Only intrinsic motivation lasts
Whenever someone asks me about ideas to increase employee morale, I usually give them one simple answer. Stop trying fancy things! You might think that you can motivate your team by giving them rewards, or badges or extra bonus money - but you would be wrong. Such things are nothing but a short term band-aid to the real problem.
There is an entire industry out there called "Employee rewards & recognition" that is focused on gamifying this entire process. I know it's a personal opinion but I don't think that stuff works.
So how do you motivate employees then?
Human beings are only truly motivated by their own personal careers and ambitions. You should try your best to understand their life aspirations and help them fit those into your team. I have written about this topic extensively in our guide to motivate employees here.
Signs of low employee morale
Once again, I don't recommend that you go crazy analysing signals of low morale & motivation! But there are certain things which are sure to lead to such circumstances and they include:
- The team member is disengaged in meetings
- You have not resolved past feedback
- Consistent low performance at work
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