Dear Entrepreneur,
Your greatest assets as a business owner are not really your clients or customers. They are your employees and without them, your business will not exist. However, business owners have failed to realize that stable and happy employees are in fact an important part of the business. A proven method to keep your employees happy is to regularly boost their morale. This will further enhance their productivity and the turnover rate of your business. In this article, we will be discussing the importance of boosting employee morale and the various ways to build and sustain employee productivity.
WHAT IS EMPLOYEE MORALE?
Employee morale is the emotional state of an employee. It refers to the attitudes, satisfaction, confidence and general outlook that employees have regarding their work environment. When employees feel good about their workplace and believe their work can help them achieve their career goals, morale tends to be higher. It encapsulates the way an employee feels about his work and the commitment or otherwise to the work. It is influenced by a variety of factors, including the work environment, management style, and pay.
In order to determine your employee morale level, you have to ask questions like, ‘Is my employee showing a “I just have to come to work” attitude?’, “Does my employee feel satisfied and safe? You can also conduct surveys or interviews to get feedback from your employees on how they feel about the work they are doing. Observing your employee’s productivity and their availability at work is also a way to determine employee morale.
IMPORTANCE OF BOOSTING EMPLOYEE MORALE
One way to boost productivity in your business is by boosting your employee morale. A study by the University of Warwick found that happiness leads to a 12% spike in productivity.
In order to retain or attract great talents as your employees, then you must ensure a healthy and happy employee morale. It is also important for your business in its hard times when you will need people to work extra hard to keep your business alive. An employee whose morale is low will not be willing to give all that it takes to keep you in business.
Companies that have high employee morale levels tend to have a greater sense of teamwork and greater collaboration. When morale is high, workers tend to feel comfortable with each other and are more willing to work together for the good of the company.
WAYS TO BOOST YOUR EMPLOYEE MORALE
Employee morale is essential in order to sustain employee productivity. Below are some of the ways to build and/sustain employee productivity.
- Communication: Provide opportunities for your employees to express themselves without fear or favor. Get feedbacks from them regularly. It is also important for you as the employer to tell your employees what you expect from them. Also, be open to them and keep them up to date with changes in the company and its policies.
- Professional training and development: Employees need to be well trained for them to perform their duties well. If your employees are underperforming, instead of complaining, pay for courses, conferences or workshops for them. Ensure that they are good at what they do. Being involved in your employees’ professional and/or personal development will make them feel valued and further boost their morale.
- Encourage their physical and mental well-being: Without a healthy body and mind, your employee cannot be productive at work. Help them achieve work-life balance. Encourage them to go on breaks when needed. You may want to pay for their medical check ups or provide other health benefits.
- Recognize and celebrate their achievements: Whether big or small, in the workplace or outside of it, celebrate their successes. Dale Carnegie said, “people work for money but go the extra mile for recognition, praise and rewards”. If you want to motivate your employees, then you must learn to recognize, praise and reward them. Give bonuses or other incentives for reaching goals.
- Be flexible: Offer flexible work hours or work from home options especially for employees that go through a lot of stress commuting daily to work. This will enhance performance at work and employee productivity.
- Provide them with a healthy and safe working environment. Make sure the workplace is a comfortable and welcoming place to be. This can be achieved by creating a healthy and relaxed atmosphere, providing comfortable seating, and displaying appropriate office decorations.
- Assign work based on skills: It is critical for you to hire and assign employees in accordance with their skill set. An accountant cannot be hired and expected to do duties that fall under the purview of a doctor. A win-win situation for both employees and employers is allowing your employees to work in accordance with their competencies.
- Give them autonomy and ownership of their work: Trust them enough to be able to take ownership and control of their work. Show your confidence in them by giving them freedom to handle certain projects with minimal or no supervision.
- Be a good role model: Your character, attitude and interaction with your employees has a great impact on their morale. Be empathetic and sensitive as an employer. Do not be autocratic or authoritarian.
- Incorporate fun activities in the workplace occasionally: The workplace does not have to be boring or monotonous all the time. Occasionally involve your employees in fun group activities such as games, social events, etc. This will also foster team spirit among your employees.
Parting Thoughts
Employee morale is a key factor for the success of any organization. It is important to make sure that employees are happy with their jobs, and that they feel appreciated for their efforts. We have looked at a number of ways to boost employee morale, and it is important to find what works best for your business. Also, certain financial malpractices will be eradicated if the issue of low morale in the workplace is dealt with. Boosting your employee morale will ultimately impact your employee’s productivity as well as the growth of your business.
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