13 Proven Tactics to Increase Workplace Morale Today

Employee morale is a central part of ‘employee engagement’ which reflects the satisfaction, outlook, and feelings of well-being an employee has about their job. 

Over the years, attitudes towards employee morale have shifted significantly. In previous generations, people were more likely to remain in their job regardless of how they felt, they were just happy to be employed. Moreover,  In the mid-20th century, large organizations often viewed their employees as cogs in a wheel - a hangover of mass production in factories - and less as critical contributors to their businesses’ success. But times have changed.

Today, so much of our economy relies on “knowledge work” where creativity, shifting priorities, input to higher-ups, collaboration and multitasking are essential. So employees need to be sharp, focused, and engaged in order to provide the highest quality work and to avoid overlooking important tasks that may come up on any given day.

If you want your employees to deliver their best work, you must invest in them and ensure that they’re engaged during the 9-5. This is where employee morale plays a massive role— there are no engaged employees without strong workplace morale. So it’s imperative to improve and increase workplace morale to foster a productive, energized workforce. 

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In this article, we’ll explore 13 easy-to-implement tactics that will help you increase workplace morale. But first, let’s look at why increasing workplace morale matters so much in today’s work environment. 

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Why Increasing Workplace Morale Matters in Today’s Workplace

When looking at employee morale, we should look at the data on employee engagement. Without good morale, engagement suffers.

According to a recent Gallup report, a lot of employees are quitting their jobs without handing in their resignations. The data shows that 23% of employees are engaged, 62% are not engaged, and 15% are actively disengaged. 

Think of it like a football team: 

• 3 players on your team are giving their all to win the game for your team (engaged employees)

• 6 players on your team don’t care if your team wins or loses and that’s how they operate on the field— indifferently (unengaged employees)

• 2 players on your team are goofing around and disrupting the ability of your more engaged team members to do their best (actively disengaged employees)

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It’s no wonder that the same report stated that organizations lose $8.8 trillion (yes, trillion) in global GDP because of engagement/disengagement numbers. On top of that, disengaged employees have a lower productivity rate (18%) and are more likely to be absent from work (37%). 

Disengaged behavior can manifest as a negative attitude toward their work and colleagues, a lack of attendance, and reduced productivity. 

On the flip side, strong employee morale is characterized by a positive attitude, productivity, enthusiasm, collaboration, a sense of well-being, low absenteeism, and a lower voluntary turnover rate.

The solution to the problem isn’t investing more effort in the “two players” who are goofing around; they’re most likely long gone. The solution is investing that time and effort into those “six players” who are on the fence. The 13 morale-boosting tactics below can help  bring them over to your side.

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13 Easy-to-Implement Tactics to Increase Workplace Morale

Pick and choose the tactics that make the most sense for your workplace. You don’t have to implement all 13 of them, but try to pinpoint those that will move the needle the most. 

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1. No-meeting day

You have probably heard of statements like, “This entire meeting could have been an email,” or “Meetings are the death of productivity.” While it will be almost impossible to determine which meetings could only be an email, an easier option would be to have a day where no meetings are held in your company. 

That way, your employees will have a day with no interruption where they can be on their own maker’s schedule, be creative, and do productive work. Pick a day that makes sense for your business, communicate that to your employees, and enjoy your No Meeting Wednesday! (Oops)

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2. Lead by example

Leading by example is a simple statement to understand, but it’s not easy to implement. It means that you and the entire leadership team need to embody the behavior that you want to see in your workplace and lead so that people look up to you and emulate that behavior. 

People will follow what the leadership team does, not what the leadership team tells them they will do. For instance, if your company values respect, you must enforce it—sometimes even at the cost of short-term gains, like letting go of a high-performing employee who disrespects others. Business results might suffer short-term, but in the longer term, you’ll have a way more engaged workplace that will know you “walk the talk.” 

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3. Provide amazing benefits

There’s no substitute for providing amazing benefits. The better your benefits plan, the more your employees will feel appreciated. Benefits can come in all shapes and forms and it’s important to personalize them for your industry and company. 

A person in healthcare who works long shifts and endless days would benefit greatly from more PTO days or a wellness package that would help them relax. A corporate worker fresh out of college might benefit more from a professional development opportunity while a retail worker could really use that end-of-year bonus. 

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4. Nudge employees towards a work/life balance

Burnout is a massive problem in the modern workplace. This isn’t just limited to a few industries as most have the potential to produce burnout in their employees. And with the increase in working from home, the problem has gotten worse as people no longer have a separation between their personal and their work lives. As a result, many workers feel like they’re constantly “on,” and that their work day never ends, creating a sense that they work 24/7. Who wouldn’t feel burnt out if they thought that they worked 24/7?

To solve this problem and increase workplace morale, you should invest in programs that deal with the work/life balance problems and nudge your employees.

A couple of small things you can immediately do is encourage more breaks, review (unnecessary) workloads, and nudge your employees to take some time.

