“Happy wife, happy life”. Have you ever heard this saying? Well the same is true for your staff. Motivated staff makes a happy crew, and a happy crew is a productive business.
What is Staff Morale?
Staff are often considered to be the #2 asset in our business because if we didn’t have them then essentially we would not have anyone to deliver or support our #1 asset, our businesses products and services. So, if our staff are not happy or do not have a positive morale, it is going to have a negative impact on our business in many different ways. But what is “Staff Morale”?
Staff morale is considered to be the emotions, attitude, satisfaction, and overall outlook of staff during their time in a workplace environment. Effective productivity is thought to be directly related to the motivation of your staff. Staff who are happy and positive at work are said to have positive or high staff morale. Companies that maintain staff who are dissatisfied and negative about their work environment are said to have negative or low staff morale.
A staff member who is happy in their workplace, who is externally and internally motivated, is a productive one. - Astrowave
The Theories Behind Motivation
Motivation is crucial to getting our staff stimulated and happy in the workplace. There are many theories that have been developed over the past few years which are believed to play a factor in motivation when it comes to people, and more specifically in this case, a staff member's motivation and work morale. Let’s take a look at 2 theoretical foundations, firstly Hertzberg’s Two-Factor Theory.
Although we are in 2021, 1950’s theories still seem to apply! In the 1950’s Hertzberg developed the Two-Factor theory of Motivation which was based on research that motivation and hygiene both influence an employee's satisfaction.
Managers may use hygiene factors like salary or job security as tools to motivate staff to perform and that may be a successful motivator in the short term. Hertzberg’s Theory suggests that offering perks like a flexible work schedule and opportunities for promotion, advancement, and further learning can be much more effective for high staff morale in the long term, provided that your organisation removes any poor hygiene factors that cause staff dissatisfaction.
Staff satisfaction and motivation will impact how productive they are.. - Astrowave
The Expectancy Theory
The second historical (1964) yet relevant theory that we see occurring today is the Vroom Expectancy Theory of Motivation. Vroom's theory tells us that people will perform based on what they expect the outcome to be. For example, a person is more likely to work harder if they are told they can work a shorter amount of time, rather than if the staff assumes this. Similar to incentivising children for doing chores with chocolate or pocket money.
The Expectancy theory is based on three elements;
Therefore, according to the theory, people are likely to work harder if there is a reward in place for their output (Possibly more than just their salary).
Remember that rewards are not only given in monetary value, but can also be in the form of flexi work. A reward can be anything, if the staff is satisfied with the benefit then they will give their best in completing the task. If staff are provided a flexi work schedule and told if they finish a task within a certain amount of time, shorter than that of a 9 hour working day, they will push to meet this deadline to reap the rewards of going home earlier. This should then hopefully result in higher work turnover and higher productivity.
Staff are likely to work harder if there is a reward in return. - Astrowave
If you are like us and want to have a process in place to ensure your staff are aware your prioritse their morale whilst working for your business, connect with us and we can chat about the best way to do this… hint hint it might possibly be in an Astrowave portal!