Customer satisfaction heavily relies on employee satisfaction. There is no doubt that our employees are what make or break our companies. That is why we must have a healthy and non-toxic environment in the workplace. If you’ve heard about what happened to famous TV host and personality Ellen DeGeneres, then you know that a toxic work environment can damage your career and the image of your company.
If you want your business to succeed, you have to know how to boost your employee’s morale. What is morale? Also known as esprit de corps, morale is how much confidence a member has in their group, institution, or company. It is how satisfied and willing they are to stay and work better for a company and protect it if any challenges come their way. Boosting employee morale can dictate the success of your business. Here are five effective ways you can boost employee morale at any workplace:
Do team-building activities
Team-building activities and trips are a good way to get to bond with your employees. This is an opportunity to show them that it’s not all about work, but there is also some play. The great thing about having team-building trips is that it allows you to understand your employees’ strengths and weaknesses. You get to see who the natural leaders are, who are critical thinkers, who are willing to take risks, and who are not quite confident in themselves. A lot of how people act outside the workplace can reflect on how they perform in the workplace.
It’s important that after your team-building trip is over, that you have time to debrief on the activities. Ask them about how they felt during the activities, what they’ve learned, what they’ve gained, and what they realized they need to work on. Make them reflect on how they can incorporate what they’ve learned during the activities into their work. Having a scheduled team-building trip at least once a year is a great employee morale booster.
Give rewards and recognition
This is the easiest way to boost employee morale. By giving rewards and recognition where it is due. It can come in the form of extra pay, a day of paid leave, a discount to a store or establishment, or even a certificate of recognition. You can come up with plenty of reward and incentive ideas. It can also be done weekly, monthly, or annually.
Encourage taking breaks
Don’t underestimate the importance of taking breaks. Take this advice even for yourself. Working for 12 hours (or more) a day will damage your health. Studies have shown that it can increase stress, the risk of depression, sleep deprivation, diabetes, heart diseases, and impaired memory. It’s even worse if you have a desk job. Studies have also shown that sitting down for too long is far worse than eating fast food daily. (However, it is recommended that you avoid doing both.)
That’s why it’s important that you encourage your employees (and yourself) to take breaks. Even if it’s just five or 10 minutes away from their desk. Allow them to get a cup of coffee, take a short walk, or stretch. Having reasonable working hours also affects your employee’s productivity and morale. An article from Forbes magazine mentioned how employees in Greece that work 42 hours a week were 70% less productive than employees in Germany that only worked 28 hours a week. Remember, we work to live, not live to work.
Take time to train your employees
This is more than just the onboarding process. You have to train your employees for growth. Teach them things that they can use to further their career. Employees who feel that their futures are being supported will want to work harder and stay in the company. Allow them to visit company-sponsored conferences or courses that’ll enhance their work skills.
Learn to listen to your employees
As mentioned earlier, ask your employees how they feel from time to time. Allow them to give you feedback on what you can do to have a better work environment. Or if you worked on a project, ask them what they think could have been done differently to make it more efficient. This allows you to gauge your weaknesses and strengths as well, and not only theirs.
Having good employee morale in your workplace will benefit your company. Your employees are less likely to quit. They will also try to work harder and be more productive. It just goes to show that when you take care of your employees, they will take care of your company too.
