How can I improve my team’s morale?

Welcome to Pressing Questions, Fast Company’s workplace advice column. Every week, deputy editor Kathleen Davis, host of The New Way We Work podcast, will answer the biggest and most pressing workplace questions.

Q: How can I improve my team’s morale?

A: Team morale isn’t an extra or a “nice to have.” It’s critical to a functioning company. And it’s not looking good out there. According to the latest Gallup report, only 36% of employees say they feel engaged at work. That means 64% of employees are feeling some degree of unhappy at work.

Low morale can take a lot of different forms—from feeling less enthusiastic, less motivated, or less satisfied with work, all the way to feeling burned out, apathetic, and resentful.

It probably goes without saying that when employees have low morale they do a worse job. Not only are they less productive, but they’re certainly not feeling inspired to come up with creative or innovative ideas, and they’re more likely to quit or spread the negative vibes to the rest of the office.

If you’re a manager, here are three things you can do to help boost your team’s morale:

Treat your employees like adults

The number-one bad boss complaint is micromanaging. Most people like to have a sense of autonomy in their work lives. At the same time, most people crave structure. So the best thing a manager can do is give their employees clear (and reasonable) expectations, and get out of their way.

That doesn’t mean you are absentee, it means you make yourself available to help address questions and issues, and set up regular check-ins, but otherwise trust that employees will complete their work in their own way. (Remember, that might not be how you would do it.)

One important part of that equation is letting employees work where they work best. Many surveys have found that employees want more flexibility to work from home, while more bosses are demanding they come into the office. Unless there is a compelling need for someone to be in the office, an easy way to boost morale and give employees a sense that you trust them is to trust them to get their work done even if they aren’t clocking eight hours in a cubicle.  

Make people feel like they belong

Remember the Great Resignation? Back in 2021, when people were quitting their jobs at a higher rate, there were a lot of contributing factors. But beyond the obvious things—like fair pay, benefits, flexibility, and work-life balance—there was a deeper issue that hasn’t gone away just because the job market has tightened. One of the top reasons people resigned during that period was that they didn’t feel a sense of belonging at work.

Especially in a climate where the very concept of equity and inclusion is under attack, it’s important to help employees feel like their workplace is a place where they are valued. 

Contributor Mita Mallick says that one way to help employees feel included is to be intentional about building community. “Share regular updates and ensure people feel like they are part of the mission,” she advises. “Talk about your organization’s failures and struggles, and celebrate the big and small wins. Make everyone feel like they own a piece of the mission to deepen engagement and commitment.”

Another tip from Mallick: To make sure new hires feel included, pair them with current employees and help facilitate introductions to employees in other parts of your company. If your company has employee resource groups, that’s another good place to help employees build community. 

Add perks that show meaningful appreciation

Oftentimes management’s ideas of “perks” and “fun” make employees roll their eyes. Awkward happy hours and cheesy employee appreciation events do little to boost employee morale because they don’t feel genuine or give employees something they really value. What do employees actually value? Time, money, and genuine appreciation.

There are pretty simple and low-cost ways you can give all of those things. To give the gift of time, consider offering summer Fridays, or even a year-round four-day workweek. Fewer working hours doesn’t have to mean less work getting done. It will likely mean that people will be more efficient (and less tired) in the time that they are at work.

Another way to give the gift of time is the option for remote work. Not only does it give employees more autonomy (see above), it cuts down on commute time, giving people back an hour or two of their day.

The gift of money might seem hard in lean times, but if you can’t give raises as you have in the past, you might still be able to offer monthly spot bonuses for those who do exceptional work.

Finally, genuine appreciation costs you nothing and can go a long way. If employees have low morale it’s likely that they feel what they do isn’t noticed and doesn’t matter. Remembering and recognizing work anniversaries and life events is baseline for employees to feel seen. Praising and celebrating work is equally important—and not just the big splashy projects that bring in money. Pay attention to those who solve problems, toil away at the necessary but unglamorous behind-the-scenes work, manage relationships, and more. 

Want some more advice on building your team’s morale? Here you go:

• Employees who quit have realized this 1 missing thing about their job
• This workplace perk may boost your employees’ morale
• New study finds that hybrid work boosts morale—and profits
• 10 ways managers accidentally destroy team morale

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