Planday launches The Handbook to Happiness:

The FREE handbook offers actionable ideas and practical tips to create happier workplaces

Following CODE Hospitality releasing its Happiest Places to Work 2024 list, Planday – the shift planning software company that worked in conjunction with CODE on the list – has released The Handbook to Happiness that is free for hospitality owners and managers to access to help increase happiness in the workplace.

Recent research by Planday highlights that a shocking 85% of hospitality employees report that they have experienced poor mental health in the last 12 months, including anxiety and depression. That is why Planday has created The Handbook to Happiness which is packed full of actionable ideas, insights and practical tips that will boost team morale and maximise productivity, built on extensive research and expert opinion.

Planday’s top three actionable insights from the guide include:

Schedule ahead: research concludes that 67% of employees believe having more notice of shift patterns would improve their life. Think of this as The Single Biggest Shift managers can make to make their employees happier. Software solutions such as Planday make planning ahead much easier.
Communicate! Happy hospitality teams communicate clearly and effectively. When teams communicate, they can support each other better, leading to more collaboration and a more positive workplace.
Read up on how to be a better manager: having a good manager can make all the difference, and sometimes it just takes a little research on how to be that person. Business owners and hospitality leaders should encourage managers to become the best versions of themselves with guidance on what it is to be a good manager.

Bash Redford, founder of Forza Restaurants who won this year’s Happiest Place to Work, comments: “We’re so thrilled to be named as the happiest place in hospitality to work. We have always put our staff at the forefront of what we do, as they’re so integral to how well our businesses operates.

“One of the key things we offer at our restaurants is that we schedule our shifts one month ahead with Planday and offer as much flexibility as possible. Life is not all about work, and we want to ensure that our incredibly valued employees have a really good work / life balance.”

Dave Lee, CEO of Planday, comments: “It’s known that mental health in hospitality should be prioritised more, and so it was an honour to work with CODE Hospitality on its Happiest Places to Work list, and to celebrate businesses that are putting its staff first.

“Creating a happy, motivated team won’t just make the workplace more pleasant, it will improve hospitality business’s bottom line, and so we wanted to share actionable insights for managers and industry leaders to increase happiness across the whole hospitality sector..”

The full 13-page guide from Planday offers a holistic steer to achieving happiness at work – from tips and insights on team bonding exercises, information on how to encourage mindfulness at work, tips on exercise, diet and sleeping, how to celebrate staff at work and how the power of music can help people feel happier and more motivated at work, amongst much more.

Planday can help hospitality businesses with scheduling rotas, communication, payroll, employee management, time tracking and also reporting. On top of these features, Planday shares useful blog posts for the hospitality industry, from offering advice on legislation change through to how to attract and retain Gen Z staff. Businesses can’t plan for success if they don’t have happy teams, and no one knows this better than Planday.