Morale, according to the Cambridge English dictionary is the amount of confidence felt by a person or group of people especially when in dangerous or difficult situations. Morale is also said to be the capacity of people to maintain belief in an institution or a goal. It also involves believing in oneself and others.

So it is safe to say that employee morale refers to the level of confidence or belief your employees have in themselves, their colleagues, you as an employer, and the goals and objectives of your organization.

Why should you bother about your employee's morale? Is it even a thing?

Importance of Employee Morale

Employees' morale has a direct effect on their input and productivity. As a business owner, you have your goals and targets and this can only be achieved when your employees put in the required effort. How much effort would people put into something they do not believe in?

Many people underestimate what confidence can do to an individual. We really shouldn't.

Cast your mind to a kids/teens sports event. Did you notice how much effort parents put into encouraging their kids? How do they stand on the sidelines to cheer them on? With what results? The child gives his very best, putting his all into the game. True, he would have practised and trained, but nothing works like high morale. Even when you don't win, you know you have your best shot. 

In your firm, you are the parent, your employees are your kids and you need to put things in place to boost their morale. They need you cheering from the sidelines and participating where possible.

It is important to note that when your employees know you believe in them, they try extra hard not to disappoint. When they believe in themselves, they do even better. As we agreed earlier, employee morale involves more than believing in themselves or you believing in them. They need to also believe in the organization and its objectives. Is this achievable? Yes. Let's focus on how.

Factors Affecting Employee Morale 

Certain factors are responsible for how high or low the morale of your employees is. Below are some of them;

1. Knowledge: Knowledge gives the confidence to act and the power to deliver. Your employees may be qualified by way of education or experience, it's not all they need. They may need training, workshops and refresher courses from time to time. Arm your employees with the knowledge, equip them with the necessary skills and watch their morale and output soar.

2. Job safety: Are you a hire and fire kind of boss? If so, your employees would be less motivated to work. After all, you can fire them at any time. They may even be distracted looking for other jobs before you fire them.

3. Work environment: No one thrives in a toxic space.

4. Reward, Recognition and compensation: Do you reward hard work? Do you recognize and praise it? Does your remuneration equal the amount of work done?

All of this can affect your employee's morale, positively or negatively.

How to Build Employee Morale

• Hire only individuals whose personal goals and convictions align with that of your firm. What purpose does an atheist serve in a religious school? Learn how you can hire only the right people for the job.
• Communicate clearly with your employees- let them know in detail what their job description is and the processes involved to reach the organization's objectives.
• Accept suggestions from your employees. Their views may differ, their suggestions might be foreign, and the focus should be on the result.
• Avoid talking down on your employees. Doing that would lower their self-esteem and morale. It would also make them less likely to use their initiative, they would hesitate to take risks and all of this would negatively affect their productivity.
• Create a healthy workplace. 
• Give generous commendation. A kind word here and there uplifts one's morale.
• Provide proper tools and necessary training. This is one sure way to boost the morale of your employees.
• Build trust with your employees. Trust lessens tension in the workplace, they are more relaxed and this would make it easier for them to work and achieve set goals.
• Give feedback to your employees. Let them know how well they have been doing. They should be made aware of how their contributions have helped the organization reach milestones.
• Make it the culture of your firm to give rewards and use incentives to boost productivity.
• Avoid favouritism- Encourage healthy competition instead.

The Problem Of Low Employee Morale

• Decreased productivity: This goes without saying. Employees with low morale are minimally productive. 
• Poor work quality: Employees with low morale might come to work every day and meet deadlines, but their quality of work cannot be compared with that of an employee with high morale.
• Decreased motivation:  Don't we all need a level of motivation to get things done? Low morale means low motivation which results in decreased input.
• Lack of customer/client trust: How? When your employees suffer from low morale, they tend to leave the job and then you have to replace them. Customers need to bond with those attending to them and this takes time. It's easier to connect with familiar faces. When you always have to replace your staff, customers would view your organization with some suspicion.

Read more on how to boost the morale of your employees.

Employee morale is something that deserves your attention. Take practical steps to see that members of your staff maintain high morale towards their job. Research has shown that employees with high morale are more productive by  21% than those with low morale. Need I say more?

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