One of important elements of Human Resource Management (HRM) is to be responsible for managing employer-employee relations. Maintaining high staff morale and welfare can show caring attitude of the business towards its workforce.
Staff morale is a measure of how employees feel about their work, their colleagues, and their employer. It is an important factor in employee productivity, engagement, and retention.
Staff welfare refers to the overall well-being of employees, including their physical, mental, and emotional health.
These support services can reflect well on the Human Resource (HR) department in addition to offering advice, counseling and other services to workers who are in need because of various problems such as family issues or financial struggles.
How to maintain staff morale and welfare?
Let’s take a look at the most popular ways of assuring appropriate staff morale and staff welfare.
1. Counseling. Workplace counseling is a confidential service that can help employees deal with a variety of personal and professional issues including: stress, anxiety, depression, relationship problems, grief and loss, work-life balance, workplace conflict, career development, discrimination and harassment, etc. Counseling services can be a valuable tool for improving the performance of business organizations. Specific benefits of counseling for businesses include reduced employee turnover, increased productivity (when employees are happier and healthier, they are more productive), improved communication which can lead to better teamwork and collaboration, increased customer satisfaction and enhanced organizational culture in a more positive and supportive work environment. If you are considering offering counseling services to your employees, be sure to consult with a qualified professional to determine the best approach. Counseling services in business can be provided by a variety of professionals, including licensed clinical social workers, psychologists, career counselors, and business coaches. The most appropriate type of counseling depends on the specific needs of the organization:
- Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs). They provide confidential counseling and support to employees who are struggling with personal or work-related issues. This can include issues such as stress, anxiety, depression, substance abuse, family problems, etc.
- Career development counseling. It can help employees assess their skills and interests, develop career goals, and create a plan to achieve those goals. They can also provide support and guidance to employees who are changing jobs or careers.
- Outplacement counseling. This can help employees who have been laid off find new jobs. They provide resume writing assistance, interview skills training, and job search strategies.
- Business coaching. Business coaches work with entrepreneurs and other business owners to help them achieve their goals. They can provide guidance on a variety of topics, such as strategic planning, marketing, and financial management.
- Organizational Development (OD). This is a process that helps organizations improve their performance and effectiveness. Organizational Development (OD) consultants work with organizations to identify and address problems, such as communication breakdowns, conflict, and employee morale.
2. Work–life balance. Work-life balance gives employees the right amount of time to both work and to their personal life outside work such as family and other interests. Firstly, the pace of change to the hours and times people work is now more rapid than ever because customers products to be available outside traditional working hours. And secondly, globalization has led to much greater levels of competition that is why for a business to remain competitive, it is important to be match business needs with the efficiency of their employees. All of those demands of working long and unsociable hours made on employees has led to burnouts. Therefore, in order to reduce stress, businesses are willing to assist employees in achieving a better work–life balance. Some of the methods to do so include allowing employees to take more control of their working lives to allow for more leisure and relaxation time, more time for creativity and more time with family. This includes flexible working, teleworking (working from home for some of the working week), job sharing (allowing two people to fill one full-time vacancy, although each worker will only receive a proportion of the full-time pay) or taking sabbatical periods (an extended period of leave from work that can be for up to 12 months when employees are not paid salary during this period but are guaranteed to return to their job upon return).
3. Health and safety at work. Health and safety policy includes regulations that are meant to keep workers safe and healthy in the workplace. In reality, most employers care about their workers because it is law in most countries to make sure employers protect workers from dangerous machinery, provide safety equipment and clothing, maintain reasonable workplace temperatures, provide hygienic conditions and washing facilities, etc. In addition to that, employers can limit excessively long shifts or provide sufficient breaks in the work timetable to make ethical decisions to implement these safety practices anyway.
4. Policies for equality. Equality policy includes practices and processes aimed at equality in the workplace – achieving a fair organization where everyone is treated in the same way and has the opportunity to fulfill their potential. Many countries have strict laws that govern equality issues where businesses are not allowed to make decisions about recruitment, pay, promotion and dismissal based on employees’ race, sexuality, gender, age, religion or national origin. By doing so, the firm can create an environment with high employee morale, develop a good reputation and have the ability to recruit top talent. When discrimination happens, workers will not be willing to contribute to the business in a positive way as they will feel discouraged and demotivated.
5. Policies for diversity. Diversity policy includes practices and processes aimed at creating a mixed workforce comprised of different types of people and placing positive value on diversity in the workplace. A business with diverse workforce acknowledges differences among employees, creates an inclusive environment that values those differences and employ individuals from various races, ethnicities, religions and genders. By doing so, the firm can increase market share as customers are attracted to a diverse sales force, reduce employee turnover by employing a more qualified workforce, increase creativity as people from different backgrounds approach problem solving in different ways and offer goods and services internationally as workers speak many languages.
All in all, business organization which are concerned about long-term staff morale and welfare will experience much stronger desire to do well to achieve the business objectives and sense of loyalty.
