morale of an employee

1. Morale
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2. Contents
• Introduction
• Meaning of morale
• Importance of morale
• Morale and productivity
• Measurement of employee morale
• Indices of low morale
• Improving morale
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3. Introduction
• Morale is defined as a feeling of enthusiasm, zeal,
confidence in individuals or groups that they will be
able to handle the tasks given to them.
• It is the ability of the group to work together to
achieve a common objective.
• High morale produces high efficiency in the
organization.
• Morale is purely emotional.
• It is an attitude of employee towards his job, his
superior and his organisation.
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4. Definition
• Edwin B. Flippo defines morale as “a mental
condition or attitude of individuals and groups,
which determines their willingness to co-operate.
• Michael J. Jucius defines “Morale as a state of
mind or of a willingness to work which in turn
affects individuals and organisational objectives.
• Joseph D. Mooney defines “Morale is the sum
total of several psychological qualities which
include courage, fortitude, resolution, and above
all confidence.”
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5. IMPORTANCE OF MORALE
• It contributes to sound superior-subordinate
relations.
• It leads to employee satisfaction and
commitment.
• It reduces employee grievances.
• Morale helps the employees to build teams
easily to maximize their contribution.
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6. Morale results in
• Team building
• High level commitment, sincerity and employee
loyalty.
• Increase in employee pride.
• Sound superior- subordinate relations.
• Employee empowerment
• Reduction in accidents, grievances, industrial
conflicts.
• Reduction in absenteeism and labour turnover. 6

7. Individual and Group Morale
• An individual Morale becomes high or low
based on individual’s way of understanding
the life, his expectations, achievement.
• Group Morale in the collective enthusiasm
and zeal to work together by all the members.
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8. The factors on which the morale of an employee
depends are classified as follows:
– The employee’s background: It includes his
education level and personality. These affect the
way in which he tries to fulfill his needs for
belonging, esteem and self-realization.
– The employee’s personal environment: It includes
his relations with his family, friend and neighbors.
Employee’s home and social life affect his thinking
and attitude while on the job.
– Management practices influencing morale: It
includes an organization’s policies and procedures
regarding wages, promotions, working conditions,
handling grievances, disciplinary actions.
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9. Factors affecting Morale
1) The Organisation itself:
• The size of the organisation, its goals,
expansion, diversifications, opportunities for
career development improves Employee’s
morale.
• If the organisation is small and sick industry,
without any public reputation, no career
growth, the morale of employees are badly
affected.
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10. 2) The Nature of Work:
• If the job and work are routine, without any
challenges, then the employees develop
boredom and monotony which affect employee
morale very badly.
• If the works are challenging, calling for high
creativity with innovations which develops
employee progress, then the morale increases.
3) Level of Satisfaction:
• If employees have good job satisfaction then the
employees will have improved morale.
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11. 4) Supervision:
• The level of supervision received by an employee has a
tremendous influence on his morale.
• High rate of employee turnover indicates that the
leadership is ineffective.
• On the hand, if employee are given freedom to do the job,
their morale will be high. Nobody likes to be supervised all
the time.
5) Concept of Self:
• The morale of persons who have lots of self-confidence or
who enjoy good mental and physical health is generally
high as compared to those who lack self-confidence or
suffer from poor physical or mental health.
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12. 6) Rewards and Future Opportunities:
• Employees always look past rewards and expect increase in
salary. They always count future growth.
• If these are existing in the organisation, then the employee
morale will be high, failing of which result in low morale.
7) Employees Age:
• Studies have reported that age and morale are directly related.
• Other things being equal, elder employees seem to have
higher morale.
• This is because of the reason that perhaps younger workers are
more dissatisfied with higher expectations than their elders.
• The older employees have more stability which comes with
maturity, a serious attitude towards job, more reliability, less
absenteeism, a sense or responsibility and loyalty.
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13. 8) Employee Educational and Occupational Level:
• If employees are highly qualified, but placed on Jobs in
organisations which are very poor compared to his
expectatons, then their morale will be low.
• But if employees with low to moderate education then
they are satisfied if jobs are well secured. Their morale
will be high.
9) Employees Activities:
• Employee personal activities do affect organisational
activities.
• If an employee’s job activities are bad like monetary
indebtedness, unhappy family life, vices like alcoholism,
gambling do affect his organisatonal life resulting
infrequent absenteeism, tardiness and poor morale. 13

