Morale is a mental condition of a man or a group that determines the success or failure of their work. Morale may differ from men to men. An individual may have low morale but as a member of a group may have high morale. Persons with high morale are more productive than the others with low morale.
With the growth of large scale industries and business organizations, the morale of employees is recognized as one of the vital elements of productivity. In many underdeveloped and developing countries, low morale of employees often hamper productivity of the organization. This is generally due to employees’ dislike toward the executive leadership and their lack of confidence in top management. They always feel that they are not getting their rightful dues from the management. This leads towards conflict causing loss of productivity. Illiteracy, lack of skilled workers, unfair labor practices of trade unions, political interferences and the indifferent attitude of management are the main reasons of this dissatisfaction.
Morale is an intangible element and difficult to identify but it is a powerful force in an organization. There are direct and indirect ways of measuring it. Direct measurement includes discussions, attitude survey, interviews, observations etc. Indirect measures are analysis of grievance cases, accidents, turn over, observations, and breakdown and so on.
By carrying out periodical survey, the weak spots like training needs, grievances and bad policies of the management can be determined. As the productivity of an organization is directly related to the moral of the employees, the management is responsible to keep the morale at optimum level. The process of stimulating interest and building up morale are the important task of leadership.
A good co-operation and full confidence in between the employees and employers are essential for the greater interest of the organization. As such, the management should be careful about the following matters related with the welfare of the employees.
How to ensure high morale of employees in an organization
i) Grievances, if any, should be settled within the shortest time, if possible at lower level of authority.
ii) The aggrieved person should be allowed to see higher authority for justice if necessary.
iii) Disciplinary action should be minimized and unnecessary posting should be avoided.
iv) Rightful dues must be paid in time.
v) Amenities related to service facilities like promotion, leave, working condition, compensation etc. should be ensured without any prejudice.
vi) Friendly atmosphere should be created so that the employees feel interest in their work and remain loyal to the management.
Finally, the employees should be recognized as a part of management. Only by winning the heart of the employees, an organization can achieve its desired goal.