{"id":172074,"date":"2024-12-13T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-12-13T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/?p=172074"},"modified":"2024-12-12T16:35:37","modified_gmt":"2024-12-12T21:35:37","slug":"boosting-employee-morale-it-is-often-not-just-about-the-money","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/2024\/12\/boosting-employee-morale-it-is-often-not-just-about-the-money\/","title":{"rendered":"Boosting employee morale: It is often not just about the money"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Many businesses are plagued with low staff morale, which can range from mild to grave. An often suggested solution is to increase salaries and benefits, but that may not result in a long-term or sustainable fix to the problem.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Tech companies, often at the forefront of innovation, can paradoxically experience significant challenges with staff morale. This issue can impede creativity, productivity, and long-term success. This issue was highlighted in an article published in the Bahamas last week<\/a> in which a local tech Chief Executive Officer (CEO) was encouraging fellow businesses that have the means \u201cto use Christmas bonuses to boost staff morale this year, and to continue to retain staff<\/em>\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The CEO, whose company developed a platform \u201cto fill the digital solutions void for human resources professionals<\/em>\u201d, highlighted that other businesses might be giving bonuses to help retain skilled staff whilst putting those that do not at a disadvantage.  He was thus encouraging a digital approach to performance review (such as his product), which can facilitate the requisite evaluation and calculate the incentives and bonuses to be awarded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although the CEO may have meant well in suggesting that businesses use Christmas bonuses as a means of boosting staff morale, generally, the contributing factors to staff morale can be complex and nuanced. In other words, money may not solve this issue, but might just act as a temporary fix.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this article, we highlight some of the causes of low morale, especially in the tech space, and some effective strategies that can be implemented to create environments where employees thrive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Reason #1:  High workload and burnout<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The tech industry is notorious for its demanding work culture, characterised by tight deadlines and long hours. In startups and small businesses especially, the teams are small, with the members wearing many hats. Although the work might be exciting, in those situations, a lot of personal sacrifices often need to be made, which can lead to mental health challenges, strained personal relationships and deep fatigue. Over time, such pressures can lead to burnout, leaving employees feeling exhausted and undervalued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Reason #2:  Lack of career growth opportunities<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Skilled and ambitious individuals are often an asset to employers. They are willing to engage in continuous learning to remain relevant and on the cutting edge, and often, they are also eager for career advancement. However, in small and even medium-sized organisations, the scope for promotion can be limited to non-existent in the Caribbean region in particular.  Although salary increases might help (for a while), employees may still feel stagnant and demotivated, which can still result in low staff morale \u2013 even though are being paid above the industry norm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Reason #3:  Poor leadership and communication<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Although an individual might thrive in the hardscrabble of starting a business and trying to build it from the ground up, once it becomes more established and is in the process of building out the organisation, a different dynamic often comes into play. The informal, fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants approach that allowed the start-up to be agile, responsive and gain a foothold in the market, needs to give way to procedures and structures that allow team members to work together efficiently and effectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ineffective management, unclear expectations, and lack of feedback can cause employees to become frustrated. Further, if there is a lack of open communication the disconnect between staff and leadership becomes exacerbated, which once again, can result in low staff morale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Reason #4:  Toxic work culture<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Coupled with the previous point, a toxic work culture is a factor that is overlooked, as it may not be obvious, such as a gross disregard for staff welfare that could justify government intervention, such as through the labour ministry or the police. Instead, it may be evident through the following examples.<\/p>\n\n\n\n