Keeping Employee Morale Up

by Kevin Smith Author

A work environment is a fragile thing; when it works, it can be productive, energetic, and fun, but if anything goes wrong, it can quickly sour. No one wants to work somewhere they don't feel comfortable or happy, and low morale can lead to low productivity, bad service, and even quitting. As an employer, while many factors in employee morale will be out of your control, it's nevertheless your responsibility to do everything you can to make sure your employees stay positive. And the good news is, just as the little things can make your employees demotivated, little things can also go a long way in keeping them happy. Something as small as encouraging words or ordering one morning from a coffee delivery service here in Atlanta could just make a glum employee's day.

Be the Change You Want to See

Nothing is as demotivating as a boss who's negative too. Whether through frequent anger, stringent rules, or indifference to the job, your employees see everything you and other managers do, and it affects them. While it's cool to complain about management, positive, helpful management is one of the biggest contributors to worker satisfaction. So do your best to be positive and productive at work. Listen to people, and be empathetic. Get down there and help when business is stressful, and let employees relax a little when business isn't. Remember that you're not a drill sergeant, teacher, or any other authority figure, there to instill discipline. You're a leader, and leaders motivate and organize.

Know Your Employees

Everyone is different, and reacts to things in different ways. The only way to predict how an employee might react to something is to know them. Taking a moment to talk to them and understand them can pay dividends in the future. Learn what matters to them, what inspires them, what they like and don't like about the job, what they're good at, what they're bad at, what they like to do on the weekends. Notice who they talk to at work, what they have for lunch, how they arrange their work-space. At the very least, showing this empathy will make workers appreciate you more, and they might think more about you and your feelings in the future. But it also gives you the knowledge it takes to help with their problems. Low productivity might be blamed on laziness, but what if employees are saying they don't have time to get coffee in the morning, and they're tired? A coffee delivery service in Atlanta might be a better solution than chastising them.