Third Shelf

Lately I’ve been thinking on morale in the workplace. What is morale? According to Alexander H. Leighton, “morale is the capacity of a group of people to pull together persistently and consistently in pursuit of a common purpose“.

From this quote, it is evident that if morale decreases, people will no longer pull together in pursuit of the common purpose. Following from that, we can then say that morale is the glue that keeps people united and focused on the given task.

Sustaining a healthy level of morale in the workplace should be one of the primary concerns of managers. I’d like to think that every workplace has a set of morale pumps that help to maintain a certain level of morale, whether it be great coffee, job security or an energizing work culture, which contribute to keeping employees focused and united.

In the current economic environment where most businesses have to consider cutting costs on most levels, be careful when cutting costs on the morale pumps. Consider the cost of reducing and taking away that which maintains this level of morale. I think investing into keeping morale high is probably more needed now than ever before.

Here are some factors that influence morale in the workplace, either positively or negatively :

• Job security;
• Management style;
• Staff feeling that their contribution is valued by their employer;
• Realistic opportunities for merit-based promotion;
• Team composition;
• The work culture;
• Compensation;
• Recognition and rewards;
• Work that isn’t challenging;
• Limited growth opportunities;
• Fun environment to work in