Poor Job Morale

Dear FHA,

I'm a manager at company and oversee the order processing department. Unfortunately they have a monotonous job that gets very little recognition, as well as being pressure driven at times. There seems to be an issue with the morale of these people and I wondered if you had some ideas on how to make them "perk-up"?

Sincerely,
Confused Supervisor


Dear Confused Supervisor,

Sounds like you have a group of people that for one reason or another feel trapped in their jobs and under appreciated. With the current economic situation, its quite likely that they are nearing their threshold for the job, but are left with little options in terms of securing new, perhaps more fulfilling employment. Here are some tips you can follow to "perk-up", as you put it, your underlings.

1. Reward exceptional performance. The best way to keep employees working at their peak of efficiency is with rewards. The best reward I can think of giving a model employee is more work. This may not raise the moral of that particular employee, but it will raise the morale of the rest of the department. The more you work one person does, the less the group has to. Consequently more people get a break and are happier as a whole. One caveat of this is to not compensate your strong employee monetarily. Should word get out to the rest of the department, everyone will come with their hand out. If you should chose to give something other than more work as a reward try something paltry and of no real value. Perhaps a plastic toy that you attach some sort of significance to via a PowerPoint slide you show at all the weekly meetings. Sure, it may just be a toy, but it symbolizes the fact you did a good job, we noticed, and still chose to give you really nothing at all in return. Also, by constantly pushing the bounds of your standout's capabilities, there is a possibility of causing them to create an even more efficient way to accomplish the extra work. Should this prove to be the case, reward them again. Under no circumstance should this person be promoted from the position they have proved to be invaluable at.

2. Get feedback from your employees. By listening to their concerns and suggestions, its easy to get your finger on the pulse of dissatisfaction. Have them fill out long questionnaires, bring suggestions to meetings, and discuss issues in weekly one-on-one sessions. Once you have all of these issues compiled and written down, take the list to your backyard and set it on fire. Think of all their issues as venting. Its like writing letters to your loved one that you really don't mean. Just letting them get it off their chest should be sufficient to quell their unrest. If that doesn't seem to work, then offer them the opportunity to address the issue and all the work associated with the fix as a reward. There is nothing more rewarding than finding a problem, determining the solution, and then having to implement the change up through the chain of command all while maintaining your normal work volume. If it is something that you feel would benefit the company as a whole, and possibly garner some attention from your superiors, tweak it ever so slightly and send it up as a joint idea. That way you can shoulder the burden of jealously that one person in the department would be forced to carry should any monetary compensation come of it.

3. Lead by example. The best way to have your employees know what their expectations are is by seeing them demonstrated by their superiors. Make sure to show up to work on time, but more importantly, make sure to leave on time. Let them know that under no circumstances would you be willing to put in more than 40 hours at this job. If you're in a profession where the volume of work dictates how long some people may have to stay, make sure you pit your subordinates against each other. Guilt over a co-worker having to miss his third date in a row because he had to stay late will more than likely inspire others to stay and pitch in. This also allows you the freedom to clock out at exactly 5 PM after spending the last two hours of the afternoon looking at LOL cats. When several employees finally voice concern over this issue, make sure to address it in a departmental meeting to foster even more guilt among fellow co-workers, however don't offer any of your own time. This also gives your pool a chance to work without a boss breathing down their neck, and the opportunity to put on the "boss shoes" and get a feel for what it's like doing your job, by doing your job, every night.

4. Record progress and offer assistance in trouble areas. By identifying patterns of errors you are better able to find a solution for the small missteps that your group may be making. Once these are overcome, the overall efficiency of the pool will be higher making everyone's moral higher. Make sure to question everything that your employees do. Even if it makes perfect sense to you, and literally is in writing on their order, question it just the same. This will help develop a sense of helplessness and personal worthlessness. Once this has manifested in them they will be on the verge of emotional collapse. Make sure to distance yourself from your actions. The best way to do this is to have horrible communication between supervisors. Let them know it wasn't your choice and they should talk to Boss B. When they talk to Boss B they will use the same tactic stating it was Boss C's decision. This should lead them in a run-around that frustrates them enough for them to drop the issue. Let them know you are a cool person who is just following the command of "the man". This way you maintain their confidence as a decent human being. Which leads into the final tip...

5. Be a human being at work. It feels good to see your boss show a human side at work. It makes you easier to relate to and less like the evil figure head. Feel free to admit a mistake to your underlings when you have made one. However never admit this in writing or around your superior. The reason for this is to gain the confidence of your employees. Once you have their confidence they will be more likely to relay to you when they have made a mistake, show up late because of a hang-over, or are looking for a new job. With all this information you can use it against them whenever they try to make push for change to your system.

There are just a few of the gems that you can try to get your employees back into that happy groove you no doubt enjoy! If this doesn't work, start firing them one by one until you only have happy people left.

Sincerely,
FHA