift workers is that it allows maximum flexibility in operating the business as customer demand changes. Managers determine what the schedule requires based on customer traffic and other factors. Employees are then allowed to choose the shifts they want, or to trade shifts with others. Any empty shifts that need to be filled are assigned after employees have selected what they want.