Morale and Productivity
The satisfaction and comfort an employee experiences at the workplace is termed
morale. Morale is a widely used term in organizations. But in general, it refers to
esprit de corps, a feeling of enthusiasm, zeal, confidence in individuals or groups that
they will be able to cope with the tasks assigned to them. The result of high morale
generally results in the high efficiency of the organization.
Morale directly impacts the working of an individual in a team towards the
realization of common objectives. Morale therefore is individual specific as well as
general. Unfortunately building of morale is not a mechanical problem that could be
solved by either rewards or punishments. The best way to manage it is to proactively
do a lot of employee related interventions that will together impact morale positively.
Morale can also be understood as the spirit and confidence with which the employee
performs his job. It is a complex psychological quality that is impossible to force on
someone, difficult to measures, and easily destroyed. The level of morale is a result of
the degree to which the overall needs of the individual are fulfilled.
It is assumed that high morale and high productivity/ high quality and creative work
all go hand in hand. Since morale manifests itself in the attitudes of employees, it is
important to know about the results of high and low morale. One of the most
unpredictable effects of the level of morale is its impact on employee productivity.
The productivity of a group is a composite of many factors, at least one of which is
the general state of mind or the commitment of the group. Formerly it was thought
that high morale resulted in high productivity. Research is repeatedly proving that this
correlation is not as simple. Various studies have revealed that the group having the
highest morale need not always be the highest in productivity. As morale is made up
of so many factors, so is productivity, the result of a series of complex factors. When
a group is convinced that high productivity will result in its getting the things it wants
most, it is reasonable to believe that productivity will be high. It is likewise
reasonable to believe that if the group’s satisfactions in the work situation are high
and high productivity will enable it to get the things it wants most, the productivity
may be high.
Though high morale may not be the single cause of the high productivity, a highproducing group nearly always has a reasonably high morale, in terms of the company
as a whole. Morale development is almost certain to accompany successful operations
where the individuals can relate their respective endeavors and objectives to the
success of the enterprise as a whole. “A morale-building organization tends to utilize
fully the skill, initiative, judgement, and training of its members, and through such
utilization succeeds in building up these and other qualities in everyone, so that the
abilities of all constantly expand, and the organization thus is able to succeed and
grow.”
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