What are some things your employer does to boost employee morale and make your work environment more enjoyable?
Particularly interested in "perks" that doesn't cost the employer $$$$! Thanks!
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We wear jeans to the office and regularly work from home.
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Well morale sucks so clearly something isn't working. . . but in other companies they've done the jeans thing as well as offering a flexible schedule.
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Work organized events like potlucks during work time. Technically it costs productivity, but not additional cash.
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Morale isn't great at my job now, but at my last job..
-- My boss would gift us vacation days as a thank you for doing outstanding work. It's totally off the books... Just tell her when you want to cash it in (obviously doesn't work for manual clock-in workers)
-- Summer Fridays, letting out early the day before a holiday, etc
-- Recognition program
-- Work from home options or at least be more flexible about work hours, etc
That's most of the non-$ things I can think of for now..
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I think flex time is the most popular thing that we finally got after a long fight.
How big of a company are you talking? Our full organization is still struggling with this.
But my previous direct boss was able to do some really neat stuff in 2009 when our budgets were frozen. Instead of having a Christmas Party that we cost money, we had a potluck and played a game where he offered "prizes." Among them were the chance to leave an hour early or come in an hour late (they had to be approved in advance), the chance to use his reserved parking space, wear jeans to work, things like that.
Beyond "perks"...I think the most important thing really is that employees feel like they're being heard and that they're cared about. If there are particular things that bother them, it can go a long way if you have a town hall/committee meeting to discuss those things and either 1. why they are that way and can't change or 2. discussions of possible solutions and ways to change them.
If people know the mission of the organization and feel like they're a part of that mission being accomplished, generally they'll be happier. And I think a huge root of that is good communication from the top down (and back up. they also need to feel "heard")
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Recognition: We send each other Kudos e-cards. People are highlighted by name for specific contributions on our group conference calls.
Respect time: Our managers don't bog us down with busy work too often. Conf calls are not super early in the morning or super late in the day and only called when necessary.
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Ability to WFH as needed, casual dress code...
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casual dress code, and somewhat flexible hours. For the non-exempt employees we don't really have the work from home option, but we can take extended time and make up hours when we need to.
Our Company was able to get us memberships at a gym nearby for a discounted rate, without extra cost. We can go to the gym during our lunch breaks and take longer than an hour to do so.
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@snowjewelz: I love the idea of "summer Fridays"! I know people that do this.
@MaryM: small, we're just a 16 person firm.
We're trying to get "casual" fridays!
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@regberadaisy: our small little private company just started when I started here, from memorial day weekend to labor day weekend, leave at 2pm. My old job that was a huge corporate company, we could leave at 3pm every Friday, all year round, work load permitting! That was amazing.
I know at my friend's job, they could take the whole Friday off, but they have to alternate within their group.
I work in fashion so I've never not been casual!
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I'll speak for DH, although his company does some things we don't agree with some things they do that are nice are:
They get to wear whatever they want. Shorts, flip flops, jeans etc as long as it's not offensive.
They get snacks/food once a month
Last week they had the humane society bring in puppies for them to play with.
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We can wear jeans on friday and they provide juice and coffee. We also get 1 Christmas dinner on the house but if that event is considered a perk, I don't think I want perks.
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@MaryM: omg the Christmas party prizes are awesome! Love the idea of using the boss's parking spot! Lol
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@regberadaisy: I think that boss was also effective because he was an authentic leader. We always knew how he felt about us, our performance, and our work life balance. He made it clear that he understood and appreciated that we had lives beyond work and was willing to work around that as long as work didn't suffer.
After 2009 when we couldn't have an employer funded christmas party so we threw a potluck, every year after that he took us out to lunch on HIS dime (not the company's, but his own personal treat).
If a boss is willing to do something like that, I think it's more personal than a corporate event funded by the company. That shows his personal appreciation.
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This would depend on the culture, but another office in my organization with a similar boss who values family and work life balance... he invites his employees to his home several times a year for a picnic or party. I think that could be odd for some, but this particular leader is endearing and authentic enough that it's an honor for his employees to be invited into his home. And I think that helps break down some barriers too.
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Out of curiosity, is this something where your employer is asking you to make some suggestions to improve morale? I definitely wouldn't give unsolicited suggestions to my boss on something like this.
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Morale at my current job isn't great, but at my last job, these were the perks: casual dress code, frequent potlucks, office Christmas party.
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For low cost/free perks, this was talked about multiple times in my management program http://www.amazon.com/1001-Reward-Employees-Nelson-Ph-D/dp/B003F76KMM
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@Truth Bombs: yup! My co-worker was asked to and she asked for my help. So, I'm gathering suggestions for her.
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@regberadaisy: Gotcha. Since it's a smaller firm I think it makes it a lot easier to be flexible with this kind of stuff. As a working mother, bonus days off or early close days are always what I most appreciate since it gives me extra time to either spend with my family, or get things done like shopping or appointments while LO is in day care and I can do it without having to bring her with me.
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Casual Friday's, morning tea on special occasions (nothing fancy, just sandwiches and cake, or cheese and crackers), occasionally leaving early on a Friday. One of the best bosses I worked for (in terms of personality rather than actual management!) was good because he genuinely cared about his staff! He would chat with the office staff and actually cared about how we were doing. It didn't cost him anything but time and he knew the names of all our partners and kids, sports we played etc.
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@regberadaisy: Uber Kittens!!
http://www.cnet.com/news/uber-delivers-adoptable-kittens-to-your-doorstep/
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@wrkbrk: We tried to get this when they did puppies. The supply was too small for demand though
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@MaryM: aww
i think they do it annually - in my city they partner with a shelter to get the kittens!
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Honestly, none of the stuff mentioned is all that important to me. What I like is being given the authority to do what I need to do and a few good laughs with senior management once in a while. Casual day? Doesn't make a difference to me at all.
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I teach, so some things don't apply, but my boss lets me take DD in when we have student fre days (like tomorrow). DD plays in my classroom while I work.
Snacks and drinks at meetings and/or meetings in the local coffee shop. Making us feel heard. Leaving contructive, positive notes when the principal or deputy sees us doing something well that specifically tells us what we were doing.
Honestly, I think the biggest thing for me is admin/management that are totally approachable and constructive.
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At my old job, we had bi-monthly Friday vent sessions. The folks in my department of 6 took turns bringing in donuts or bagels and we sat around for an hour and "strategized improvements". Really, we were just airing our grievances. It was a judgment free zone (even from our manager who occassionally attended).
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@looch: Agree. Those are all short term moral boosters but have shown they dont always really boost productivity and moral long term.
I like having a plan and clear deliverables/tasks/expectations and then receiving praise for when they are completed. Along with lots of support and collaboration along the way.
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Ha! I work in oil and gas. Morale sucks!!! Currently we're all focused on the fact that we have jobs!
We have Friday breakfast every week. It's completely optional and we all pay for ourselves but it's nice to chat with each other and go in a bit late. We also do pot lucks. And we're incredibly casual - as long as we don't have meetings.
But it's true. I was not feeling valued at my company this time last year. The only reason I'm still here is because the market sucks.
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We have company-wide meetings where they highlight individual employees work or customer compliments. They organize food trucks to come to the building. They'll also have random fun surprises like chips and salsa on cinqo de mayo.
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We do a monthly donuts and refreshments thing on a rotating basis for my floor and it's usually an hour of just relaxing and eating treats. We also usually do some kind of potluck twice a year. Colleagues and managers often bring in bagels or donuts for everyone when it's really busy. We tend to be sorta collegial/fat that way.
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