50 Simple Ways to Boost Morale in the Workplace

You might be shocked to learn that some of us spend more time at the office than we do at home with our families. According to a survey conducted by Gallup last summer, “The new average for most full-time workers has risen to 46-47 hours per week.” In order to keep your employees happy, satisfied and productive, your human resources team needs to come up with creative ways to boost morale in the workplace.

We want to help! Read on to learn why you need to keep morale high in the office, along with 50 very creative ways to do so.    

Employee Morale Directly Effects Your Bottom Line 

• • 7 out of 10 American employees admit they aren’t working to their full potential.
• • 89% of new hires that fail blame poor company culture fit.
• • Engaged employees perform up to 202% better than disengaged employees.
• • Unscheduled employee absenteeism costs an average of 9% of payroll.
• • Poor employee management costs the U.S. up to $400 billion annually.
• • 49% of all employees are not satisfied with their direct supervisor.
• • Only 21% of employees feel strongly valued at work.
• • $11 billion is lost annually due to employee turnover.
• • Unhappy employees take 15 more sick days each year than the average worker.

50 Ways to Boost Morale in the Workplace

Here are quick, affordable and fun ways to boost morale in the workplace. Use some of these straight-forward examples or allow them to inspire new, unique ideas.

1.) Have a daily meeting to pump up your staff. 

2.) Implement a “great job” post-it bulletin board.

3.) Schedule an open house for employee’s family members.

4.) Reward employees that come in early with gourmet coffee.

5.) Buy dinner for employees that stay late.

6.) Transform an empty office space into a serene meditation room.

7.) Design a scavenger hunt and have departments compete against each other.

8.) Make a habit of bringing in fresh doughnuts on Fridays.

9.) Introduce a fish to the team as a new company mascot.

10.) Coordinate an employee karaoke night once a month.

11.) Share performance charts to show the team the results of their hard work.

12.) Offer a tuition reimbursement for employees wanting to take classes.

13.) Bring in a motivational speaker to present to your team.

14.) For special achievements, make the super star employee “Boss for the Day.”

15.) Ask staff to vote on special incentives and employee benefit programs.

16.) Allow flextime schedules for long-term staff members.

17.) Hire a business answering service to give employees a break from the telephone.

18.) Have each employee make a suggestion to spruce up the office.

19.) Hold quarterly employee performance evaluations.

20.) Make a habit of asking staff how you can make them happier.

21.) Reward employee of the month with an extra personal or vacation day.

22.) Develop management training programs for staff to sign up for.

23.) Outsource customer service complaints to a trained call center.

24.) Have a severe disciplinary action for verbally abusive supervisors.

25.) Reward top-performing employees with gift cards.

26.) Hire massage chair services to treat staff during high stress projects.

27.) Host a cupcake war between staff members to see who can make the best cupcake.

28.) Ask employees, “If you ran the company, what would you do differently?”

29.) Invest in comfortable, quality office chairs.

30.) Sign staff up for community outreach and volunteer programs.

31.) Celebrate employee anniversaries with cake and ice cream for all.

32.) Give tax deductible Christmas bonuses every year.

33.) Have management team recognize a specific employee’s efforts at least once a week.

34.) Allow employees to pick colorful and fun office supplies.

35.) Have a “Joke of the Day” posted in the break room.

36.) Invite staff to bring in baby photos for a photo contest; try to guess who’s who.

37.) If possible, allow staff to bring in their trained dogs/pets with them to work.

38.) Sit down with each employee and help create their desired career path.

39.) Rotate the role of office event coordinator between staff members.

40.) Brief employees on the company’s long-term plans and goals.

41.) Have a 15-minute break procedure to allow staff to stretch and leave their desk.

42.) Hold monthly workshops or trainings for employees interested in learning.

43.) Stock the breakroom with candy and snacks for staff to enjoy.

44.) Invest company profits into a small, on-site gym or exercise room for employees.

45.) Hire interns to assist staff members with administrative and tedious tasks.

46.) Have a smoothie machine in the breakroom with fresh fruit for nutritious small meals.

47.) Host a company BBQ or potluck and invite the employee’s families to join.

48.) Allow your staff to take off their birthday as an extra paid day off.

49.) Start a communal library in your office and encourage book exchanges.

50.) Create a random acts of kindness program to foster anonymous acts between employees.    

A Small Gesture Goes a Long Way With These Ways to Boost Morale in the Workplace!

Remember that it doesn’t matter which ways you choose to recognize, motivate, reward and acknowledge your staff; just as long as you make an effort. These different ways to boost morale in the workplace should just be your jumping off point. Allow your employees to give their input and ask them what kind of programs and incentives they’d like to see started in your office. 

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You may not know, but call centers in general have some of the worst turnover rates. Because our job can be highly stressful, our company’s success relies on being able to retain our pool of talent.

Here at A Courteous Communications, we regularly volunteer as a team to help various charities in our community. Our virtual receptionists celebrate silly holidays like wacky sock day, superhero day and national ice cream day. We even have an in-house employee that is responsible for tracking all of our staff’s anniversaries and birthdays and we send out flowers and special gifts to acknowledge special days.

We treat our employees like family and have the benefit of having virtual receptionists that have been on our team for as long 25+ years!