After reading this article you will learn about:- 1. Meaning of Morale 2. Factors Affecting Morale 3. Forms 4. Measures.
Meaning of Morale:
Morale is a mental condition and attitude of employees, either individually or in a group which determines their willingness to cooperate. Morale can also be defined as the extent to which an individual’s needs are satisfied and the extent to which he feels satisfaction.
Morale is the degree of enthusiasm and willingness with which the individual members of a group set out to perform the allotted tasks.
High morale is the confident spirit of whole-hearted cooperation.
Morale can be defined as, “the cooperative attitude or mental health of a number of people who are related to each other on some basis”.
It can also be defined as, “the capacity of a group of people to pull together persistently in pursuit of a common purpose”.
Thus morale is the degree of enthusiasm and willingness with which the members of a group work to perform their task. Morale represents a composite of feelings, attitudes and sentiments that contribute to general feelings of satisfaction. It is a state of mind and spirit affecting willingness to work, which in turn, affects organisational and individual objectives.
Factors Affecting Morale:
Following are some of the factors which affect the morale:
1. Job Factors:
These may be nature of job, confidence in leadership, confidence in other members of the group, nature of the leader or supervisors, working conditions, condition of working equipment.
2. Other factors:
These may be organisational set-up, working system in the organisation, the way in which organisation/management thinks and work, whether organisation goals are clear, justice with the employees in their selections and promotion, importance given to the individual, rewards, incentives, wage structure etc.
Forms of Morale:
1. High Morale:
High morale is the spirit of whole-hearted cooperation.
High moral means:
(i) Loyalty to the organisation and its leadership
(ii) Good discipline
(iii) High degree of interest in job
(iv) Reasonable initiative from employees
(v) Team spirit.
(vi) No frustration
(vii) Pride in the organisation.
2. Low Morale:
Low morale is the result of:
(i) Wrong or improper selection/placement of employees and supervision.
(ii) Too many supervisors.
(iii) Low motivating factors.
(iv) Improper authority and responsibility.
Results of Low Morale:
(i) Higher rate of absenteeism and labour turnover.
(ii) Friction, jealousy and frustration.
(iii) More complaints and grievances.
(iv) Enmity towards the management.
(v) Poor interpersonal relations.
Measures for Improving Morale:
Following measures have proved to be effective to the process of morale building:
(i) Sound wage structure.
(ii) Good incentive schemes are introduced.
(iii) Competent and disciplined worker should be assured security of income and employment
(iv) Sound promotion policy.
(v) Installation of grievances redressal procedure.
(vi) Consulting the group of workers on the matters related to their work.
(vii) An effective communication system.
(viii) Introduction of suitable suggestion scheme.
(ix) Adequate welfare schemes.
(x) Recreational facilities and social get-together.