Sometimes workers can get drained and end up feeling like not working at all. Boredom or frustration in the workplace can make workers dread looking at the next report, spreadsheet, or even attend meetings. If you find your employees are almost always moving about like zombies throughout your offices, they may just be suffering from low morale. If that’s the case, you need to learn how to boost employee morale in the workplace before your business suffers.
People with consistent low morale can literally start hating their jobs. When they show up for work, they just behave like lifeless robots trying to make it till the end of the day. This is not a pleasant picture for a business.
What Is Workplace Morale?
Before you find out how to boost employee morale in the workplace, you need to understand what it is. Workplace morale refers to job satisfaction, attitude, and outlook that workers have when they are at work. When a company’s employees are positive about the work they do, they will approach tasks with enthusiasm and energy.
What’s the Importance of Workplace Morale?
When workplace morale is low, a business will suffer. This is because businesses depend on their employees for almost everything. For a business to expand, make profits, and exceed expectations, employees have to be working and at their best behavior. If they have a poor attitude towards the work they do, they will deliver half baked performances and your business will suffer. Additionally, businesses that have dissatisfied employees usually experience high employee turnover rates because the workers won’t be happy about their positions.
Businesses should focus on how to boost employee morale in the workplace. Failure to do so will cause low productivity, which could jeopardize the company’s financial health. When employees dread their tasks, you will find that there will be a lack of teamwork and sales will drop.
How to Boost Employee Morale
Lead by Example
If you are wondering how to boost employee morale in the workplace and you are leading a team of employees, it might be easier than you thought. Firstly, you need to understand that everyone on your team will look up to you as their source of motivation and guidance. That is why you have to be confident, positive, and encouraging. This will help you go through your days with your team full of energy and enthusiasm.
It all comes down to proving to your team members that you can do exactly what you say they must do. In other words, it is important to not only dictate how things should be done but also walk the talk. Leading by example is a basic business principle and if you get it right, you can be able to inspire others to follow you and do as you say. Telling people what to do when you are just sitting around might not give you the results you desire.
So, now that you want to lead by example, what’s the way forward? Here’s how to boost employee morale in the workplace:
Keep Your Word
As a leader, it is important to deliver on your promises. The more you do that, the more credibility you gain. This is very important when your position can impact the dealership’s bottom line.
Take Responsibility for Your Actions
Taking responsibility for your actions is important when you are figuring out how to boost employee morale in the workplace. When you are a leader, sometimes it can be difficult for you to accept when you have failed. You should understand that failure is an integral part of progress and development. When you fail, acknowledge, move on and show resilience. This makes your team feel safe and they will understand that mistakes do happen. If you do this right, your team will learn from their mistakes and keep on getting better.
Come Up With Solutions to Problems
From time to time, employees will come to you with work related challenges. When that happens, ensure that you offer them your wisdom and knowledge. With time, this will help cultivate a problem solving attitude and everyone on the team will become a problem solver too. This is very important when it comes to how to boost employee morale in the workplace. When people feel like they can solve problems, they will value themselves more and will be more motivated to go to work.
Roll up your sleeves and get to making sure that everything is running smoothly. Workers should not dread your presence. Instead, they should be glad you are around. Employees respect leaders who can do the tasks that they tell others to do. Being hands on will therefore show them you practice what you preach and before long, they will respect you.
Re-evaluate Your Working Environment
The working environment plays a huge part in how workers behave. That doesn’t come as a surprise. On average, an employee spends about 20 hours each week in their workplace. Whatever happens there will affect them one way or the other.
People are even working longer hours nowadays, and this reinforces the importance of the environment we work in. If you think about it, there’s no way anyone can be happy in dark and uncomfortable offices without air conditioning. Even if you run an auto body repair shop, having such an environment is bad for business because the less happy they are, the less productive they will be.
If you notice that your employees have been unhappy for a while, you might have to look at your work environment and make some changes. They include the following:
- Let the Light In: Researchers have shown that natural light can be a fantastic mood elevator. High levels of light support healthy sleep patterns therefore everyone will wake up refreshed and ready to go to work. If it’s difficult for you to let in natural light, blue-enriched light bulbs can do the job as well. They are an effective alternative when used in combination with warm pastel color schemes.
- Comfortable Seating: You should invest in comfortable and ergonomic seating. This will help boost productivity and wellbeing. Comfortable sitting can help reduce the incidence of musculoskeletal disorders and strain injuries. If you want to understand how to boost employee morale in the workplace, employee health is a major contributing factor, therefore take it seriously.
