Top Causes of Low Employee Morale at the Office

Keeping your employees happy helps your business to be successful. Learn the top causes of low employee morale, including how seasonality like the winter blues can have an impact on morale.

Employee morale is a crucial factor in the success of any organization. When employee morale is high, your team is likely to be more engaged, productive, and committed to their jobs. On the other hand, when employee morale is low, it can have a significant impact on the company's bottom line. In this article, we will explore the causes of low employee morale and provide solutions to improve it.

How Can Seasonality Impact Employee Morale?

Many companies have some type of seasonality in the way their business ebbs and flows. But did you know that the actual seasons can impact your business as well? SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) is a type of depression that people experience during the winter months when daylight hours are shorter and the weather tends to be colder. If people on your team experience SAD symptoms, this can often lead to a decrease in their employee morale.  

When morale is low, the obvious result is disengaged employees and a suffering business. And don't just trust us about how low morale can really cost you. According to Gallup, teams with low engagement can have employee turnover rates that are 18% to 43% higher than teams with high engagement. And replacing an employee is expensive — the cost can often range from one-half to two times the employee's annual salary. When employee morale is high, your team members are less likely to look for new jobs, which saves the company money and helps the business reach its goals.

Clearly, keeping your team engaged and their morale high is well worth the effort. As a leader, it's important to understand causes of low employee morale, such as SAD, and look out for the signs. That way, if it’s happening in your company, you’ll be able to recognize it right away and work toward solutions.  

Top Causes of Low Employee Morale & How To Avoid Them

1. Lack of Communication & Clear Instruction 

Effective communication is crucial to motivating your team, driving strong results, and avoiding misunderstandings. On the flip side?  When employees don’t know exactly what they should be doing for a certain task, they’ll feel unstable and unsure. A lack of effective communication isolates team members and closes off the open flow of ideas.  

2. Lack of Trust

Trust is important for a positive company culture, and it's directly related to employee morale. Deloitte found that 79% of employees who trust their employers feel motivated to work, while only 29% feel motivated to work when they don't trust their employer.  If your employees don’t trust you, they won’t feel invested in the business. Build a culture of trust. Say what you mean and follow through. Which goes hand in hand with...

3. Dishonesty

When team members or leaders are dishonest, employees don’t trust them. If there is no trust, there is no effective teamwork and morale is low. It's as simple as that.

4. Micromanagement 

Constantly peeking over your employees’ shoulders can make them feel nervous and stressed.If you don’t give your employees the space to freely do their work in the way that feels most comfortable for them, they won’t be doing their best.  Find the perfect balance, one that allows you to manage your team effectively, but also gives them some space.

5. No Team Bonding

When employees don’t feel connected to their coworkers, they don’t feel connected to the business as a whole. Conversely, if they are bonded with their team, they are more likely to enjoy being at work, as well as the work they do. Make time for your team to bond together with team bonding activities at (and outside of) work.

6. Lack of Praise or Thanks

Saying thank you, or recognizing a team member’s good work, can go a long way. When you rarely say thank you or “great job!” employees may start to feel like their work doesn’t matter, and morale goes down. While many people might say they don’t need this kind of recognition, it really helps to boost self esteem. And high self esteem leads to high morale.

7. Lack of Training

It’s one thing to have independence within your position, but when we feel as if we are floundering and without guidance, our morale sinks. Make sure you train your employees adequately and that they feel there is a support system behind them.

8. Lack of Acceptance for Responsibility

When employees don’t feel respected, they don’t like being at work — period.

9. Disrespect

When employees don’t feel respected, they don’t like being at work- period.

10. Unrealistic Goal Setting

If you set a goal employees cannot reach, all their hard work will be for naught. They won’t be able to reach it, their confidence will be dashed, and morale will go down. Meet with your team members regularly and set goals they can reach; those goals can always be set higher, as time goes by. Which brings us to...

11. Inadequate Supervisory Meetings

If you don’t schedule regular meetings between you and your direct reports, employees may feel a bit lost. They might not know if they are doing things right or wrong, and will lack guidance. Their work will suffer, whether it’s because they in fact aren’t doing something right, or they just don’t know. Even if everything is going fine, supervisory meetings can help you and your employees stay on track. And when issues come up, your employees will have a venue in which to voice it.

Employees Feel Supported with Justworks

If any of these morale killers are present at your office, recognize it and take steps to fix the issues ASAP! One place to start is to take regular employee happiness surveys. You can also use our tips for boosting team morale. Working on your team’s morale will make your office a better place to work, which will lead to fabulous returns for your company.

Another important step to take toward high employee morale and engagement is to make sure you pay people on time and offer great benefits and perks. It's easy for even small businesses and startups with solutions like Justworks PEO and Justworks Payroll. Our tools help you manage and automate payroll, and access employee benefits like medical, dental, and vision insurance for your team. If you're ready to learn more, get started today.