11 Affordable Employee-Morale Boosters

This article comes from Entrepreneur.

11 Affordable Employee-Morale Boosters

When people feel valued, trust is fostered. When companies create flexible work environments, people feel empowered to lead their own lives and careers. When people are given options, the message they receive is that they are valued. Here are 11 ways you can relay that message without breaking your company’s budget.

1. Lead with vision.

When leaders tap into the human desire to connect to individual and collective greatness, they articulate their business’s destination, and when employees can connect to the future of the company, it creates a sense of ownership.

2. Express appreciation.

A personal acknowledgment of a job well done can go a long way in building trust between employees and management. Glassdoor conducted an appreciation survey reporting that 53 percent of employees stay at their jobs longer if they sense a level of appreciation from their boss. In a Psychology Today study, 76 percent of employees identified peer praise as a motivating factor. Public recognition is one of the most significant ways to inspire people and encourage others to build a culture of safety and belonging.

3. Learn and grow.

When companies don’t offer learning and growth opportunities, workers will take professional development into their own hands by seeking other companies that do. LinkedIn’s 2018 Workplace Learning Report discovered that 94 percent of employees would stay with a company longer if it invested in their career.

Whether education comes in the form of a conference, learning summit or online course, investing in the development of a leadership program provides an opportunity for younger talent to hone their management skills before they step up to a weightier title.

4. Lead conversations.

One way of being proactive about growth and development is to create a space in which senior leaders can facilitate group professional-development sessions. Bringing staff members together to discuss personal-development topics delivers the message that you care.

5. Build teams.

Team-building takes many forms, be it a full day out of the office, monthly hour-long lunch-and-learn or integrating gamification into everyday workplaces. Any of these scenarios open channels of communication for when everyone returns to the office, breaking down barriers between departments and instilling confidence in your team that everyone matters.

6. Capitalize on key dates.

Throughout the year, several holidays can be used as a basis to celebrate with your team. Halloween, Christmas and even the Oscars are occasions when the office can identify a theme day and get into the spirit of the event. Sometimes it can be as simple as capitalizing on a TGI Friday by allowing your team to leave early. Another option is to promote smaller and less official holidays, like Bring Your Dog To Work Day, to liven up your workplace.

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