5 Common Factors That Negatively Affect Employee Morale

Negative or low morale in the company could be problematic. Not only does this lead to unhappiness in the workplace, but this also leads to higher work turnover and reduced productivity.

Unfortunately, it can be challenging for organizations to recover once low morale starts to set in. Furthermore, low morale does not just feel bad, it also negatively affects your bottom line.

People who are more engaged and enthusiastic in their work, on the other hand, are 21% more productive than those who are not.

So in this post, we will talk about the factors that drag down employee morale and what you can do about it:

Poor leadership

Poor leadership in an organization will cause employees to stagnate. Apart from that, great employees will also feel discouraged and will stop making an effort to put in good work. As a result, everyone will suffer.

It can be contagious to the company as well. Those that work with a bad boss are likely to end up as bad bosses themselves. That’s precisely why managers should be trained as better leaders to have a more positive impact on those around them. 

Good leaders will inspire great leaders one day. This has a ripple effect that boosts employee more and productivity in the company. 

Lack of recognition

It’s a given. Every company will have a long-term strategy. However, when you focus on the individual accomplishments of your employees, it’s easier to build employee morale which could help boost the motivation of your workers and raise productivity. 

Recognizing quick wins, whether it’s in public, informal, or formal, could encourage other employees to reach for similar achievements. It’s not rocket science that workers who are more recognized are more likely invested in the overall success of the organization. 

They have a mission and would likely hold themselves accountable for how well your company performs. 

Poor office communication

Most managers think that honesty and transparency will push employees to react negatively especially when they hear bad news. However, the lack of open and honest communication in the workplace could breed contempt.

But the opposite is true. Building an open communication in the workplace from the top to bottom of the hierarchy would generate trust and enthusiasm among employees. 

Absence of opportunities

Your employees are constantly finding opportunities to learn and grow, both personally and professionally. Therefore, you need to make sure that they have a chance to work their way up in the corporate ladder. 

You can provide opportunities for your team via coaching and mentoring programs. You could also pay for them to attend an important industry event, a class, or a workshop. 

Be clear of the opportunities that await them when they join your organization so that they won’t feel that they’ve wasted years of their professional life in a dead-end job that doesn’t provide them with opportunities to better themselves. 

Physical work environment

While there are a lot of things that you can do to boost your employees’ productivity, such as recognizing and rewarding a job well done, you can also do your part to help. 

How you set up the office plays a key role in the overall productivity of your employees.

That doesn’t mean that you should re-block the office furniture or re-do its interior. Regularly conducting a deep cleaning session will do. It can be as simple as typing in “office cleaning companies NYC” to schedule a cleaning session for your NYC office, for instance.

While there’s no one-size-fits-all solution for most businesses out there, understanding your employees better, and how they work, will help you build an office layout and a clean work environment that fosters creativity and efficiency.

 

Employee morale, or the lack of it, could stem from different sources. Hopefully, you can improve it in your organization by knowing the root of the problem, and by following the tips that we’ve discussed in this post.

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