Do you sometimes struggle with low morale at work, that of yourself or your team, and want to learn how to boost it? If yes, then you are in the right place.
We can talk about many things that are needed for increased work productivity and results from your employees.
Certainly, having sufficient knowledge of the job and relevant skills are very important.
You cannot take away the importance of quality input from your employees when it comes to getting the desired output at work.
However, one other factor that affects performance and productivity, which you should be paying attention to is the morale level.
It is very possible to have employees of very good skill level and experience and still struggle to get the best from them.
This is especially so if their level of morale is low and they are not properly motivated to work.
In fact, not only are your employees affected by this, but also your own morale level can affect how effective you are at work.
This is why it is very important to learn how to boost morale at work, especially when morale is running at the lowest ebb.
The practical measures and strategies you can put in place to boost not only your own morale but that of your employees are what we are going to discuss in this article.
But before then, you will also see why it is important to boost morale at work, noting the benefits that come with it.
Additionally, there are certain factors that might affect workplace morale negatively, which would be great for you to identify.
At the conclusion of this post, we are sure you will be well prepared to get the morale level of your workplace at the optimum level.
How to Boost Morale at Work – What Does “Morale” Mean at Work?
Morale when used in this context refers to a mental and emotional disposition, that makes a person enthusiastic, positive, focused, and confident.
In the workplace, when a team is said to have low morale, it means the members of that do not have a strong motivation to stay committed to assigned tasks.
Low morale can be evident from the approach that you or your team gives to the tasks and jobs you are given.
Sometimes, when a team is underperforming or ineffective, the cause can be linked to their morale level.
Having high morale on the other hand means that you and your team at work are very motivated and committed to your work.
Hence, that high commitment level impels you and drives you to give your best on your assigned tasks.
You and other members of your team are very dedicated to your responsibilities and you do not sit around or slow down in carrying them out.
This high morale is needed in every workplace because that is what would enable you to face challenges and difficulties squarely and overcome them.
If your level of morale is low, it is easier to get discouraged in the face of pressure and be weak and unproductive.
With high morale, on the other hand, you will always be in high spirits and have the right approach and commitment to all you set out to do.
And that is why boosting morale at work is very important.
Importance of Boosting Morale at Work- How to Boost Morale at Work
If you realize that your personal morale or that of your team is getting low at work, it is not something to neglect.
As a matter of fact, having high morale is very important for various reasons.
Here are some of the reasons why you devote your time, energy, attention, and even resources to boosting morale at work:
Increased Work Morale Equals High Productivity
For every business owner or team leader, high work productivity always ranks at the top of the list of expectations from employees.
This is so because it is only when employees are productive that they are providing value for the investment made on them.
Also, increased productivity of workers also directly contributes to business growth and more sales.
Hence, it comes as no surprise that you always want your employees to operate at the topmost level of productivity.
However, this can be difficult or outrightly impossible when the morale of individual employees or the team as a whole is low.
On the contrary, when you boost the morale of your team, it has a corresponding effect on their productivity.
You will find that your team members are more efficient in carrying out their assigned tasks, and have more output.
High Work Morale Reduces Incidence of Frictions and Conflicts
One of the problems leaders have to deal with at work is friction and conflicts.
A lot of managers spend more time settling conflicts and disagreements than they do building their businesses.
This is one reason why you should focus on boosting morale at work.
When employees’ morale is low, there is an increase in tensions running high amongst them.
Issues or matters that would have initially being overlooked would now take on more importance.
Low employees morale at work can make matters that can easily be solved degenerate into serious problems and disagreements.
This is why it is very important to boost morale at work.
With high morale, it is easier to overlook certain flaws from others.
Also, the time that would have been spent on quarrels and disagreements is used for better things like working and growing the business.
That is how boosting work morale can help you reduce disagreements and contribute to making the workplace a haven of peace.
It Increases the Engagement Level of Employees
As a business owner or team lead, you obviously understand how important employee engagement is by now.
The engagement level of your employees is measured in how committed they are to what you have going on in your organization.
You can see the level of engagement in how well they contribute to discussions, deliberations, and general sharing of opinions at work.
Also, you can tell the level of engagement of your employees from how well they are willing to involve themselves in taking up responsibilities and tasks at work.
With low morale, it would be hard to get the team on high levels of engagement.
You might be experiencing low engagement, whereby those on your team do not involve themselves in anything.
With high team morale at work, on the other hand, everyone is dedicated to the goals and objectives of the organization.
And because of this, they are more engaged because their morale has been boosted.
It Contributes to Employee Satisfaction
Another benefit that comes with boosting team morale at work is that it contributes to employee satisfaction.
Some people today are not satisfied at their place of work because they are not adequately motivated.
