Employee morale encompasses the level of satisfaction individuals have with their job, their attitude to work and how motivated they are. When morale is high, employees feel positive about their role and, as a result, they try to give their best.
Low staff morale, on the other hand, can be damaging to a business. Performance levels fluctuate daily and people underperform. This can quickly harm the company’s reputation and result in a loss of revenue.
What changes morale in a workforce?
Lots of factors are at play when it comes to the morale of individuals and teams. A toxic company culture, poor leadership and feeling unsafe can all have a negative effect on the way people perceive their employer. When things have gone wrong, team leaders have a crucial role to play in keeping people’s spirits up. Along with promoting a positive attitude, they can arrange workplace drug and alcohol testing to protect employees. Matrix Diagnostics can assist companies with policy reviews and help them establish an effective onsite testing system. As well as promoting health and wellness, testing can have a major impact on preventing accidents in the workplace.
Happy teams have a higher level of morale
Happy people who enjoy a good work/life balance and feel valued are more likely to stay focused on their tasks and be creative. In turn, this outlook leads to better, more profitable outcomes for the company. Mainly because individuals who are content at work and not suffering from anxiety tend to be healthier overall. When the team feels good, they work well together, take fewer days off and remain engaged.
Staff want to over achieve
The HSE recognises the strong link between how productive employees are and their level of morale. Happier people have enthusiasm for their job, they find it easy to work in a group and are confident enough to support their colleagues. For a manager or team lead, this can be exceptionally advantageous. They don’t have to continually push staff to get things done and they can focus on efficiency, rather than problem-solving.
Employee retention stays high
When employees see their job and the company they work for in a positive light, they are unlikely to search for a new role elsewhere. High retention rates benefit a business in multiple ways. Primarily, well-trained and experienced staff are the ones running the show. Secondly, the costs of recruitment stay low, and thirdly, existing staff can attract great new talent. Dedicated employees will have positive things to say about their employer and if a position does become available, it’s likely to be filled quickly.
The most effective ways to drive staff morale will be different from one business to the next, depending on the workplace and the number of staff involved. However, the key principles will not change, whether the company is a huge multinational or a local SMB. When people feel safe, valued and happy, they will deliver higher levels of productivity.
