Are your employees excited to come into work? Or do they shuffle in begrudgingly five minutes late every day? Are your employees’ friends with each other and you often find them sharing a laugh at the water cooler? Or do they keep themselves? If you find that your employees display poor moods while working, low employee morale could be damaging to your business. Productivity slows down, people seek alternative employment at high rates, and cooperation between employees worsens when your employees aren’t happy to come into work. This has the potential to put your business’ success at risk. When you are in a leadership position, it is your responsibility to strengthen morale among your employees. Read on to learn some simple yet creative ways to boost employee morale at work.
Plan a Company Outing
Company outings are a great way for employees to get to know each other. You may have been to an outing or two for your company. It could have gone well or ended up a flop. Instead of having the head of HR plan the outing, ask your team what they would like to do. If people are hesitant to come up with ideas, make it an anonymous nomination. Once you have a few ideas your team can vote for what they would like to. It shows your employees you are interested in them and your rewarding activity will be more appreciated.
Show Your Employees That Their Jobs Matter
A 9-6 can get monotonous when employees are working on the same thing every day. Monotony gives time for pondering with what’s going on in places where the grass may (possibly) be greener. Show your employees that their work does have value in the real world. For example, restaurants will often read aloud 5-star Yelp reviews and congratulate their team when they’ve done a good job. Positive reinforcement can come in the most simple of ways.
Have Fun In The Office
Take a day each month where your employees can just have fun together for an hour, or even the whole day! Set up a Wii tennis match, play board games, or split your employees into teams and have them solve a mystery. The winning person or team can win awesome rewards like tickets to a sporting event or concert.
Get Rid of The Bullies
Sometimes we work with jerks. As the saying goes, “one bad apple could spoil the whole bunch.” If you find that a member of your team is often intimidating, rude, negative, or belittling it might be time to let that person go. They’re probably making everyone around them as miserable as they are. This is especially important in upper management, where one foul boss can have a seriously negative impact on their employees. A good way to weed these people out is to encourage constant feedback between employees and HR.
Take Time To Inspire Your Employees
Depression and anxiety rates are at an all-time high so giving your team the tools they need to combat anxiousness and depression at work is crucial. Schedule a monthly meditation and offer to reimburse gym memberships since exercise is shown to decrease anxiety and depression. Set up a time to watch inspirational videos, or have an inspirational speaker come in to speak to your team, then have an open discussion afterward so the ideas really stick.
Give Your Employees Real Lunch Breaks
Many white-collar employees opt to eat at their desks. However, taking a walk outside or trying a new restaurant would actually boost their moods and creative thinking. Taking a short break from work is a great way to recharge your batteries and encouraging your employees to take advantage of that is great for boosting employee morale.
Celebrate Your Employees
If your team surpassed their quarterly goals, reward them! Throw a pizza party in honor of their hard work or present your hardworking employees with a much-deserved bonus. Don’t forget work anniversaries either! Show your employees you appreciate the job that they’re doing by sending a little note or giving a bonus when they’ve reached a great milestone.
When your employees are in the presence of capable leadership, are recognized for their hard work, and feel that they are a part of something bigger than themselves, they exhibit higher morale, which in turn results in a higher level of performance. Keep encouraging and rewarding great work, and you will soon be reaping the rewards of a successful business that is powered by hard-working, happy employees.