Regardless of what you may have heard or what the general opinion may be, office morale isn’t a term coined by those employees who are looking to cut corners at the office. If anything, a healthy office morale is your business’ chance to get phenomenal results, and quick. How so? We’ll get into it in a second.
What most employers/entrepreneurs/bosses/supervisors don’t seem to really get is that their employees are the core of their companies; if they feel mistreated, disrespected, offended, or can’t relate with what you’re offering, you are done (as a company).
To make your office beaming with success and advancement, make sure your people are happy. Here is a short roundup of advice that will help you boost morale in your office:
1. Keep Things Dignified
Treating your employees disrespectfully, with no appreciation or understanding for them personally will lead them to feel bad, annoyed, and hurt. Not only will this have a negative effect on their personal lives but their work will suffer, too.
Don’t scold your employees in front of others or take sides; if there is something you need to talk to them about, schedule a check-in that will give them a realistic insight into their work. Explain (calmly) what they need to change about their work and give them hints on ways to do it. Be a leader, not a boss.
Make sure everyone at the office feels they’re in your good graces, regardless of what your (true) personal sentiment towards some of them may be.
2. Don’t Be Late with Payments
These days, everyone is struggling to earn a buck and live on a very precise, planned payment schedule. If you are late with payments while your employees give their best for your company, they’ll lose interest in being focused and their work will, consequently, decrease in quality. Sure, everyone’s working for a career too but money? Money’s what’s making the world spin.
3. Listen to What They’re Saying
If you have an unhappy employee who is asking for your help and advice, hear them out. Whether they’re going through a personal problem at home and need to work out a potentially different in-office plan with you or they have a problem at the office with another employee or with the work itself, make sure you listen to what they have to say.
If you can’t offer them a solution straight away, promise to get back to them with a plan. Respect their bravery for reaching out.
4. Forget Terror
Are you one of those people who finds working under pressure very stimulating? Well, Hitler did, too. Drop the act and be human. People working for you are working with you, contributing to your company, and maintaining or upping its reputation. Don’t ever forget it.
5. Go an Extra Mile
Don’t let your employees dangle in a grey zone without offering them any type of assurance for their progress. Don’t selectively prioritize others over those who actually deserve promotions either. Just because you like someone better or they’ve built a reputation for being good workers doesn’t mean they actually deserve to move up the ladder. Remember – smiles can easily be faked, just as reputations can.
Promote your own, be fair, and be sure to reward those whose work is actually giving results. Those who are working hard and yet – for some reason – always get sidelined will end up frustrated and leave. And you know what? At some other company, they’ll be the most appreciated employee of all – and eventually – your company’s direct competition.
6. Organize Team Buildings
If you’re running a big office, there is a chance people have no time to mingle and actually get to know one another. As the glue that holds everything together, you should be the one to push them towards finding common ground and working amazingly as a team.
Organize team buildings like rooftop parties, mini weekend getaways, or outdoor activities. Celebrate the company’s birthday by throwing awesome bashes, or throw sport tournaments at the beach, a barbecue, etc.
For a good party, all you need is a space big enough to hold everyone, hired drinks and finger food catering, and a DJ. Voila! Want to throw a volleyball tournament at the beach? Why not? Talk to the lifeguards at the beach and give them your planned gathering time beforehand. Rent out a volleyball net and bring drinks. Done!
Once people get to know each other better, they’ll immediately feel better at work and a healthier atmosphere will form!
7. Show (Individual) Appreciation
Make sure your people know how valuable they are to you. Don’t ever hold back on praising them in front of their colleagues or individually – they’ll feel amazing and enjoy the sense of achievement. Only better things can come!
The crazy, capitalist society we live in doesn’t really leave much room for humanity; be that one human left – you won’t regret it. And watch carefully for the magic that happens once you give a person just enough comfort to be themselves.
About the Author
Emma Lawson is an Aussie business woman on the rise. Working on better employee relationships, she found that organizing corporate parties and caterings proved to be the best type of team building. Keen on creating perfect business atmosphere.
I couldn’t agree more. Staff are the lifeblood of any business and, as someone once said to me, businesses end up with the staff they deserve.
I’ve worked for companies that appreciated their workers, and ones that didn’t. Unsurprisingly, the one that had a culture of fear and criticism couldn’t keep decent staff. People were afraid to use their initiative or make decisions, and the business stagnated, then failed.