Every year, the average Australian worker will spend around 1,896 hours in their workplace. That’s close to a quarter of the whole year, and a long time to spend in one place.

So how positive or negative that workplace environment is can make a huge difference to your workers’ quality of life. Creating a positive culture at work is not a simple thing to achieve, but it’s an incredibly important goal. In a small business, staff are the single biggest asset so, as a business owner, ensuring they have a positive environment to thrive them should be a priority.

Follow these simple tips to create a positive culture and environment for your business’s employees.

Encourage employee contribution

The feeling of making a meaningful contribution to a bigger picture is a powerful motivator. When employees can share ideas and have a voice in decision they feel valued – because they are valued. Employees are more empowered to take greater responsibility and ownership with the positive effects of their contributions in the workplace are tangible. Staff may also feel happier and report increased job satisfaction when they see the goals they have set as a team are met.

Showcase the culture of your workplace

In order to build trust, small business owners should always practice open and positive communication with their team. This includes making sure your staff know what your expectations of them are. Everyone in your business should have the same understanding of its values, goals and how their role supports them Living a culture authentically is the best way to create one, and if you live by the values of your business it will inspire those you work with. Brainstorm how everyone in your team can put your business values into practice and model those behaviours to your staff.

Invest in meaningful staff development

Helping your employees develop their skill sets not only brings more value to your business, but it also empowers them and helps them see that you value their personal professional goals. This investment can take the form of on-the-job training, online eLearning courses or you could take them to an industry conference, workshop or to see a speaker. Spending the time to understand their goals, interests and aspirations – as well as how they align with your business goals –  is key to figuring out where investments in training will have the most return for you and your staff.

Show appreciation for your team

A sure-fire way to foster a positive culture is by ensuring you always let staff know when they are doing a good job and making sure their efforts are noticed and appreciated. In the workplace, this is most effective when you can explain why they’ve done well and how their work has contributed to the business’s goals. Never underestimate the value that providing encouragement to your staff has. Positive feedback is a powerful motivator. Regular performance reviews can be a good way to implement this in your business.

Celebrate achievements and have fun!

Make sure you can kick back and have some fun once in a while. Don’t let birthdays, awards or new product launches go by without a celebration. Injecting a bit of fun into the office can even be as simple as having a dress-up day. The Cashflow Manager office always loves celebrating birthdays and we spend some social time together catching up and celebrating the week’s achievements every Friday.

Chances are that you spend more waking time with the people you work with than with your family at home. This means that if you want to be in a positive and productive environment most of the time, then the emotional wellbeing of the people in your workplace should be important to you.