Did you know that the single biggest reasons why employees leave a business is because of poor management?
Employees need to be lead properly, they need to feel supported and listened to, valued and they need to be inspired on a daily basis by a manager who wants to be a role model. They need open communication, reassurance, and to be treated as a person at their office desk, not a number on the payroll.
Poor management is the single biggest reasons why office morale is likely to be low, so when it comes to asking who is to blame for poor morale, surely the buck stops with the manager?
Of course, you can’t completely blame a manager for morale in the office being a little low. Perhaps there has been an office conflict recently and it has turned the morale a little sour. In that case, the employees involved could be slightly to blame, but that would depend upon what the conflict was about. You could also argue that the manager should have effective conflict resolution skills, in order to avoid dips in morale in the first place.
Unfortunately, as a manager, if office morale is low, it’s down to you to figure out why and do something about it. Whether you’re directly to blame or not is a grey area, but a good manager is able to pick up their employees and inspire them towards greatness.
The first question to ask is, are you a good manager?
We’re not trying to be negative here, it’s simply a fact that poor management is a huge issue within the contemporary office environment. If you want to keep hold of your experienced staff and attract new talent along the way, you need to be prepared to learn and develop as a manager.
Check out this infographic which talks about some characteristics you need to avoid as a manager.
Source - https://www.business2community.com/infographics/12-characteristics-horrible-boss-infographic-0926188
Being a high-quality manager and inspiring high morale within the office environment can be as easy as treating your employees as human beings. Do you regularly have your office door closed and do you sit behind your executive office desk without looking up? In that case, do you think your employees feel able to approach you when they feel they have a problem?
Probably not.
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Do you listen to ideas and suggestions that come your way around the boardroom tables, and do you take each one and analyse it carefully before deciding whether or not it’s for you?
Allowing your employees to feel listened to is vital, as well as focusing on their general health and wellbeing. If you can do that, and it’s a really easy thing to do, then you’ll be able to turn the situation around and look forward to a higher morale, higher productivity picture.
The first step? Feedback.
It can be hard as a manager to sit down and ask your employees for feedback, but it’s an important thing to do. By doing this, not only are you gaining an important insight into any areas where you might need to improve, but you’re also showing your employees that you’re willing to learn and develop. One of the key aspects of a quality manager is the ability to be a role model, and there is no greater role model than someone who is happy to admit they don’t know it all.
Once you have that feedback, use it wisely. What areas can you identify which need to be changed, not only in terms of your practice but also in the office itself and where morale could be improved. It’s possible that you have all the answers simply by asking.
Whilst it’s quite harsh to suggest that the blame for low morale sits firmly on the shoulders of the manager, as the one in charge, you have the responsibility to make changes and to look at what could have been done differently in the past.
Use that responsibility wisely.