by Kelly Nelsen

Created on: June 23, 2009

5 Ways to Keep Your Staff's Morale Up

In this economy, employee morale is likely to be in the pits. Employees are being laid off, companies are closing, and pay and benefits are getting reduced. In an up economy, employers tend to throw money, perks, and benefits at any morale problem, but in this day and age, that is usually not possible. So what other means can an employer use to increase employee morale? Well, it all starts with knowing what really motivates employees.

In a recent survey asking both managers and employees what motivates employees, the two groups came up with very different answers. Managers assumed that the number one motivator for employees was pay. Surprisingly, they were wrong - employees ranked it 5th out of ten. Managers thought job security was the second highest motivator for employees, but employees ranked it 4th.

So what did employees think was more motivating than either pay or job security? Here's the list, in order:

1. Interesting work.

Employees are motivated the most by interesting work. Managers ranked this 5th. In other words, managers believe that employees don't care so much about interesting work. Instead, they think employees would much rather have good pay and job security. Put yourself in an employee's shoes, though. Would you rather put a thing-a-muh-banger on a widget for 8 hours per day, 5 days per week but get paid relatively well for it, or would you rather do something that you like to do because it interests you? Frankly, I'd be more motivated to wake up in the morning for the latter choice.

2. Full appreciation of work done.

Second on employees' list of motivators is full appreciation of work done. Incredibly, managers ranked this 8th. Eighth. There's a major disconnect going on here. Employees say they're motivated by positive feedback (which is what this one is all about), yet managers seem to be oblivious to it. Perhaps it's due to the "no news is good news" mode that many managers slip into because of the hectic, fire-fighting nature of their positions. If you put yourself in an employee's shoes once again, wouldn't you like to know that you're doing a good job and that your efforts are appreciated?

3. Feeling of being in on things.

Have you ever been left out of a secret? Back in junior high school, maybe, and everyone knew the secret but you? What did you do? You probably did what most other kids do and demanded, "Tell me! What are you guys talking about? Come

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