14. Morale and Productivity
• Morale directly affects productivity.
• A group’s productivity depends on many factors and
one of them is morale i.e. the general state of mind of
the members of the group.
• High morale may not always be the cause of high
productivity, but a group with high productivity has
high morale.
• A morale building organization fully utilizes the skill,
initiative, judgment and training of its members.
• This helps to improve the qualities and abilities of all
people and the organization is able to succeed and
grow.
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15. Measurement of Employee Morale
• Morale can be measured by assessing attitudes and
job satisfaction.
• Morale is not physical, so it cannot be directly
measured.
• It can be measured with the help of general feeling
appraisal or scientific efforts.
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16. Method of Measuring Morale
The most commonly used methods for
measuring morale are:
1. The supervisor/executive’s
impressions
2. The guided interview
3. The unguided interview
4. Combination of guided and unguided
interview
5. Analysis of company records
6. The “listening-in” process
7. The questionnaire
8. A combination of any of the previous
methods
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17. 1.General Impression of the Supervisor
• Some supervisors are very close to their
employees and hence know their attitudes.
• They know how to get things done from
them.
• Some executives are very inspirational and
thus they can develop high morale.
• Executives should be encouraged to sense
the morale situation and should be provided
with more accurate tools to measure
employee morale.
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18. 2.The Guided Interview
• It is based on the belief that employees’
answers to some questions give an idea about
their attitudes.
• The questions are selected in such a manner
that they give a true picture of what
employee feels.
• The interviewer conducts the interview in
such a way that the employee’s answers give
the desired information.
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19. 3.The Unguided Interview
• It is based on the belief
that if employees are
allowed to talk freely, they
will disclose the true
situation if the interviewer
is able to relate what is
said to the basic causes.
• It is assumed that if the
employee is allowed to talk
about a given problem or
work situation without any
questioning by the
interviewer, he will become
aware of the logic in the
situation and take an
appropriate action. 19
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20. 4.A combination of Guided and Unguided Interview
• To combine the two methods, the interviewer may
start with the guided interview which should be
short.
• The interviewer then discusses any subject that he
may like to talk about.
• During guided interview some people bring
insignificant material with them that has no relation
to the information required.
• The interviewer should observe such cases and
encourage the interviewee to follow up these leads
during the unguided position of the interview.
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21. 5.Company Records and Reports
• These are prepared by the personnel department
regularly with the help of supervisors and
department heads.
• Normally grievances and complaints tell the state of
morale of a group provided that they are not
artificially created.
• Excessive absenteeism and slowness are an indication
of morale conditions.
• Labor turnover indicates labor unrest or morale,
specially during a period of labor turnover.
• This analysis is difficult and may not always be
reliable as a measure of morale.
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22. 6.Listening-in By Trained Observer
• This technique is developed by Whiting Williams of
Cleveland, Ohio. It can be called “Whiting Williams
Method”.
• He has the ability to make his observations objective
(Impartial) that is very unusual in men doing such
work.
• But it is very difficult to find people who have the
required scientific approach to do this work.
• Such observers may report what their employers
want them to report, instead of the true situation.
• This method is thus not satisfactory.
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23. 7.The Questionnaire Method
• This method is used to collect employee opinions
about the factors that affect their morale.
• Morale surveys are conducted to
– Find what the employees really think.
– Find the education and information they need.
– Improve morale and maintain effectiveness of
personnel programmes.
– Find the training needs of employees.
– Find what employees like.
• The questions may be multiple choice, dichotomous
(yes or no) and open ended questions.
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24. 8.Conducting the Survey
• Management may hire an outside
consultant to conduct the survey.
• Here, the consultant is
introduced to the employees and
employees are assured that he
will not disclose an individual’s
answers to others.
• In some cases, the employees may
be given questionnaires in a
stamped envelope.
• These envelopes are addressed to
some management consultant or
college professor for tabulating
the results.
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25. Measurement of Employee Morale
• Low morale is not noticed unless it is too
low or something goes wrong.
• When management realizes the
presence of low morale, it is faced with
crisis.
• Perceptive managers constantly look for
clues that indicate any decrease in
employee morale.
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26. Signals of Low Morale
Dale Yoder and others have given the
following signs of low morale:
1.Employee unrest
2.High rate of absenteeism
3.Tardiness
4.High employee turnover
5.Grievances
6.Need for discipline
7.Fatigue and monotony 26
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27. Improving Morale
• Many measures can be used to control the signals of
low morale.
• The positive measures that can be used to bring job
satisfaction to the employees and unite individual
interests with organizational interests are
– Creation of whole jobs
– Job enrichment
– Building responsibility into a job
– Modifying the work environment
– Flexing working hours
– Job-sharing
– Rotation of jobs
– Profit-sharing
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28. • 1.Creation of whole jobs: Under this method, complete jobs
are assigned to workers. The complexity of the job is increased
so that it fulfills their higher needs.
• 2.Job enrichment: Under this method depth of the job is
increased. Individual employees are given responsibility to set
their own pace of work and decide on the best way to do the
work.
• 3.Building responsibility into a job: Employees are encouraged
to take decisions involving risk.
• 4.Modifying the work environment: Work environment can be
modified by
– Developing work groups
– Developing social contacts of employees
– Use of music
– Giving regular rest breaks
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29. • 5.Flexing working hours: This allows employees to set their
work hours according to their personal needs and life-styles.
Such employees are responsible for coordinating their functions
with other employees and hence have more responsibility and
autonomy.
• 6.Job-sharing: Two workers divide a full time job between
themselves. They divide working hours and salary.
• 7.Rotation of jobs: This is done to prevent employee from
getting bored due to repetitive nature of his work.
• 8.Profit-sharing: Good profit-sharing practices improve
employee morale. Profit sharing has economic as well as
psychological aspects. Economic aspect means monetary gain.
Psychological aspect is related to friendly step by the
management in providing workers a share in the profits.
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30. Morale can also be improved by-----
• Using measures like employee contests
• Giving special recognition to employees
• Providing long service awards to employees
• Organizing film shows for employees during lunch
hour
• Giving free coffee during breaks
• Training the supervisors in how to handle people
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