THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVE
MORALE
Employee Morale refers to an attitude of satisfaction with a desire to continue and strive for attaining the objectives of a factory. Morale is purely emotional. It is an attitude of an employee towards his job, his superior and his organization. It is not static thing, but it changes depending on working conditions, superiors, fellow workers pay and soon. Morale may range from very high to very low. High Morale is evident from the positive feelings of employees such as enthusiasm desire to obey orders, willingness to co!operate with coworkers. "oor or low Morale becomes obvious from the negative feelings of employees such as dissatisfaction, discouragement or dislike of the job.
Definitions:
Morale is a fundamental psychological concept. It is not easy to define. Morale is the degree of enthusiasm and willingness with which the members of a group pull together to achieve group goal. It has been defined differently by different authors. #ifferent #ifferent definition definition of Morale Morale can be classified into into three major approaches. approaches. $% &lassical approach '% "sychological approach (% )ocial approach
1. Classical approach: approach:
*cco *ccord rdin ing g to this this appr approa oach ch the the satisf satisfac actio tion n of basi basicc need needss is the the symb symbol ol of Mora Morale le.. *ccording *ccording to +obert M. uion -Morale -Morale is defined defined as the etent to which the individual individual perceives that satisfaction stemming from total job satisfaction-.
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. Ps!cholo"ical Approach:
*ccording to this approach Morale is psychological concept i.e., state of mind. *ccording to /urious 0illipo 1Morale is a mental condition or attitude of individual and groups which determines their willingness to cooperate-. #. Social Approach:
*ccording to some eperts morale is a social phenomenon. *ccording to #avis 1Morale can be defined as the attitudes of individual and groups towards their work environment and towards voluntary cooperation to the full etent of their ability in the best interest at the organization-.
I$portance of E$plo!ee Morale Employee
morale
place
vital
role
in
the
organization
success
and low morale brings to defeat in its wake. 2he play of morale is no less importants for and industrial undertaking. 2he success of failure of the industry much depends upon the morale of its employees.
T!pes of Morale I. Hi"h Morale:
It will lead to enthusiasm among the workers for better performance. High Morale is needed a manifestation of the employees strength, dependability pride, confidence and devotion. )ome of the advantages of high Morale such as3 $. 4illing cooperation towards objectives of the organization. '. 5oyalty to the organization and its leadership. (. ood 5eadership. 6. )ound superior subordinate relations.
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7. High degree of employee8s interest in their job and organization.
9. "ribe in the organization :. +eduction in absenteeism and labour turnover. ;. +eduction in grievance. <. +eduction in industrial conflict. $=. 2eam building.
II. Lo% Morale:
5ow Morale indicates the presence of mental unrest. 2he mental unrest not only hampers production but also leads to ill health of the employees. 5ow Morale eists when doubt in suspicion are common and when individuals are depressed and discouraged i.e., there is a lot of mental tension. )uch situation will have the following adverse conse>uences. $. High rates of absenteeism and labour turnover. '. #ecreased >uality. (. #ecreased "roductivity. 6. Ecessive &omplaints and rievances. 7. 0rustration among the workers. 9. 5ack of discipline. :. Increase errors, accidents or injuries. &ACTORS A&&ECTI'( MORALE:
Employee Morale is a very comple phenomenon and is influenced by many factors on the shop floor. )everal criteria seem important in the determinants of levels of workers Morale such as3
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1. O)*ecti+es of the or"ani,ation: Employees are highly motivated and their Morale
is highly if their individual goal and objectives are in tune with organizational goal and objectives.
.
Or"ani,ational -esi"n: ?rganization structure has an impact on the >uality of
labour relation, particularly on the level of Morale. 5arge organization tend to lengthen their channels of vertical communication and to increase the difficulty of upward communication. 2herefore the Morale tends to be lower. *gainst this flat structure increases levels of Morale. #. Personal &actors: It is relating to age, training, education and intelligence of the
employees, time spent by them on the job and interest in worth taken by them, affect the Morale of the employees. 0or eamples if an employee is not imparted proper training he will have low Morale. . Re%ar-s: Employees epect ade>uate compensation for their services rendered to
the organization. ood system of wages, salaries, promotions and other incentives keep the Morale of the employees high. /. (oo- Lea-ership an- S0per+ision: 2he nature of supervision can tell the attitudes
of employees because a supervisor is in direct contact with the employers and can have better influences on the activities of the employees. . 2or3 En+iron$ent: 2he building and it appearance the condition of machines,
tools, available at work place provision for safety, medical aid and repairs to machinery etc. all have an impact on their Morale. 4. Co$pati)ilit! %ith fello% e$plo!ees: Man being a social animal finds his words
more satisfying if he feels that he has the acceptance and companionship of his fellow workers. If he has confidence in his fellow worker and faith in their loyalty his Morale will be high.
