5 Ways of Boosting Morale in the Workplace Articles | Entrepreneur

In the current economic situation, you may be wondering if you’ll have a job next week or even tomorrow. This “hassle” added to that the normal daily pressures that work throws at us creates more and more tension in the work place and can also make you feel low on morale.

You and your colleagues and even your boss may feel unmotivated and unproductive, however be careful as being unmotivated will make you more unproductive, which will make you more unmotivated which will cause you to get fired!

The following techniques can help you motive the people in your office a little more:

1.      Find out more about your colleagues. Do you really know your coworkers? Do you know them on a just a professional level rather than s personal level? If you know more about them you may also learn what motivates them. Also it can make them feel valued.

• Discover your colleague’s birthdays. Most people like to have their birthday celebrated so why not find out when they were born and give them a surprise birthday cake?
  
  
• Be Curious. Find out more about them - Do they have children? Are they single or married? Do they have hobbies? Just be careful as you don’t want to sound over intrusive!

2.      Reward and praise them for accomplishments both personal and professional. Saying well done can really boost a person’s morale.  It shows you care and you recognize them which is a basic human need.

• Initiate an appreciation program. Have an  employee-of-the-month program. Hang their photo in a prominent place until the next person is chosen.
  
  
• Send them a handwritten thank you In this day and age of bebo, twitter, facebook, email and sms it’s easy to forget that sometimes people like genuine handwritten notes. So why not take the time to write them a card to say Thank You

3.      “Let’s Do Lunch”. Once a week arrange to have lunch delivered or visit a local restaurant. Take suggestions and split the bill – it’s fun and will help you discover new restaurants.

4.      Ask People What they Think! Sometimes your co-workers will have great ideas, but much of the time they are not asked about these ideas.  So set up a suggestion box and act on good suggestions to show people that you do care enough to listen to them!

• Hold staff meetings on a regular basis. Again let staff know you are willing to and want to listen.  Make sure everyone gets an opportunity to speak.

• Do a training analysis Perhaps people are not working to their optimum because they need more training. Find this out. Having a better trained workforce will boost morale and ultimately profits. It also shows you care to get them trained.

5.      Consider bonuses. People like to get a bonus now and again. So set targets to reach and offer a bonus. It may not just be money but perhaps vouchers, cinema tickets, nights out etc.

• Ask what people want Sometimes it is not just money that motivates people, sometimes they want to be recognized or told how good they are. Ask people what they want and you can reward them and then do it!

It’s easy for morale to fade, especially now in the economic climate we face, so it’s essential to let your workers and co-workers know you value them. Small things can upset them, for example wages not being paid on time, arguing about leaving early if they have worked late etc.

Ultimately Give each person the respect they deserve. People will respect those that respect them, so always be respectful to your employees.