What’s Their Motivation? Keeping Employees Happy 7/26/2006 7:57:27 AM
Teena Rose is a columnist, public speaker, and certified/published resume writer with Resume to Referral. She’s authored several books, including How to Design, Write, and Compile a Quality Brag Book, 20-Minute Cover Letter Fixer, and Cracking the Code to Pharmaceutical Sales.
A former coworker lamented about the status of his current job and industry. The big-city newspaper in Los Angeles he works for has, over the past three years, gone through two major layoffs, provided paltry raises, and cut costs to the bone. Consequently, they’ve had to do the same amount of work – or more – with fewer people.
Meanwhile, another friend across town works for a major Internet company, whose business is thriving, is consistently hiring, provides competitive salaries, and goes out of its way to keep employees happy by providing generous perks and encouraging fun and irreverence.
Naturally, these two scenarios have created vastly different levels of morale. At the newspaper, employees are looking over their shoulders, lacking motivation, and putting more effort into looking for another job than focusing on the one they currently have. At the Internet company, workers are energized by what they do and reveling in having a job they can get excited about coming to everyday.
Morale is a fundamental component of any business. The newspaper and Internet examples show how morale can break down quickly when the economics of a business turn south and how it can flourish when finances are strong and the company establishes a strong foundation of treating employees as their most precious resource.
But morale is not only based solely on a company’s financial strength. There are plenty of Fortune 500 companies with solid earnings who have employees with low morale. A company that ignores addressing low morale is destined to suffer from decreased productivity, high turnover, employee absenteeism, and overall dissatisfaction. On the other hand, it’s the employers who know how to treat the symptoms of low morale that will flourish in the end.
A prime example is the airline industry. The industry has struggled financially the last decade due to labor strife with unions, increased competition, the attack on 9/11, and what economists have said was a bad business model to begin with. The result has been, according to consumer complaints, service that has gone straight downhill. With employees at several airlines having to accept cuts in pay and benefits just to keep the carriers in business, morale among workers has plummeted. The plague of gloom and doom has resulted in lower quality that has turned into lower profits.
There are many ways to contain and improve worker morale. From the boss to the boardroom, a company first has to listen to its employees. Managers who hide behind the protection of their office walls will no doubt encourage a downturn in attitudes and spirits. Whether a company is flourishing or faltering, a supervisor has to find out what motivates employees, what obstacles are they facing, and what ideas they have.
In an atmosphere where employees don’t speak for fear of reprisal by a hardheaded boss, morale can take a tumble. Workers need an atmosphere where their thoughts are heard and action is actually taken. If a worker suggests an idea that may not be feasible, the simple fact that their voice was heard can be just as valuable.