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5. 6o) Satisfaction: If the job gives an employee an opportunity to prove his talents
and grow personality, he will certify like it and he will have high morale. 7. Opport0nit! to share profit : one of the re>uirements of high morale is possibility
and opportunity of progress in any concern. *ll worker should be given an opportunity of the progress and earn high wages without any discrimination.
Morale an- Pro-0cti+it! In general, there is a belief that morale and productivity go hand in hand and higher is the morale, higher is the productivity and vice versa. However, this is not true in all cases and
morale and productivity may not go together. enerally, there is
some positive correlation between morale and productivity but they are not absolutely related, that is, an increase of five per cent in morale does not guarantee a proportional increase in productivity. It is >uite possible to increase morale with either favorable or unfavorable shifts in productivity.
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In fact, morale reflects attitude of employees and there are a number of variables between employees@ attitude and productivity. *n attitude in the individual tends to interpret, understand, or define a situation or relationship with others. *ttitudes are the individual@s likes or dislikes directed towards persons, things, or situations, or combinations of all these. )ince all epressed attitudes are not to be put into practice, it is epected that morale will not be eactly related to productivity. * more accurate statement about high morale is that it indicates a predisposition to be more productive if leadership is effective along with proper production facilities, and individual@s ability.
Individual factors Morale Satisfaction
Productivity Attitudes
Organizational factors
2his shows that productivity is a function of four factorsAorganizational factors, individual factors, attitudes, and morale. *ttitudes and morale, in turn, are determined by the satisfaction of individuals, which is again affected by organizational and individual factors. 2hus, productivity is a function of several variables of course, morale may be one of the important ones. 2he successful managers recognize that behavioral management re>uires a positive integration of goals so that people working together will achieve the desirable high morale with high productivity. 2hough it is possible to achieve high productivity with low morale as shown in 0igure $=.6 Bline &%, this position cannot continue for long because in the long run, employee will show their resistance, dissatisfaction, and restriction which eventually lead to low productivity. Carious research studies also support the view that morale and productivity are not perfectly related, though there is a positive correlation between these two. 2hey show that3
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B$% 2here is little evidence that employee morale has any relationship to performance on the job. B'% 2here are enough data to justify the morale as a factor in improving the workers@ output although the relationship between morale and productivity is not absolute and the correlations obtained in many studies are low, though positive. B(% 2he median correlation between morale and performance in various studies was found to be very low. 2hus, on the basis of such reviews, it can be concluded that for higher productivity, high morale is necessar y. However, it is said sometimes that high productivity is as much a cause for high morale as it is the result of high morale.
MEAS8REME'T O& MORALE Morale is basically a psychological concept. *s such the measurement of morale is a very difficult task to measure it directly. However the following methods are more commonly used to study employee morale. 1. O)ser+ation Metho-:
Dnder this method evaluator observes the employees on work and records their behavior, altitude, sentiments and feelings, which have developed in them. 2he changes in the attitude and behavior of the employee are the indicators of high and low morale. . Attit0-e S0r+e!s:
In order to overcome the limitation of the above method attitude survey method is being largely employed in modern days. 2his method includes conducting surveys through >uestionnaires and interviews. 2his relates what the workers are looking in and what step should be taken to improve their approach towards work. #. Co$pan! Recor-s an- Reports:
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2he records and reports relating to 5abour turnover, rate of absenteeism, the number of goods rejected, strikes and such other things, which are indicators of the level of morale. . Co0nselin":
Dnder this method employees are advised to develop better mental health. )o that they can imbide self!confidence, understanding and self!control. 2his method is used to find out the causes of dissatisfaction and then to advice the employees by way of remedial measures. 2he above methods of the measurement of the employees present only the tendencies or the attitude of the employee morale. 2he statistical measurement of morale is not possible because it relates to the inner feelings human beings. 4e can say that morale is increasing or decreasing, but cannot measured how much it increased or increased.
