With one in three employees in the UK saying they are unhappy at work, it’s time for European businesses to acknowledge the issues and make a change.

As a result of the economic struggles that businesses are currently battling with, many employees are facing added pressure at work. Combining an added workload with the increase in living costs and their own personal struggles can quickly become overwhelming and leave employees feeling unhappy in their jobs.

Although businesses are undeniably under added pressure, failing to notice the impact this may be having on their employees can quickly lead to an even worse outcome. Staff turnover is a big challenge for businesses, and ongoing recruitment and training are significant expenses.

Since happy staff are likely to stay with their employers 7 times longer than unhappy employees, European businesses cannot afford to lose their existing team and need to make changes to their company culture if they want to see improvements.

How AI can be used to create a happier workforce

To create a more positive company culture that focuses on the happiness of employees, there are various ways that AI can be used. Different tools can be introduced to utilise the power of modern technology and create a healthier work-life balance.

Offer performance-based bonuses

One of the biggest frustrations for employees is their wages. If people feel as if they are not paid fairly or deserve a raise, they are more likely to be unhappy with their job and look for new opportunities elsewhere.

Employers are legally required to stay up to date with changes to minimum wage so that they are in line with national standards that aim to give people fairer pay as the cost of living rises. However, this isn’t enough to retain strong workers, so businesses should offer pay rises based on performance to reward hard work and keep their team motivated.

AI can be used to set individual goals and track performance. This gives employees an incentive to work towards their goals and earn their bonus as a result.

Reduce workload by automating admin tasks

Ongoing admin tasks, such as manually entering data records, scheduling team meetings, or compiling weekly reports, quickly eat into an employee’s time and keep them from the duties that matter the most.

Now that businesses have the option to introduce AI tools that can automate these repetitive tasks, it can take a weight off the shoulders of employees. By reducing their workload and allowing them to focus on the tasks that require their skills, stress levels are likely to improve since time pressure becomes less of an issue.

Making a conscious effort to introduce new tools that can alleviate pressure and keep workloads manageable means employees are much more likely to feel happy and supported in their role.

Manage employee schedules to prevent burnout

The rise in burnout has become a notable problem across all industries as employees are expected to work long hours, meet tight deadlines, and deal with a high-pressure work environment. This is affecting the wellbeing of employees and causing them added stress.

AI can be used to help ensure that employees’ schedules are not overfilled. If AI-powered project management systems are introduced to break down projects into smaller tasks and assign them to the relevant people, schedules can be accurately produced. This prevents calendars from being overbooked and will quickly highlight any delays that may have a knock-on effect.

As well as improving happiness at work, managing workloads is also bound to have positive effects on business outcomes. Without employees having to rush their work and deal with stressful situations, the likelihood of human error is reduced, and more effort can be put into doing a good job.

Create personalised training programmes

Feeling like they’ve reached a dead-end is a huge cause of unhappiness for employees. Everybody has their own career goals that they want to work towards, and if they feel like they are not making any progress, they can lose the motivation that they once had.

Investing in the personal development of employees is a beneficial strategy for businesses, from an employee satisfaction perspective as well as a business growth perspective. Growing the skillsets of existing employees is more cost-effective than hiring new talent and means that gaps in knowledge can be filled internally.

Regular employee appraisals should be carried out to check in with employees and discuss the goals they want to meet in the upcoming period. These can then be added to an AI-powered platform that creates a personal training programme to help the employee work towards their goals.

Making employee happiness a business priority

Employee happiness goes deeper than a pleasant office environment and a competitive salary. Businesses need to understand the impact their way of working has on their team and how this is affecting the quality of the work that is being produced.

By introducing AI tools that are designed to automate time-consuming tasks and make everyday work more efficient, a workforce can focus its efforts elsewhere without the added stress of extra duties.

Making an effort to build a happy team who feel valued in their role and have access to the support that they need can transform the ongoing running of a business, building a strong workforce who have the motivation needed to help the business thrive.