Boosting Morale In The Workplace

Extracted from “The Star : 14 March 2013”

Turn your office into a place people love to come to work everyday

Do your employees dread going into the office each morning? If their answer is “yes”, then your office environment is plagued by low morale.

   Research has shown that productivity plummets in an office environment where workers suffer from low morale.

   This causes are often lack of appreciation and rewards for employees, a management with a top-down approach, a lack of work-life balance, a lack of team bonding and a dull working environment.

   Collectively, these factors have a disempowering effect on your employees. They feel a lack of ownership in the company and are just “showing up” to collect their monthly pay cheques. They may even learn to block all the negativity at work a if they are resigned to their fate.

   Over the long run, however, such negative energy will feed off other employees.

   Smart employers know that high office morale can do wonders for their employees and drive them towards excellence.

   In fact, if we take a quick glance at some of the world’s most innovative companies, they share something in common – a cool workplace designed to keep their employees happy and motivated.

   Google’s corporate headquarters, fondly nicknamed the Googleplex, in Mountain View, California, has a workspace that contains various features designed to make its employees feel welcome.

   They include bicycles and scooters for efficient travel between meetings and healthy lunches and dinners for all staff at a variety of places and break rooms.

   Over at Facebook’s new corporate headquarters in Palo Alto’s Stanford Research Park, the social networking firm conducted company-wide polls and personal interviews during the design phase to determine what its employees wanted from their workspace. The result?

   Office spaces designed to facilitate employee interaction and connection in order to reflect the company’s mission to connect people.

   The following steps can help you achieve high morale in your office:

Open Communication

   Fostering open communication with your employees helps you understand them better and build rapport.

  At Google, employees frequently pose questions directly to founders, Larry Page and Sergey Brin in their weekly meetings.

Public Appreciation

   Public appreciation means showing recognition for any good work achieved by your employees. It could mean an impromptu office get together during office hours where an announcement is made to recognise an employee’s achievement.

   Showing appreciation goes a long way in motivating other employees to reach for the stars.

Work-Life Balance

   All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. In the workplace, it could translate into employees being stuck in a routine.

   As an employer, you can do your part by having a “Bring Your Kids to Work” day to foster bonds between your staff and their families.

   Your employees will be grateful to be working for such a forward-looking company.

Team Bonding

   No man is an island. This saying runs true in any organisation that requires everyone to work together as a team.

   At Facebook, the firm has a very sociable workplace with no cubicles to encourage team bonding. The work culture is also very open – discussions about projects and ideas are shared freely. This open-style approach has made Facebook the most innovative social  media currently.

Just Like Home

 

   When your work environment is comfortable, employees will feel more motivated.

   Google knows this and has provided foosball, pool tables, volleyball courts, assorted video games, pianos, ping-pong tables, and gyms that offer yoga and dance classes to make their employees feel right at home.

Rewards and Gifts

   These are small gestures that brighten up someone’s day. When you constantly show appreciation to your employees, such as sending them thank-you cards, you can be sure they will be constantly in high spirits.

Eradicate All Gloomers

   It only takes one person to spoil the office mood. They are the type of employees that constantly complain that nothing is ever right but never take action to improve their situation.

   Such employees can bring down the morale in an office, a mood that can be infectious. If you have such employees, it is best to talk to them. If all these fails, you can show them the door.

Show Respect

   Respect is earned, not demanded. When you show respect to your employees, they will return the favour and the result will be harmonious, vibrant and productive working environment.