8 Ways To Improve Employee Morale in Your Workplace

Employee morale is the overall outlook, emotion, and satisfaction of employees towards their jobs and workplace environment. The way they perceive their workplace often decides their productivity. An employee with high morale is happy and enjoys his work. On the contrary, employees with low morale are dissatisfied and keep a negative outlook towards his/her work.

Employees with high morale stay motivated and work towards the organization’s goals. They maintain a healthy relationship with anyone they come in contact with. They complete their tasks more effectively.

If you truly want to improve 'Employee Morale' inside your workplace, spend more time encouraging and practicing harmony across the organization instead of developing and tolerating toxic silos and cliques. ~TY Howard

Low morale may lead to reduced concentration and a negative mindset. Employees with low confidence face difficulty in their work, even being competent. This can result in mistakes, poor customer service, and missed deadlines.

Low employee morale is one of the significant reasons behind employees’ discontentment and poor job performance. This eventually results in absenteeism and a high turnover rate.

Here in this blog, I will share the eight ways to improve employee morale in your workplace.

1. One-on-one Sessions

One-on-one sessions with your employees can be one of the best practices to boost employee morale. This may seem a very time-consuming deal for you. But believe me, a little effort in knowing the employees and allowing them to express themselves without an agenda would bring more positivity in them.

Asking interpersonal questions in one-on-one sessions would give your employees a sense of importance. Ask your employees if they are happy with the work assigned to them. If they find enough support from their team members? Are they keen on learning other processes? Or any suggestions they have on the current way of work.

Questions like these would give your employees a sense of morale boost, they would feel important, and their thoughts would be more precise and clutter-free. They would have a good feeling since they are being cared for.

2. Create a Healthy Work Environment

Create an environment that employees enjoy and love, which motivates them to wake up and move to their jobs happily. A healthy work environment not only means the look and ambiance of the workplace. Its also about how the managers, supervisors, and staff behave internally in the organization. How they respond to an unwanted situation or crisis and how the interpersonal connection among the folks are.

Teamwork is another factor in a healthy work environment. In an ideal work environment, everyone knows their role, forms a symbiotic relationship with each other, and learns how to fit into the company’s goals and objectives.

3. Acknowledge and Appreciate Employees

A survey by Office Team reveals that nearly 50% of the workers would leave their jobs if their managers do not appreciate them.

Also, employee recognition in the workplace reinforces particular behaviors, practices, or activities that result in better performance and positive business results.

Never forget to acknowledge and appreciate your employees. When you appreciate your employees for their excellent work, or when achieve any small/significant milestones it boosts their confidence and morale. More than that, it keeps your employees satisfied, engaged and drives them to be more productive.

4. Be Personal

When I say 'Be Personal' I don’t mean to get into their personal life and forcefully keep a tab on everything your employees do. However, make your employees feel inclusive and make them feel important. A flower bouquet for their anniversaries or a customized birthday present can do all the talking when the day arrives. Also, knowing little more about their families or arranging a get-together, or knowing them personally gives your employees a sense of belonging.

And this way, you not only boost their morale but also earn loyal employees for your organization.

Related: 33 Remarkable Birthday Wishes For Employees

5. Motivate your Employees

Motivation is a driving force. Managers who know how to motivate employees in doubt or any critical situation keep employee morale high. Motivation is also not bread to your jam. It is the sausage you need to use in variations to uplift your taste buds. For some, hearing out could motivate them, and for others, maybe a day off. Or crackling them up with a good joke may do the trick.

Related: Employee Motivation- A Comprehensive Guide

6. Empower your Employees

When you give employees the power to make decisions, trust, freedom, and autonomy in the workplace, you empower them. Empowered employees feel in control of their jobs and, therefore, gain the potential to achieve high productivity levels. This helps them boost confidence and employee morale.

Related: Employee Empowerment: Are You Doing it Right?

7. Involve Employees as Equal Members of your Team

Employees work together to achieve organizational goals. To meet these goals, employees should be respected and involved in all aspects of decision-making and planning. Involvement increases employee morale, commitment, and awareness in the workplace. When you work together, you get a sense of purpose and a common goal to work and cut the unhealthy conflict and competition.

8. Show Care to your Employees

No matter wherever you go or how diverse people you meet, one common thread you would find among them is their need for care. And here, your employees are no different. Listen to them intently. Help them grow their skills. Keep an empathetic approach towards them. Also, discuss and help solve a task they are struggling with. Small gestures like these are always noticed and also helps in improving morale and attitude.

This article is written by Braja Deepon Roy. He works as a Content Creator and Digital Marketer at Vantage Circle. He actively participates in the growth of corporate culture and keeps himself updated in this space. For any related queries, contact editor@vantagecircle.com