98ILDI'( O& HI(H MORALE In order to achieve high morale among the employees the following suggestion may be followed. 1. T%o2a! Co$$0nication:
2here should be a two!way communication between the management and the workers as if eercises a profound influences on morale. 2he workers should be kept informed about the organization policies and programmes through conferences, bulletins and informal discussions with the workers. . Sho% Concern:
5arge or small every business should have names on desks work stations or cubicles to show that a real person with worth works there not just a machine. et ask their opinion whenever an opportunity arises rather than always telling them what to do
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or the way to do it. 2his allows employees to add their own creative thoughts to the work process, which then can lead to more of a feeling of ownership. 0inally ask how they are without wanting to know deeply personal data the boss can easily show on interest in the individual walkers. #. 6o) Enrich$ent:
2his involves a greater use of the factors which are intended to motive the worker rather than to ensure his continuing satisfaction with the job he performs the idea is to reduce employee discontent by changing or improving a job to ensure that he is better motivated. . Mo-if!in" the %or3 en+iron$ent:
2his involves the use of teams of work groups developing social contacts of the employees the use of music regular rest breaks. /. Rotation of 6o)s:
2his is also one of important techni>ues to increase employee morale. /ob rotation helps to reduce an employee@s boredom.
. Incenti+e S!ste$:
2here should be a proper incentive system in the organization to ensure monetary and non!monetary rewards of the employees to motivate them. 4. 2elfare Meas0res:
Management must provide for employees welfare measures like canteens credit facilities sport clubs, education for their children etc.F 5. Social Acti+ities:
Management should encourage social group activities by the workers. 2his will help to develop greater group cohesiveness which can be used by the management for building high morale.
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7. Trainin":
2here should be proper training of the employees so that they may do their work efficiently and avoid frustration when the worker are given training they get psychological satisfaction as they feel that management is taking interest in them. 1;. 2or3ers Participation:
2here should be industrial democracy in the organization management should allow workers participation in management. 4henever a change to be introduced which effects the workers they must be consulted and taken into confidence workers must be allowed to put forward their suggestion and grievance to the top management. 11. Offers reco"nition of the e$plo!ee efforts :
It takes but a few seconds to say -ice /ob- -4ell done-, -Marked improvement-, -Gou @re@ on the right road- or any number of other phrases that communicate to the employee that you care about the job and about them and that you recognize an improvement in productivity. *lso, employees can be given performance awards or have their name mentioned at staff meetings, posted on a notice boards or in employee inter office E!mail to say that someone did a note monthly /ob. *ll of these simple modes of painting out individual team or group behaviour serve as very strong methods of improving productivity self!worth and morale.
#MP$O%## MO&A$# P&O'()*I+I*% *,e saying goes t,at ,a--y e.-loyees are -roductive e.-loyees/ and t,ere is a de0nite correlation eteen -roductivity and .orale S.all usiness oners are often faced it, .any e.-loyee c,allenges/ -articularly during t,eir 0rst fe years of o-eration Managing .orale is one ay s.allusiness oners can ,el- ensure t,at -roductivity rates ee- rising *ea.or ,en e.-loyee .orale is ,ig,/ t,e levels of general 7o satisfaction and overall elleing are also ,ig, *,is .eans t,at e.-loyees or Page | 18
etter toget,er and function as a co,esive tea. 9ee-ing tea. .orale ,ig, is a vital ste- toard co.-leting a -ro7ect on ti.e and under udget ,en e.-loyees feel good aout t,eir 7o/ t,ey ant to or ,ard and acco.-lis, .ore as a tea. *,ey also tend to invest .ore e.otionally in t,eir 7o *,ey ,ave good .orale and t,ey don:t ant to or any,ere else; t,ey ant your co.-any to succeed Intero-ected of Page | 11
t,e. and no ,o to do t,eir 7os e=ectively and in less ti.e t,an so.eone ,o is 7ust starting out
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