Employee morale is one of the most important factors that determine the fate of any business. Running a small business requires you to be concerned about this, more than any other boss figure. For large corporations, 90% of the workers will never even be in the same building as the person in charge of the company. With a smaller enterprise, you have more personal input, so you can rely on your own judgment as to how staff is feeling.
Given that employees are there for a reason – to help the business function – is it really your place to care about such things? Should the only thing that you’re concerned with be their productivity and how well they do their jobs?
Ah, there’s the rub – the two things go hand in hand. A demoralized workforce is not a productive workforce, so taking care of staff well-being is an issue that you have to take seriously.
You probably know the major things that can impact morale, such as an overly restrictive working environment or an uncertain future through less secure employment contracts. But what about the smaller things that can, nevertheless, have a big impact? You need to watch out for those two.
- Dirty Office
If you don’t invest in janitorial services, then your staff are going to feel the pinch of it. A working environment should be clean and safe; no one is going to feel at their best if the carpet for your main premises crunches when they walk on it. It’s not in your regular employees’ job description to clean the office so don’t expect them to – outsource it and everyone will benefit.
- Being Ignored
No matter how good your business acumen is, no one knows better what it’s like to do a job than the person actually doing it. You have to listen to your staff when they talk about the issues they face and the help they need to do their job properly. If they feel their concerns are not being taken seriously, they will swiftly feel demoralized. Try and schedule a sit-down meeting with all staff at least once per month.
- Being Kept In the Dark
People want to feel secure in their occupation, and that means having an idea about how the business is doing. If you’re going through good times, tell them. If you’re going through a rough patch, then you should still tell them. If employees are left to wonder, then it won’t be long before rumors take over facts in the office gossip.
- Strict Dress Code Requirements
Comfort is important when working, so keep this in mind when you set a dress code. Don’t require women to wear high heels; they’re painful after any amount of time standing. Don’t require men to be clean-shaven; shaving daily can cause serious skin issues. It’s better to have employees comfortable than to insist on a strict code of dress for everyday work.
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