Definition
Morale (Manobal in Hindi) is a word for representing the feelings and attitude in a collective manner. When a team gets success after success at the given tasks, the morale is supposed to be high, and if the opposite happens, morale tends to become low. It represents zeal, enthusiasm, willingness, ownership, and energy at work. High morale often denotes higher satisfaction derived from the work.
A mental condition or attitude of individuals and groups which determines their willingness to co-operate. Good morale is evidenced by employee enthusiasm, voluntary confirmation with regulations and orders, and a willingness to co-operate with others in the accomplishment of an organization’s objectives. Poor morale is evidenced by surliness, insubordination, a feeling of discouragement and dislike of the job, company, and associates.
Flippo
Morale is a feeling, somewhat related to esprit de corps, enthusiasm or zeal. For group of workers, morale, according to a popular usage of the word, refers to the over-all tone, climate or atmosphere of work, perhaps vaguely sensed by the members.
Yoder
Morale is often studied with motivation which is somewhat different. Motivation is usually applied before work and is a small part. Morale depicts the big picture and includes satisfaction after work. It also talks about satisfaction and energy derived from a successful task. Morale is the attitude towards work while motivation is the process of inspiring to work.
Types of Morale
Individual and Group Morale
This is quite clear by the name itself. Individual morale refers to the attitude of an individual towards the work. Group morale represents the attitude of a group towards the work. These are quite related, not identical. An individual may have high morale but the same individual may posses low morale while working in a group.
The classic example of individual morale is the attitude of the sportsmen, actors, singers, other performing artists. A classic example of group morale is the attitude of army units, teams, etc.
High and Low Morale
High and low words are self-explanatory. Not much to discuss here. An example of high morale is one of Lord Rama’s vanar sena’s attitude when they started winning the battle. An example of low morale could be Kaurava’s attitude in the battle of Mahabharata.
Importance of Morale
It is very important to the overall growth of the organization. People and groups having high morale generally results in the following behavior-
- Higher productivity as compared to peers
- Showing up on time
- Improved attention to details
- Increased Focus on the task
- Increased and constructive communication with fellow workers
- Improved attendance
- A decrease in workplace accidents and injuries
Factors determining Morale
Morale is a mix of many factors and they have the capability to increase or decrease morale. Many scholars have suggested different factors over the course of time. We will list those factors below.
Organization
The name and fame of the organization play a very important role in shaping the attitude of an employee. The same person will perform differently in two different companies. Public perception of the organization is an important factor. Someone working for Google is most likely to take ownership of the work when compared to someone working for some random small company ABC Softwares.
Nature of the work
Nature of work is an important factor. Someone performing a routine task over and over again for a long period of time will get bored of that. The human mind likes challenges. When they are not presented with some new challenges, they start feeling bored with the task. Some organizations do not promote peer communication in some units like an assembly line. This makes work less enjoyable.
Supervision level
More the supervision, less the enthusiasm. No one likes a big boss over his/her head. Too much monitoring and supervision make people feel anxious and this hampers the performance rather than improving it.
Satisfaction level
This is again an important factor. If the employee feels satisfied with the job, there will be more energy in the system. Satisfaction may arrive from various factors such as career growth, recognition, the value in the organization, working conditions, welcoming attitude for new ideas, learning opportunities, training, etc.
Self-awareness
How a person sees himself has a lot to do with his attitude. People having high self-confidence, good social life, and good health are found to be more optimistic about life and work. The attitude of those, having low confidence, poor social life, not so good health, is mostly negative.
Attitude towards the reward system
What someone thinks of a reward is also a key factor. People like rewards. People value rewards based on their personal belief system. The organization should take the personality of the employee into consideration when announcing a reward.
Age
It is found that younger workers are more dissatisfied as compared to elders. Elders are found to be more content and positive towards the work and life both. This may be due to the fact that elders are already having the experience and the stability of the career which the youngers are striving for.
Education
Education level has a lot to do with the expectations of the job and the employer. People with lower educational backgrounds are found to have a more positive outlook when compared to highly educated people. We can say, education is inversely related to the positive attitude, the outlook of the job role and the pay scale.
Occupation level
Occupation level means the position in the organizational hierarchy. This, of course, moves upward with time and experience. The higher one goes on the organizational ladder, the better the attitude.
Other activities
Activities, other than the regular job, also play an important role here. The happiness of the family and friends, the wellbeing of the people one cares for, medical conditions, any kind of negative addiction, etc can increase or decrease morale accordingly.