Low employee morale is costing you money. Learn how to make your workers happy and boost morale in the workplace.
Employees that feel undervalued, bored or overworked in the office can have devastating effects on a business. Not only will their output decline, but their negative feelings will likely spread to other members of the team.
Low employee morale hits a company where it hurts. Workers are unlikely to give it their all and high staff turnover results in the unwanted costs of finding suitable replacements. Finances suffer as a result.
Money is the ultimate motivator, but increasing wages and offering bonuses isn’t always an option.
Increasing office morale doesn’t have to be expensive. These nine helpful tips could make your office a happy place to work again, (relatively) cost-free:
9 ways to boost morale without breaking the bank
When times are tough and moods are low, try one of these cost-effective strategies to get your business back on track.
Value feedback
Listen to your employees’ ideas and make changes as necessary. Nothing will decrease motivation faster than feeling ignored, unwanted or unneeded. Taking their ideas on board will make them feel valuable and subsequently increase happiness and morale.
Encourage breaks
Allowing your employees to take regular breaks will allow them to take some time out from their stressful work environment. Research shows that our brains can only focus for 90 to 120 minutes at a time, so the increased productivity will pay for the loss of time.
Celebrate successes
There’s often so much to do that we forget to celebrate our successes before moving on to the next project. Failing to recognise when an employee has gone above and beyond for the company won’t do you any good. Reflect, make note of positive contributions and feed back to your team regularly.
Give birthdays off
If there’s anything worse than a Monday, it’s a birthday spent in the office. Nobody wants to spend their special day hard at work. Chances are, the employee will get nothing done anyway. If you take the hit and let them stay at home, they will return happier and work harder.
Get out
When stress levels get too high, get your employees out of the office. An often tense, pressured environment can make it hard for workers to relax. Removing them from the environment will provide a much needed break, even if it’s just a 30 minute trip to the pub.
Promote from within
Nobody wants to see their career stagnate. A lack of progression within your company will soon see employees jump ship. Rather than bringing in a new face to rule over your current crop, try promoting from within. The promoted employee will be happier and the rest will be eager to work hard and secure their own promotion.
Allow napping
Napping is a great way to recharge your batteries. Allowing your employees time to sleep will boost morale, mood and productivity. Nap rooms are now common in the offices of the world’s biggest companies and following suit could take your business to new heights.
Personal time
We all have big ideas, but few of us have enough spare time to work on our personal projects. This is one of the biggest causes of employee turnover and could be costing your company thousands. Rather than watching your staff depart to ‘work on a new project’, give them some time each week to work on it in the office.
Change the routine
Work often becomes a grind for the average employee. They wake up, head to work, go home, eat, and then go to bed. They repeat that for five days, and then spend the weekend preparing to do it again the following week. Changing up the office routine will make each day a little different, whether it’s a dance class on Monday morning, or a free smoothie on Friday afternoon.
Now that you know how to boost morale, here’s how to make your office an even better work environment:
Has this CEO discovered the perfect way to keep employees happy?