And when employees do not have job satisfaction, they are more likely going to start looking for alternative organizations to work for.
That is one of the leading causes of employee turnover today.
Well, the good thing is that you can greatly increase employee satisfaction when you boost their morale.
High employee morale means they always have their spirits lifted and in a good place as far as motivation and commitment are concerned.
Hence, they would not be looking to walk away from your firm because they have been able to achieve job satisfaction, which they crave.
High Work Morale Reduces Absenteeism
Having low team morale at work might not immediately lead to the turnover of employees.
Sometimes, it starts with regular cases of absenteeism from work.
This is because an employee whose morale or motivation is rock bottom would not have the energy it takes to get up every morning and turn up at work.
Gradually, such an employee might start to miss work consistently and even be absent on flimsy excuses.
That is when the rate of absenteeism base on sick leaves and other reasons becomes high.
On the other hand, when your team’s morale is high, everyone is eager to always show up at work.
This is because they enjoy what they do and look forward to getting to work the next day and continue in their roles.
High Work Morale Improves Customer Service and Experience
If your team’s morale is low or high, it has a corresponding effect on your customer base.
This is because your team of employees is the ones actively relating with your customers and interacting with them.
Hence, when the team’s morale is rock bottom, it affects the way they serve the customers and the experience those customers get.
On the other hand, when your team is running on high morale level, they are able to better serve those who matter to your business; your customers.
The customer service they render becomes more efficient on every level, and so does your customer experience.
This would in turn help you in retaining your customers and making more profit for your business.
Increased Team Morale Improves Innovation and Creativity
Every business owner and entrepreneur is always looking at getting creative and innovative ideas for their business.
This is because they understand that innovation is like a fuel that drives every business endeavor to its desired destination.
Well, you would not be getting a lot by way of innovative and creative ideas from your team when their morale is low.
Low employee morale as we’ve seen equals low engagement levels, which in turn saps creativity and innovation.
When your team morale is low, they stop thinking right or even thinking at all about anything relating to the business.
And when that happens, there is a slim chance of them coming up with working innovative and creative ideas.
On the other hand, when the morale is high, the creative juices will start coming out, and you start getting more innovative ideas from your team.
How to Boost Morale at Work – Practical Measures that Help
Whether your focus is on boosting your own morale at work, or the morale of some other members of your team, there are practical steps you can take.
The first most important thing is to identify what is responsible for the low morale, so you know how to address it.
Once you’ve done this, then you can start putting in place different working strategies to boost the morale of your employees at work.
A few of the strategies that are working for many companies are:
Setting Simple and Clear Goals
To help you clearly understand how setting simple and clear goals can help you boost morale at work, let us use an example.
Imagine you wake up one morning and feel like going on a trip to somewhere outside your present city of residence.
You do not have a clear destination in mind, but you just know that you want to take a walk or go on a journey.
Well, you might start off on the trip very motivated, as you pick a particular direction and start going.
However, how sustainable do you think that initial morale you have would be?
To be sure, you would not have gone a mile or two before you start questioning the wisdom of your decision and start losing morale.
That is the same way it works with morale at the workplace.
It is easier to boost the morale of your team at work when your employees know the direction you want them to go.
And this is why setting clear and simple goals are very important.
Every member of your team should understand the goals and objectives of the business and know how they fit in.
That would help them know what they ought to do to contribute to the actualization of those goals and boost their morale.
Align Employees’ Abilities with Their Responsibilities
A very common mistake that some business managers or team leads make is giving employees tasks and responsibilities that do not fit their abilities.
Each of your team members has unique skills and talents, which when brought together contribute to business success and growth.
However, it is very important that you as a business owner or leader know where best to fit in an employee.
Failure to do this right can cause frustration for the employees and make their morale drop.
However, when you align the tasks and responsibilities you give to your employees with their skill level and abilities, they are more successful.
And one thing with success is that the feeling it comes with makes you want to get more and more of it.
That is how your team gets the morale they need at work to keep doing more and be more productive.
Practice Workplace Recognition
Recognition is yet another practice that makes your team members more dedicated, committed, and motivated at work.
When you recognize your employees, it is one way of showing them that you value their contributions and input.
Hence, when you have employees that are exceptional and very efficient, you shouldn’t let the opportunity to applaud them pass you by.
Instead, look for various ways to appreciate what they are doing and give them the needed recognition.
There are different methods of recognizing employees that you can implement at your workplace.
You can put exceptional employees in the spotlight, letting their colleagues and customers know of their good works.
Additionally, you can give them rewards, both monetary and non-monetary as a token of your appreciation for what they do.
The goal of this is to boost the morale of those employees at work, and you are sure to get good results from this.
