Wide Gap in Morale Management

Wizard executives’ mesmerizing skills needed to boost morale

High morale boosts success, low morale spells disaster

 

“You are aware that it is not the numbers or strength
that bring the victories in war. No, it is when one side
goes against the enemy with ………… a
STRONGER MORALE that their adversaries, as a rule,
cannot withstand them.” (Emphasis added)
---Xenophon, The Persian Expedition
 
“Morale and attitude are fundamental to success”
---  Bill Wilkinson

 

Morale is the hallmark of success of any organization, whether civil, business, military, or even social. It is an especially critical, make-or-break attribute in the current chaotic and turbulent times.

Morale or esprit de corps is given utmost importance in the military. They have definite standards and even a specific ‘morale index’ for various levels and units. All the factors that can affect morale are monitored, including faith/spirituality, with chaplains/priests attached to units.

The situation in business is, unfortunately, not very satisfactory. A quick survey revealed that many executives confused morale with moral. Several others had a vague idea but were unsure of its pronunciation or exact meaning and related aspects. Many said that their staff welfare section (a few people) take care of it. Some senior executives asserted that each manager is responsible for the morale of their teams.

The results of such an approach are distressing. According to a Gallup survey, in the U.S. only 30% of employees are fully engaged, 32% are not engaged and 8% are disengaged. The figures for India are not available, but the picture can be no better. There is another survey report which reveals that ‘managers spend about 40% of time resolving employee conflicts at the workplace’. It is also widely reported that ‘employees leave managers and not the company’, an indication of the strained relations between employees and managers. 

With such a state of affairs, the actual levels of morale are anyone’s guess.

The need for paying attention to monitoring and boosting morale is urgent and of utmost importance, especially in the current turbulent and chaotic times. Employee morale was already low due to constant talk about job losses due to the disruption caused by the Fourth Industrial Revolution (IR4) and the Fifth Industrial Revolution (IR5)which is on the way. 

And then came the havoc due to Covid-19 lockdowns and fears of infection and death. Several companies were only partially open and many companies asked staff to work from home. Some instant experts have already concluded that the ‘World Of Workplaces’ has altered. People have accepted working from home. It is quite likely that employees ‘accepted working from home’ because of the fear of coronavirus. Once the vaccine comes and the situation improves, employees may insist on coming back to work from offices, which offer an undisturbed working environment, other facilities and valued social connections, the very spice of life. A while back, in a survey, employees were asked whether they would like to work from home. Many answered with a NO.  Why was that? It was because they did not want to miss meeting friends and the high moments of joy in their commute by trains/buses and during lunch/tea breaks besides instant help and advice from colleagues and superiors.

An incident narrated in the book “A Trillion Dollar Coach” is relevant here. Before  Bill Campbell joined Google, Larry and Sergey had removed all managers as systems were in place. Soon after joining, Bill told the Google founders, “we need a few managers in the company”. Both founders were shocked to hear that. But Bill worked on his proposal and, after about a year, managers were back in Google. The weighty reason was that many employees said that they wanted someone who could train them and whom they could consult. It will come as no surprise if some companies change the ‘work from home’ rule.

Morale is sentimental and extremely fragile. Employee surveys and consultants’ advice are not a substitute for constant, congenial, two-way communications. This, together with fairness and transparency across all levels, can build genuine morale.

In short use of wizard's mesmerising skills will help keep morale high.