Why Employee Morale Is Crucial in 2022

Employees are the heart of any organization. They contribute to daily operations and significantly impact the outcome of the business. Does your organization foster a positive employee morale? Learn the impacts of having a strong employee morale in 2023’s challenging and unpredictable landscape.

What is Employee Morale?

Employee morale is a part of the overall climate in an organization. It is a vital ingredient of organizational success because it reflects the attitudes and feelings of employees toward the organization, its objectives, and policies.

People with high morale know that they have a job worth doing. They are confident in their abilities and skillfully perform even under pressure.

The Impacts of Positive Employee Morale

With sources of information readily available on Glassdoor for candidates looking to potentially join your company, as well as a popular destination for disgruntled current (or former) employees, fostering a positive morale is a tactical move.

Employee morale is crucial because:

Positive employee morale leads to an increase in productivity and efficiency in the workplace, and as studies have shown, generate higher quality work as well.
Staff morale can keep a company afloat: should your company hit hard times, you might have to rely on your staff to help it pull through. If there’s a problem with staff morale, then it’s unlikely anyone will work extra hard to keep the company afloat; if there’s positive work morale, those same employees will likely do their best to help the company survive.
Strong company morale will lead you to attract and retain top talent, reducing staff turnover. When there is an encouraging and healthy work environment, employee morale is much higher, which creates positive energy and turns your employees into your greatest hiring asset.

What Factors Impact Employee Morale?

Employees who have access to the tools and systems they need might be able to complete their tasks on time and meet their goals. Collaboration is also likely to be smoother when employees are well equipped.

Learning Opportunities

When employees do not get the chance to learn new things and improve their skills, their morale suffers. A lack of training opportunities can make them feel like their careers are not going anywhere.

It is important to offer training and learning opportunities to support their professional growth, this can be in the form of online courses, educational conference opportunities or a LinkedIn learning license, for example.

Work-life Harmony

People who enjoy a good work-life balance are happier and have higher morale for working. They can take time off when they need to, without worrying about bringing work home or missing out on family time. For example, a family-driven employee may need flexibility during certain hours of the day for school pick up and drop off. By allowing them to balance both work and being a parent gives them the confidence they need to manage all their important priorities with less stress.

Leadership

The style of leadership in an organization has an impact on its employees’ morale. Employees working under leaders who make them feel appreciated are more open to communication and empathetic than those who feel that their leaders disregard them and do not listen to them.

Company Culture

Strong company cultures tend to produce high morale among employees, while poor cultures lead to low morale. Good managers build good cultures by prioritizing employee well-being. Some examples of creating a strong company culture are:

Fostering collaboration and teamwork among employees
Implementing performance-related rewards and recognition programs on a regular cadence (quarterly, for example)
Ensuring that the atmosphere at work is positive and employees feel safe to speak up if needed

Why Morale for Remote Workers Is Crucial

With the COVID-19 pandemic impacts globally, remote working is becoming the default. However, the same methods you are using to motivate your in-office team will not work for your remote team. Most remote workers feel disconnected as it can be isolating at times.

Need help improving employee morale?

In today’s landscape, industries that operate under hybrid and fully remote working models can struggle to scale their teams and foster a positive employee morale at the same time. Start a conversation with one of our talent experts to learn more.