5 Ways to Address Employee Morale


The topic of employee morale has featured in many recent discussions and scientific studies, and there’s a very good reason for that. While conventional wisdom has been that you can increase the productivity of your employees by demanding their best, this simply isn’t the case. Employees need to feel good about their jobs in order to provide your business with the best work they have to offer. Furthermore, keeping your workers around depends on making them feel welcome and valuable. Here’s what you need to know about how to improve employee morale and, with it, productivity and employee retention.

Improve the Atmosphere of Your Place of Business

One of the biggest obstacles in the way of higher employee morale is the atmosphere of the average workplace. Suboptimal conditions can make workers feel like second class citizens, and that can wear on a person’s psyche immensely. This can lead not only to a decrease in productivity, but also potentially mental illness in severe cases. Investing in professional commercial utilities installationOpens in a new tab. is a good place to start, because a public bathroom is less than ideal at the best of times, so having the nicest possible version of that experience is the least you can do for your workers.

The atmosphere of your business is more than just the physical space of your building, however, and the social environment is just as important for your employees’ wellbeing. The most fundamental way that you can improve the social atmosphere of your company is to present yourself as a boss that listens to and understands their employees. This might sound like a small touch, but giving your employees the sense that they can come to you with questions and concerns will make a world of difference in terms of how they regard the job itself. By far, most bosses have a stern and inaccessible air about them by default as a result of the age old approach of commanding respect.

Offer Your Workers Paid Leave

Another crucial aspect of your employees’ psychological wellbeing is their ability to make ends meet financially. While simply paying your employees more money isn’t always a feasible option, there are ways that you can give your workers just a little bit less to worry about in this department. Medical leave is one such example. When employees miss work because of an injury or a sickness, they lose out on vital income, and that results in stress. In some cases, these absences can span several days, and that can hit hard come payday. Offering your employees paid medical leave offers you a potent solution to this problem that benefits your workforce as a whole in two essential ways.

For starters, an employee that is forced to miss work due to unfortunate circumstances isn’t also subjected to lost wages, and that means that they can bring their A game to work once they’ve recovered. Perhaps even more importantly, this prevents employees from prioritizing their pay over their health. This might seem like a good work ethic on paper, but a sick employee is not a productive employee, and they can also be putting the rest of your workers at risk.

Along the same lines, your employees need to take a break now and then, but many workers don’t get to take annual vacations for fear of missing out on crucial cash flow. Offering your employees a certain allowance of paid vacation days each year will be a great way to keep your workers motivated, because it allows them to have the same chance to recharge their batteries with a summer getaway as the employees that are more comfortable financially.

Take Mental Health Seriously

Not only is employee morale an important factor in your business, but mental health is likewise something that can have much more serious ramifications than the average person expects. Low employee morale and poor mental health are frequent partners in crime, and taking the mental health of your employees into account is therefore necessary for the wellbeing of not only your workers, but also your company. Mental health leaveOpens in a new tab. is now being taken seriously by medical professionals and employers alike because of the importance of the psychological wellbeing of workers, and adopting a policy that allows your workers to take a day off here and there for psychological maladies in addition to physical ones will benefit your business immensely.

Promote Employee Health by Offering Insurance

A common practice in some industries, offering your employees health benefits is a great way to make the job feel worth it. As mentioned above, anxieties regarding medical problems is a major issue for employee morale, and that extends to the financial ramifications of seeking medical attention itself. This can be especially problematic when you consider that proof of medical attention is often required for employees to receive even unpaid medical leave. While this practice makes sense on paper, it leaves uninsured workers between a rock and a hard place by demanding that they incur prohibitively costly medical bills for problems that may not require, or even be helped by, a hospital visit. Helping your employees stay insured will help them stay productive at work by allowing them to check their medical anxieties at the door, because they know they’re taken care of.

Put Your Workers Where They Want To Be

A major contributing factor to low employee morale is the sense that a given worker is wasting their time. Even paid work can seem like it’s not worth it when you feel like your efforts aren’t having an impact or that your skills aren’t being put to the test. By taking the time to analyze your staff’s strengths and weaknesses, you can offer your employees the right positions on your staff for their unique skill sets. An employee whose job is a good fit for them will be a more effective and productive worker simply because the job feels right to them.

The same principle applies to the value that an employee places upon the work itself. Many workers feel aimless as a result of being fundamentally disconnected from the value of their workOpens in a new tab., and that aimlessness can be a source of immense existential dread. People generally seek meaning in life, so working without a clear understanding as to why can be detrimental to a person’s mental health. Showing your workers the fruits of their labors can be incredibly valuable for this reason. Giving your workers a sense of the impact that their work has on your customers, for example, can paint a picture for them of why what they’re doing for a living is meaningful.

Employee morale is a concept that has traditionally gone unexplored, but recent developments in psychology and sociology have brought to light the profound impact that it has on workers’ ability to do their jobs effectively. Taking care of your employees is crucial if you want those employees to dedicate their blood, sweat, and tears to your company, and these tips will help you inspire company loyalty among your workers. When in doubt, you can always ask your workers what would improve their experience with your company, and doing more research is always recommended.

Steve Todd

Steve Todd, founder of Open Sourced Workplace and is a recognized thought leader in workplace strategy and the future of work. With a passion for work from anywhere, Steve has successfully implemented transformative strategies that enhance productivity and employee satisfaction. Through Open Sourced Workplace, he fosters collaboration among HR, facilities management, technology, and real estate professionals, providing valuable insights and resources. As a speaker and contributor to various publications, Steve remains dedicated to staying at the forefront of workplace innovation, helping organizations thrive in today's dynamic work environment.

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