5 Lasting Ways to Improve Employee Morale

Employee morale is not the same as an employee’s mood. A mood is a fleeting state; workers may feel disgruntled one day and perfectly fine the next. Moreover, moods may change based on a variety of factors that range from serious issues like personal upheaval to trivial things like the weather.

Employee morale, conversely, relates to how professionals feel about their job in a general sense. Sure, everyone has good and bad days, but morale is a measurement of their “average” feeling. The problem is that when some business owners attempt to boost morale, they instead end up pursuing tactics that only address an employee’s mood. Giving a team member a $10 gift card isn’t going to make their work situation any better. With that in mind, today we’re going to outline five lasting ways managers can improve employee morale for the long haul:

Promote from Within

Not only does promoting current employees to higher positions within the company ensure maximum productivity, but it will also enhance employee morale. Professionals love to work at places where they feel they can advance their career.

Delight Consistently

Every once in a blue moon, a manager may decide to treat their team to a round of drinks on happy hour. Or, the company may give employees a small gift at Christmas. While those efforts are nice gestures, they won’t actually improve employee morale on a daily basis. If you want to make people feel better about their workspace consistently, then you need to take the trouble to delight them consistently. Compliments, hand-written-thank-you notes, and regular rewards for quality performance will all go a long way toward enhancing employee morale and boosting your company’s reputation as well.

Update Your Space

The physical layout and design of a workspace has a significant effect on employee sensibilities and performance. As such, an office renovation can act to bolster productivity and employee morale at the same time.

Set Meaningful Goals

Modern professionals desire to work at companies that accomplish meaningful goals and that, above all, help others. While it may sound mawkish to some, allowing your team members to set meaningful goals and/or structuring your company in a way that benefits everyday people will likely attract highly motivated and dedicated professionals to your organization. Consider looking online at some form of strategic alignment guide, as this can be a good way to present the business strategy in a manageable way to your staff at various levels. By putting across the intentions of the business and its larger goals you can enthuse employees by making them feel they are part of something bigger. This gives them something to work towards in the long term in the same way as a senior board member would.

Follow Words with Actions

At the end of the day, employees like to feel appreciated. When management highlights their efforts, their morale naturally improves. However, as with anything else, actions speak louder than words. Employee bonuses, promotions, and rewards shouldn’t be seen as expenses, but rather as investments. Pay your team members to the level you want them to perform, and you’ll be amazed at how hard they’ll work to justify your faith in them.