Employee Morale Crushers

Employee morale is one of the most important but difficult things to manage. It is important to maintain high morale in order to retain employees. Below are some one the most common reasons as to why employees are dissatisfied.

1. Managers that treat employees poorly. Often times moral issues are a result of poor management. An example of this is when a manager causes an employee to feel that his/work is not valued or respected and that the employee is “lucky” to have the job.

2. Unclear expectations. If employees do not have a clear goal that they are working toward, they are likely to become discouraged and frustrated. Managers should provide employees with frequent feedback so that employees understand what is expected of them.

3. Lack of communication. Communication is extremely important, especially in times of change. Employees should be able to communicate up the chain of command and feel that they are being heard and that their opinions matter.

4. Not feeling recognized for hard work. Most employees desire to have their efforts recognized in some way. Recognition gives employees confirmation that they are meeting expectations and encourages them to take pride in their work.

5. Lack of trust to complete the work. Another word for this is micromanagement. Most employees would prefer to do their job to their best of their abilities without having a manager constantly question their actions. However, it is important for employees to feel that they are able to ask questions without having to face a negative reaction.

6. An unreasonable workload. Although most employees understand that workloads may fluctuate, demanding an employee to keep up with an unreasonable amount of work for a long period of time will cause him/her to be burnt-out and resentful.

7. High turnover rates. High turnover rates puts stress on the entire company and extra pressure on the remaining employees when they have to take on the extra work. If the turnover rates are a result of employees being terminated, existing employees may lose confidence in their job security.