- Ensure That Everyone Stays Hydrated: Many people don’t drink enough water. This can lead to several problems, including headaches and fatigue. When workers are not well, it becomes difficult to focus. You should therefore help them stay hydrated. One way to do this is to ensure that there is unlimited access to clean and cool drinking water at the workplace.
Accommodate Employee Schedules
Try to arrange your work times in a way that lets employees manage their own lives. Sometimes allowing someone to work remotely can help them better balance their work and home responsibilities. Make an effort to accommodate your employees’ own schedules. They have lives that are separate from work, families, friends, and personal interests. If you can, try to give them opportunities to take care of their other lives. This is a positive move towards boosting morale.
Build a Work Family
There’s nothing better than being friends with the people you work with. It’s true that your employees have lives outside of work, but the lives they have at work are important as well. Try to encourage communication and teamwork in the workplace and you will be on your way to figuring out how to boost employee morale in the workplace.
Your employees need to be comfortable being around each if they are to work together and achieve common goals. Invest in team building events and outings that encourage them to be friends. Those activities leave employees uplifted and when they are back at work, they will enjoy talking to those they work with more. You can also give your employees custom shirts and face masks that represent your brand. That way, they will feel that they are part of a family.
Make Sure Employees Understand the Importance of Their Position
Everyone needs a purpose. Your employees need to feel that they make a difference with what they do. At the end of the day, they should go back home proud of what they achieved that day. That sense of pride is important for maintaining a good level of enthusiasm. As a business, you should therefore make sure that the vision of the company is clear. That way everyone can see how their position will help to move things forward and help the business achieve its goals.
Have Accurate Compensation Administration Processes
The number one reason everyone goes to work is that they get something at the end of the day. Every employee must be rewarded with payment at the end of your agreed pay period. It is, therefore, your responsibility as a business owner to ensure that salaries are paid on time and in full. If you cannot do this, you will end up with a displeased and demotivated team. Remember, your employees are the most valuable asset your business will ever have. Try not to lose them because of payroll errors and unnecessary delays.
To ensure that everything is done on time and correctly, make use of a payroll service. This will help you maintain good relationships with your employees. You don’t want to end up with workers who feel as if they have to work to get the money they already earned. If that happens, they will lose trust in you and will most likely search for work elsewhere.
Offer Individual and Team Bonuses
Everyone loves bonuses. There is no need for you to complicate the process of getting bonuses. Whenever someone does something exceptionally well, offer them a bonus. It’s like a pat on their back for doing good work.
In addition to individual bonuses, you can also offer the entire team a group bonus. This can be good for boosting morale amongst the entire team.
Advocate for Career Advancements
As a business, sometimes you will find yourself having to overcome a business plateau. Similarly, your workers might also find themselves experiencing a plateau and hitting walls in their careers. It is, therefore, crucial to consider this when you are trying to understand how to boost employee morale in the workplace. Everyone has an inborn need to keep growing. That is why stagnation is discouraged. When growth is absent, there will be no challenges and people can get bored easily. You should grant your team some time to pursue their own projects and to take on new challenges of their own. This is important as it helps them expand their skill sets and get to explore different challenges and roles.
When your team members take on their own challenges and get some time away from their usual responsibilities, they will get much needed energy boosts. This will be a win-win situation for both them and yourself. There is a lot to learn, from leadership development to courses in HR compliance.
If you have new employees, ensure that they go through new employee training. If there are any other skills they need to learn, that will give them a chance to find out which ones and will increase their chance of being competent at work.
Take Time to Communicate and Give Constructive Feedback
Communication is the key to all positive relationships with employees. You should never downplay the impact of small gestures. Every time you communicate with members of your staff, you help them understand how they should work and you get to find out what motivates them. Try to give time to everyone to discuss the current challenges they will be facing in the workplace. This is important because once you get to solving those problems, it becomes easier to maintain and boost their morale.
You should also note that giving feedback to your employees is very important. The feedback doesn’t always have to be about things they need to correct. You should also give feedback when they have done something right. That will help to increase a positive environment in the workplace and workers will feel recognized and appreciated.
Staff morale can be the key to a successful business. Once you get it right, you will see the change starting to take place almost instantly. You should keep in mind that your employees are the foundation of your business and without them the business is non-existent. Regardless of whether you sell Kawasaki motorcycles or you are a Yamaha dealership, there are a lot of ways to keep your employees happy, but the first thing you should do is ensure that they are free to communicate their worries and concerns. Stop and listen to their problems and soon you will have an entire team of motivated and energetic employees.
