Boosting Employee Morale: Tips to Make the Workplace Happier and More Productive
It’s time to consider some of the ways you could start boosting employee morale. You will find that even though you may have employees who come to work and seem fine, they just aren’t happy with their job or the organization as a whole. This could happen for any number of reasons, of course. Sometimes, it is something personal to the employee. They might be going through something. Other times, it could be due to actions your company might have taken. Regardless of the reason for the lowered morale, you should take steps to make things right.
Below, we are going to discuss some of the negative outcomes that can happen when your business is dealing with morale problems. We will also look at some of the best ways you can start boosting employee morale without making too many major changes at your company.
What Happens When Morale Is Low?
When you have disengaged employees in the workplace who are suffering from low morale, it is going to end up costing you quite a bit. Did you know that according to Gallup, disengaged employees and low morale can cost the economy upwards of $350 billion annually? Let’s look at some of the common types of problems that can occur when morale is low.
Increased Absenteeism
One of the things you are likely to notice is an increase in the number of times employees call out from work. An organization is only going to be healthy and productive when everyone on the team is there and striving to do a good job. When employees aren’t happy with where they are, though, they are more likely to call out sick. They could just be looking for a way to have a temporary escape from the norm.
However, when people are calling out sick without actually being ill, it can cause issues for your company. Your productivity drops and it could end up costing a substantial amount of money.
Turnover Increase
Companies also often see more employees quitting when morale is low in the workplace. Morale might drop for countless reasons. Employees might not be happy with their role or how they are treated, for example. They might be worried that they aren’t doing anything that can help their careers. Some might feel as though they are stuck in place, and the only thing they can do is get out and look for another job.
Turnover is a huge issue and a major cost for businesses. Not only will you have lowered productivity when you don’t have a full staff (just like with absenteeism), but you will also find other problems. When you have staff members up and leaving the company, you will find that they are taking with them the skills, training, knowledge, and abilities that they brought to the table. In some cases, this might not be a major loss. Other times, though, it can be quite a blow to the company. It takes a lot of time, energy, and money to get the next employee properly trained and at the same level.
Distrust Toward Management
When employee morale is low, you will also find that there is often distrust of the management. It might be because they feel management doesn’t care and listen to them, or because they feel management is trying to hide something from them. Others are upset with their manager because they have “favorite” employees who seem to get away with everything.
There is a multitude of reasons that employees might no longer trust the leadership in a company. Once it gets to this point, you need to take action and make some changes to boost employee morale.
Reduced Effectiveness and Productivity
Of course, when employees aren’t happy to be at work, they are not going to go the extra mile. They aren’t going to look for ways to help the company beyond doing the bare minimum. Sometimes, they don’t even do that much.
Now that you have a good idea of some of the biggest negatives that can occur when your employees are unhappy, you can see just why boosting employee morale is so important.
Tips for Boosting Employee Morale at Your Company
When morale is in the pits, you need to take action sooner rather than later. Below are several tips that are relatively easy to implement that could be just what your company and your employees need.
Provide Regular Feedback
Your employees want and need to know how they are doing when it comes to their jobs, naturally. However, some companies don’t provide feedback except during annual performance reviews. Some places are fortunate enough to have quarterly reviews, but even these don’t happen often enough.
When you don’t spend enough time with your employees in one-on-one meetings to provide feedback and answer questions, their morale could suffer. They might feel as though they and the work they do aren’t important enough to warrant time with the manager. Naturally, this makes them feel less than thrilled with the entire idea of working for you since they don’t want to be just another cog in the machine.
Therefore, you should try to provide a meeting at least once a month. Some companies might even have weekly meetings. It will depend on what works best for your schedule and managers.
Encourage Feedback from the Employees
Your employees aren’t the only ones who need feedback. You, the managers, and the company in general need feedback from your employees. They can give you a better idea of how things are going from their perspective and whether any issues need to be fixed.
For example, they might have noticed that some of the hardware or other tools being used are old and out of date. This could be slowing them down. When they bring this problem or others to your attention, you will want to address it. Sometimes, they can provide feedback that makes a lot of sense and that you can incorporate.
How does this help morale? When employees see that you are willing to listen to and make changes based on what they say, it builds trust.
Provide Development for Your Employees
Another great way to ensure you are boosting employee morale is to ensure there are development opportunities for your workers. Most people who come into the company aren’t going to be content to stay in their current role forever. They are going to want to learn more skills and get a promotion or maybe transfer to a different department. Some might be looking at management eventually.
These types of opportunities can’t grow in a vacuum. You and the leadership at the company need to offer various development and training options for the employees that go beyond just the basics.
Create a Pleasant Company Culture
One of the reasons some employees aren’t thrilled with where they work is because they have issues with the company culture. Maybe they feel like the workplace is stifling, or that the workplace isn’t inclusive. Examine your company culture to see whether there are issues with how things are run and how people are treated. You want to create a workplace that is welcoming to everyone, so everyone can feel comfortable.
Have Some Fun
Work doesn’t have to be dreary. Even if the type of work done at your organization might be considered boring, it doesn’t mean that the workplace has to be. Find ways to bring in a bit of levity and fun to the job, but make sure it’s appropriate for the space.
What type of fun could you have? It could be as simple as taking everyone to the movies or dinner once a quarter, taking them bowling, throwing a picnic, etc. It might be having contests at work with rewards for different achievements and accomplishments.
Of course, all organizations are different. You will want to find the solution that works best for your type of company.
Show Appreciation
Your employees want to know that they are doing a good job and that you are happy with their work. Simply providing them with a paycheck isn’t enough. The paycheck is there to ensure the job gets done and nothing more. If you want employees who are willing to go above and beyond for your company, then you need to be willing to do the same for them. This is a two-way street, and if going the extra mile isn’t rewarded or acknowledged, there’s a good chance they will only do the bare minimum going forward.
As you can see, there are relatively simple but effective ways that you can start boosting employee morale at your workplace. Make sure leadership knows and understands the importance of worker morale and that they are on board with the types of ideas presented above. Of course, this is just the beginning. There are certainly plenty of other ways that you can improve the morale in your organization further. The eLeaP continuous performance management system provides organizations with powerful options to attract and retain high caliber team members.