As the leader of your construction team, it’s your job to create an environment that promotes respect, motivation, and happiness in order to get the most out of your team. Happy workers are productive workers, which also means fewer absences, fewer work-related conflicts and more loyalty to your company.
Creating a great work environment might mean extra effort on your part, but consider that effort an investment. Leaders are responsible for taking care of the team in order to accomplish the goal efficiently, not just work them to death to finish a project quickly. Besides, it adds a great sense of personal happiness to see your team working, because they are happy to be doing what they’re doing.
With that, here are some simple tips on how you can create a good work environment for your team of builders:
1. Appreciate Your Team
Every one of us wants to be appreciated for something that we’ve done. Even more so if you’ve been working under the sun for the whole day. Appreciate what your team has done, especially when they are working particularly hard.
You don’t have to wait for your general meeting to commend someone in your team. Even a simple “good job”, a pat on the back or a high-five is enough to show that you’ve been paying attention to their work and that they matter to you. Of course, being awarded in front of everybody else would make things more awesome.
Keep in mind though that whenever you give appreciation to your team, tell them the reason why you’re acknowledging them. This way, they’ll know what they’re doing right and do more of it.
2. Be Involved
Make an effort to connect with every person in your team. Know everyone by name. Be involved by asking them about their weekend or families as long as it’s not too personal. This shows that you care and that they matter to you. Don’t settle for small talk. Ask them what their goals are or what they are interested in learning more about.
Socialization is an important factor for happiness. The more social your workplace is, the happier it will be.
3. Listen to Ideas and Feedback
Your team will always have something to say since they’re the ones working on a project or task most of the time. They have a different perspective on how things should be. Don’t be afraid to ask them. You can incorporate their ideas into your own.Listening to your team’s ideas and rationale means that you see them as a valuable asset to your business.
4. Trust Them
Have you ever experienced working for a boss who keeps on looking behind your back just to see if you’re doing what you’re supposed to be doing? In the end, you won’t be able to do a good job because you’re more nervous (and annoyed) by him being there instead of focusing on the task at hand.
Your team will be happier if you leave them to their tasks. This only shows that you trust them and their decisions. Staying on your team’s back and constantly nagging them on what to do and how to do it lowers their motivation and morale. Lower motivation means lesser productivity and nobody really wants that.
5. Encourage Enjoyment
This is important. Encourage enjoyment at work. Nobody really wants to spend their whole lives just working and not being able to reap the benefits. Encourage your team to take their vacation leaves so that they’ll come back to work refreshed, motivated and happier.
Allow your team to take short breaks during work so that they can relax and not be exhausted immediately. Let everyone have a little bit of fun. Fun only happens if people are well-connected and have a healthy relationship with each other. So tell stories, laugh at jokes, enjoy time-off, give rewards for good work and then go back to work happy.
A good work environment mostly depends on you as the leader of the team. You must learn how to nurture and motivate to bring out the best in the members of your team. And remember, emotions are contagious. If your team is happy, then you’ll be happy, as well.
