Maintaining morale
In times of structural and managerial change, always be aware of your workforce’s wellbeing. Sometimes it’s not apparent what the impact periods of major change can have on your staff, but the emotional toll is often the unseen price of adjustment. It’s vital that you know and recognise the signs of slipping, disrupted or low morale.
Get the balance right
Morale is a vital part of any company. Maintaining good morale is healthy for any workforce and the make-up of your staff will be a deciding factor in how well morale is retained. Good morale tends to improve and maintain productivity, enhance creativity and encourage collaboration. Laughter and a good atmosphere in the workplace has a range of benefits, including such positive factors as improved general wellbeing and good communication. Don’t chat, laugh and joke all day, but sometimes informality and humour can take toil out of the workplace environment. Give your people a morale boost: reward success, instil pride and acknowledge when things are going well. It’s not always easy – especially during transitional periods – to do this.
Play for the team
Not everyone will want to look on the bright side. But try not to make things worse than they are either. Divisions in a team, or divisive action within an office or other work environment, can only lead to impacts on morale in the long term. A healthy sense of competition often leads to favourable outcomes, but unhealthy troublemakers only sow discord. If your staff don’t seem to enjoy being at work, and if their work is suffering as a result, then the signs probably indicate that there’s something wrong with their morale.
Adapt to change
Individual members of staff don’t have to be the ones who are actually experiencing the change. Comings and goings in the workplace instigate their own set of challenges, as even minor changes bring about behavioural and productive fluctuations. If your team is directly or indirectly affected by change, it can be influenced in many different ways. Low self-esteem and stress are two of the ways wavering morale can impact your employees, and both are not easy emotional conditions to address in a straightforward way.
Strength and purpose
During periods of transition, it’s important not to lose sight of where your employees’ strengths lie. As you take your workforce in new directions, make sure that good morale is at the core of your endeavours. Look from an optimistic perspective at the changes, for them and for you, and use these as positives to shape their career evolution. Be mindful that although morale is difficult to sustain at a high level in times of uncertainty, it is also something that is ignored only at your peril.
