We talk a lot about the importance of high office morale and focusing on your employees as people first and foremost. We know that by doing that, increased productivity is a very welcome side effect. 

There are of course many other reasons why focusing morale is key, but one of the main plus points is an increase in creative suggestions, ideas and problem-solving endeavours. But, why is that?

Why does high morale mean new ideas and suggestions and why does it mean better quality collaboration around the boardroom furniture?

It all comes down to the way you feel. 

Think about this in personal terms.

When you feel upbeat and positive, do you feel like anything is possible? Yes. 

Do you feel like you have the confidence to speak up? Yes. 

Do you feel as though new ideas pop into your head and you’re able to add new elements onto them to create a rough outline of something which could turn out to be a real game-changer? Probably so.

When people feel positive, brainstorming and collaboration are far more effective and far easier to do. Everything seems less complicated and as a result, thoughts flow more easily too. 

Check out this infographic which talks about how simple brainstorming can be, and when morale is high, you’ll find that it hits every single one of these points. 

Source - http://creativitywise.com/blogpost-brainstorming-made-simple/

It comes down to confidence too. 

A positive working environment breeds confident and happy employees. 

When you’re sitting at your office chair, you’ll feel like you’re part of something; when you’re around the modern boardroom tables, you won’t feel worried about participating, and you won’t be scared that if you speak up, someone will shoot you down or make fun of your idea. It’s an inclusive and encouraging environment which is a breeding ground for new ideas and creative solutions to problems. 

How Does All of This Benefit a Business?

Do you think that managers are the only ones who have good ideas?

Of course not. 

There is the old adage that “two heads are better than one”, but how about ten or more heads? Can you imagine the potential for ideas and suggestions when there are more people?

When morale is high and ideas are flowing, confidence takes everything to another level. Whilst not every idea that comes out of the collaboration is likely to be something you can move forward with, there are certainly going to be some which could turn out to be serious contenders. It’s also possible that one of those ideas could be developed into something which could take your business to the next level and overtake your competitors. 

All it takes is a seedling of an idea. From there, other employees can add to it, and it snowballs into something which one single person would probably never have thought of. 

Within autocratic management styles, this type of collaboration doesn’t occur, and ideas and decisions are created and made by management only. However, if you have a democratic or laissez faire management style, you’re able to open up collaboration and brainstorming to the rest of your team. When you do this, the possibilities for ideas are endless.

Of course, you also have to let your employees know that any ideas or suggestions they put forward will be taken seriously and listened to. It’s no good allowing people to speak freely with their ideas and then pushing them to one side and not allowing them to be developed or seriously considered. 

There is real potential for business growth when morale is high, and much of that comes down to not only productivity levels increasing, but the sheer number of possible game-changing ideas that come your way. By developing a team working, encouraging and positive working environment, one which focuses on the wellbeing of the employee first and foremost, the sky really will be the limit.