From chronic absenteeism to high employee turnover, poor office morale can be devastating to a company’s bottom line and lead to a downward spiral of disciplinary actions, terminations, and lost productivity.
While negative employees can clearly contribute to a bad office environment, management blunders are often the root cause of the problem. If employee incentives and team building exercises are no longer making an impact, consider whether the following management bluders are ruining morale in your office.
1. Favoritism
While managers always have a few key employees they count on to complete difficult assignments, repeatedly choosing favorites for desirable assignments and promotions will definitely sour office morale. Employees expect managers to be fair and transparent in their decision making. There’s nothing worse for office morale than the belief that the only way to get ahead is to kiss up to the boss. Management should not realistically expect employees to remain loyal to the company if their hard work and dedication is not properly rewarded with promotions that are based on merit instead of favoritism.
2. Unpredictable Changes
While employees recognize that companies have to respond to changes in the marketplace in order to stay in business, they will begin to lose respect for managers who frequently make decisions without planning and preparation. Before setting off on a new path, managers should make sure changes align with long-term business objectives. Employees may feel unmotivated to do their assigned work if they feel like the assignments are unfocused and meaningless.
3. Lack of Communication
There is a huge difference between speaking and communicating. While most employees give managers the benefit of the doubt when it comes to creating business strategy, they need to be consulted before that strategy can become a reality. Given the opportunity, employees often come up with innovative solutions that are far less expensive and easier to implement than traditional top-down or third party alternatives. Managers should be open and receptive to hearing any ideas their employees have instead of adopting an attitude of superiority and refusing to consider other ideas.
4. Micromanagement
There is nothing that numbs the soul more than micromanagement. Encouraging employees to find creative solutions to problems is far more effective than dictating every move. Empowering employees with decision-making authority will go a long way in building morale. Managers can avoid being micro managers by making a conscious effort to give employees their assignments and then getting out of the way to let the employees complete their work. Corrective action should only be taken if the work is not done appropriately.
5. Ignoring hard work
A sure sign of a weak manager is one who takes credit for successes and blames employees for failures. This habit can quickly erode office morale and ensure that the best employees leave for more fulfilling jobs. Managers are rarely responsible for new innovation or success. A good manager, however, can help the best employees bloom. Giving credit where credit is due can really go a long way to increasing employee morale.
