The Story of Morale (and the Moral of the Story)

Are you sick and tired of hearing about The Great Reset, The Great Resignation, or the more recent catchphrase Quiet Quitting?

Whether you believe these are current trends or not, there is definitely something going on in the area of employee satisfaction and retention. I know dozens of people who have made huge changes in their careers as a direct result of the pandemic and the insights it created.

If your people are not actually quitting their jobs, retiring or making great shifts, they are probably thinking about doing it, and that is affecting them, their work and your organization. If you have noticed this and it concerns you, read on.

We have been discussing employee satisfaction levels for years, decades even, but it all seems to be accelerating and is front of mind today. If you lead a team or an organization, it should be front of mind for you. Low morale is an age-old issue, and there are many reasons why people are feeling dissatisfied today, both macro and micro factors such as 

·      Uncertainty around the global economy

·      Worry about job security post-pandemic

·      Sheer fatigue from working more than one job 

·      Loneliness related to working from home

Most people won’t realize how much these worries are impacting their emotional wellbeing, and we have been conditioned to ‘get on with the job at hand’. If you are an enlightened leader, you will already have psychological safety and wellness on your priority list. However, once you identify the issue, you need to get to the root cause and come up with ways to reverse the trend. 

I believe that every person simply wants to feel valued, fulfilled  and appreciated. If you want to go even further, use Maslow’s fancy term and say they (we) want to be and feel self-actualized. Gone are the days where people are simply seen as cogs in a machine.

Staff morale is generally measured and reported on as an average or cumulatively and quantitatively, e.g. “Fifty percent of our people say they are quite happy at work”, “Churn is twenty-two percent”, that sort of thing. What we fail to remember at times is that the team is made up of individuals, and each one needs to feel appreciated. Let’s call this ‘individual morale’. 

Feeling valued is a subjective state and it can fluctuate based on the factors listed above and many other things, but with thoughtful leadership, you can increase the chances of getting it right, keep your people happy and keep them in your organization. Where I have witnessed this type of thoughtful leadership in action, it has created outstanding culture, loyalty and pride.

Here are some simple and effective strategies you can implement today to show you truly care about the individuals

·      Learn what each person is excited about sharing internally and externally

·      Support people so they know how to represent themselves and the brand

·      Allow people to post thought-leading content on their social media profiles

·      Allow people to write and speak on behalf of the organization

·      Give them time to prepare their content – in work time

·      Schedule time to check in with them regularly with no distractions

·      Make an extra effort to include everyone, especially those typically overlooked

·      Encourage everyone to celebrate and promote each other’s content

Over time, more people’s voices will be heard and you will see a marked improvement in attitudes and in the overall culture. This is the story of morale, and I really hope yours will have a happy ending.

The moral of the story? If you want to keep your best people, you need to help them show up at their best and share their best ideas. It's up to you. I'm happy to have a chat about this important topic anytime.