Be Flexible with Working Schedule
Another reason why some employees at work might be experiencing low morale is because of a rigid work schedule by their organization.
A rigid work schedule is one that doesn’t allow the employees to enjoy certain benefits even while working.
This type of schedule overwork employees and puts their stress level on the high every week.
Well, the only thing you should be looking to place on the highest level as a business owner is the morale of your employees.
And this you can do by ensuring you provide flexible working schedules and conditions as much as possible.
One way you can provide a flexible working schedule is by allowing for remote working for some of your staff.
If there is something business owners have learned from the Covid-19 outbreak, it is that you should be working on how your employees can work remotely.
While some business crashed due to the pandemic, some were able to stay afloat because of this.
And even now, when you implement such an arrangement at work, it can help you to boost the morale of your team.
How to Boost Morale at Work – Promote from Within
Regardless of what industry we belong to, or what we do, all of us have the innate desire to grow and develop at our place of work.
You must understand that your employees are not an exception in this regard.
They want to see that where they were 2, 3, 4 or 5 years ago is not the same place they are in the company right now.
If they feel that you are stunting their growth in your organization, it can go a very long way in killing their morale.
However, when you allow them to develop as the business grows, then you have a better chance of boosting the team morale at work.
In doing this, you can prioritize promotion from within over an external one at work.
That means if you have open vacancies for managerial or top positions in your organization, it is best to give them opportunities to your existing employees who qualify first.
When you do this, it gives the people you promote a sense of belonging and honor and boost their morale.
Not only them but the other employees who are watching would want to give their best and it will motivate them.
The reason being that they know they are able to grow with you.
Support Their Decisions on Personal Growth and Development
Just as you should allow your employees to grow within the organization by not withholding their promotions when due, the same also applies to personal career growth.
While interacting with your team members, you are able to find out what their chosen career paths are.
Knowing what they want to become and achieve personally would help you know which areas to support them.
A lot of these ones would be taking actions that push them towards their set goals and objectives.
As a leader, you should do all you can to support these actions and decisions the best way you can.
In today’s work environment, it is all too common to feel that managers are more interested in their selfish interests than in others.
And when your employees feel this way, it can affect their morale and dedication at work.
However, when you contribute your own quota in supporting the personal goals they’ve set for themselves, it can help to boost their morale at work.
Don’t Leave Your Employees Wondering; Provide Regular Feedback
If you’ve ever involved yourself in an exercise or workout routine, you will know how important the sight and feeling of progress are in continuity.
After working out for some weeks or months, if you cannot readily see any improvement or progress made from your routine, it can affect your morale.
You might just find that after some time, your level of motivation begins to drop.
The same also applies in the workplace.
For your employees to keep working hard and giving their best, they need to know that they are doing something worthwhile.
And that is why regular feedback is very important.
Note that the feedback doesn’t always have to be a positive one.
Even negative feedback is still feedback, and employees appreciate it.
When you give regular feedback to your employees/team, it helps them to feel a part of the business and boost their morale at work.
Don’t Just Ask for Opinions; Implement Them
Some business owners make it a habit of asking for employees’ input and opinions because they hear that this is important.
However, the mistake they make is just sampling such opinions without taking any actions on them.
This doesn’t help in motivating your team.
When you call for meetings where you ask for opinions and contributions from your staff, ensure that you implement them.
Even if you cannot implement some of those suggestions, appreciate them for bring them up and let them understand why you cannot go with it at that point in time.
When you do this, you help in boosting the morale of your team at work.
Provide Systems That Supports Health and Well-being
One of the things that prospective employees lookout for now while choosing organizations to work with is a system that supports their health and well-being.
When your employees have the confidence that their health matters and see structures in place to cater for this, they have more morale to work.
One of the things you can do in this regard is having a health insurance provider for your workers.
If you do this, you give your employees the confidence to always give their best, and boost their morale at work.
Encourage and Provide a Good Work-Life Balance
The old saying goes thus: “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy”.
In this context, Jack represents all your employees or members of your team at work.
If your focus is entirely on work, and you do not provide opportunities for other fun activities, you are running a risk of having low employee morale.
However, when you organize other activities with your team that are social and not work-related, it can help in boosting their morale at work.
Conclusion – How to Boost Morale at Work
Look around your office, how would you describe the morale of your employees or members of your team?
Would you say they are working at their best with a high level of morale or there is something that can you can improve on?
Well, if you want to boost the morale of your team at work, you can use the practical measures we’ve enumerated above.
The benefits of this are enormous, and it can make the difference between failure and success for your business.
Of course, the latter is what you should be aiming for, and we wish you all the best as you boost work morale towards attaining that result.