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5. Create a safe space for sharing

Employees want to work in an environment where they feel free to share their thoughts and ideas. If you create an environment where they feel free to share those ideas, they’ll start contributing more at work, especially if any of their ideas get implemented. 

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6. Show the purpose/impact behind employee’s work

One of the things that caused the Great Resignation a couple of years ago was the sudden realization from many people that their work is simply meaningless. If you find a way to show your employees how their actual work makes a difference in someone’s life and how their input affects other people, they’ll look at their job with much more meaning and purpose, increasing their workplace morale. 

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7. Recognize publicly

Praise publicly, criticize privately. When you recognize your employees publicly, you show them that you care about what they do at work and that the effort they made didn’t go unnoticed. Not only do your employees get public recognition, but they see that you care about what they actually do at work and that their actions make a difference. 

However when it comes to difficult conversations and providing critical feedback, closed-door discussions are best. Both the manager and the employee can speak candidly without others witnessing the discussion and the potential for public embarrassment is removed entirely.

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8. Provide professional development opportunities

Millennials and Gen-Z employees represent a growing majority in the workplace. One of the more meaningful opportunities for younger employees is the ability to develop their skills and experience. For larger organizations, this may involve internal training and mentoring programs designed to help newer employees develop and work towards the next steps in their careers at the company.

However, even smaller and mid-sized organizations can offer their employees the opportunity to take training programs and to gain experience in areas of interest. Managers can help their direct reports develop career paths by not only identifying future roles within the organization, but reviewing the skills and experience that will be required to eventually rise to those positions.

Employees who feel supported and who can envision a longer-term future with their company not only have better morale but demonstrate greater ambition because they’re working towards their own goals.

Related article: 10 Reasons a Skills Assessment Tool Supports Employee Growth

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9. Provide flexible working conditions

The genie is out of the bottle— most employees can do their work from home. Companies are starting to demand return-to-office (RTO) mandates and, in some cases, this is hurting workplace morale.

If this could be the case for your organization, consider providing flexible working conditions even if you can’t provide work-from-home conditions— there are other programs that can make a difference such as 9/80 or 10/4 work schedules. 

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10. Have 1-on-1 meetings

Employees don’t leave companies; they leave managers. The more the managers care for the employees, the better their engagement will be— enter 1-on-1 meetings. With 1-on-1 meetings, team leaders and managers can have a scheduled touchpoint with their employees and learn about their progress. 

It is also great to learn about the employees’ future plans and for managers to provide an appropriate level of support to help team members work towards those goals and plans. 

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11. Enable community involvement options

Many people find volunteering their time meaningful; especially if it’s done in their local community. Providing these types of programs not only demonstrates your company’s commitment to giving back and helping in your local communities, but they can have a tremendous impact on employee morale. Volunteering also helps bring people together, working towards a common goal that can translate to stronger teamwork back in the workplace. Plus, volunteering projects may offer your employees the opportunity to learn new things, improve skills, and demonstrate leadership qualities. It’s a win-win scenario that increases workplace morale. 

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12. Pay your employees a fair wage

If your employees feel their compensation is unfair or insufficient, no other amount of improvement in their working conditions is likely to help. It’s like multiplying with zero. Regardless of how hard you try and what else you do when it comes to benefits, professional development opportunities, or flexible working conditions, your efforts aren’t likely to get beyond the core issue of their compensation. 

Compensation benchmarking should be done regularly amongst larger organizations, but even smaller organizations can review online job boards and other information sources to gauge competitive compensation levels for the various roles in their organization. Outside of these steps, it’s often a good idea to do a pulse survey to ask employees for anonymous feedback about their work conditions, including compensation.

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13. Ask, listen, and implement feedback

Most of your employees want to contribute to the success of your company. And many have ideas that can benefit your organization in different ways - from how to run team meetings more efficiently, to new software and tools that could enable them to be more productive, to ideas for new products and services. Many employees, especially those on the frontline, can be a source of new ideas and inspiration.

Managers should be encouraged to ask for employee input, but companies can only encourage anonymous suggestions through “suggestion boxes”. Thanking employees for their suggestions, if made publicly, or circulating updates about suggestions submitted anonymously conveys to those employees who have contributed that their ideas have been well-received, which of course helps to boost morale.

Related article: How to incentivize creativity, innovation, and out-of-the-box thinking

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Conclusion

Employee morale matters a lot in today’s work environment. You need employees who will be sharp, focused, and engaged in their jobs. Not only to deliver great work, but also to help improve current processes, contribute innovative ideas, and to spot opportunities that can lead to greater success for your company. 

In this article, we have provided an overview of 13 easy-to-implement tactics that you can use in your workplace, from ensuring a productive day with no meetings to having regular 1-on-1 meetings. Gauge the areas in which your team or company would benefit and implement the tactics accordingly.

It’s not just about implementing new things to increase workplace morale; it’s also about avoiding things that actively lower employee morale. To learn more about this topic, you might also enjoy reading How to spot toxic work culture on the Qarrot blog.