How do we boost employee morale & motivation at work in 2023

A recent survey conducted by *GALLUP revealed 57% of UK employees are disengaged at work.

Boosting Employee morale

Why do we have low morale at work?

There are many contributing factors to low morale levels at the workplace. Here are some of the top reasons-

• Poor leadership or leadership changes
• Lack of clarity or a failure to understand business goals
• Lack of development opportunities
• No trust or communication
• Not providing employees with the right tools or technology
• Micromanagement
• Lack of praise or thanks
• Stress
• Poor employee/employer fit
• Unsatisfactory pay

So what is morale?

According to Forbes, the employee morale definition is “the attitude, satisfaction, and overall outlook of employees during their association with an organisation or a business.” 

People with high morale know that they have a job worth doing. They are confident in their abilities and skilfully perform even when under pressure.

Why is morale a must?

Without high morale in the workplace, your company will suffer. Boosting morale at work will help increase employee engagement and performance and this will have a very positive impact on the business’ performance. 

Creating an action plan to boost Morale in 2023 – a few examples

Encourage regular communication

You can arrange one-on-one sessions either in-person or via a video conferencing platform. 

Keep your door open and encourage employees to come in and talk to you at anytime, regardless of what they want to talk about.

Communicate the visions

In many organisations, workers don’t know the “why” behind the business objectives, nor are they aware of how their own work ties in with those goals. When this is the case and the employees don’t know what’s expected of them they will not put their heart into it.

Rewards & Incentives

Let’s face it, rewards get people excited! Assess your organisations rewards and benefits.

You could consider working with a third-party company who specialise in offering perk packages. Your rewards and perks could help to promote physical and emotional well-being in your employees.

Build a recognised culture

Be transparent and share goals and objectives so they have something to focus on. Assign more responsibility to employees to demonstrate trust and recognition of their ability to successfully meet objectives and encourage managers to get to know employees and their motivations

Challenge your workers

When jobs become too easy, this doesn’t help the employee learn anything new, they can easily get bored doing the same tasks again and again. In contrast, if the job is too difficult, they can get discouraged and just stop trying.

Avoid burnout

It might be worth adopting a paid time off policy will help avoid burnout among employees. Employees who struggle to relax and unwind will surely have low morale.

Team building activities

Friendships at work can make it easier to communicate, collaborate, and get things done faster. Employees who feel more connected with their managers and colleagues beyond just work are more likely to demonstrate high morale.

Why Morale for Remote Workers Is Crucial

No matter where your workforce is based whether at work, home, on site or on co-working offices, leaders and managers hold the key to employee morale.

There are many of methods to explore, but which ones will work for your organisation?

Let’s have a look:

Stay connected

Remote working employees need to know that their managers and leaders are still there for them when they have issues and need someone to help them through.

Encourage group discussions

Much like encouraging online ‘get-togethers’, the value of casual idea sharing is often underestimated.

Recognise Employee Achievements

Regardless of the location where your employees are working, one of the best-known ways to increase morale is to recognise when workers reach a milestone or recognise their achievements. Give that person a shout out during a virtual team meeting. A small act like this could easily boost that person’s confidence.

Research in the field of psychology reveals that people want to be appreciated. This helps individuals feel more connected, which is especially important when workers are working remotely.

Hold a Virtual Team Building Activity

A virtual happy hour is a fun way for the team to connect on a more personal level outside the scope of work.

Conclusion

With so many people now working from home, making changes to ensure high employee morale is a must. While you might already know how to do this with a physical team, things change when everyone is in a different location doing their work. It’s also especially important to pay attention to morale since remote work can be isolating for many people and create loneliness.

Please get in touch if you would like further information. 

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