The Forgotten Side Effect of a Troubled Economy - Lower Employee Morale

We recently read a fascinating article on MSNBC.com about the affect of corporate crises on employee morale. We will not recite the article here but certainly encourage you to read it if you are a business owner or find yourself in the management world with employee oversight and responsibility. The article reminds us of a company's most important asset - its employees. We here at The Coles Firm P.C. have highlighted the importance of employees and employee morale before but it never can be discussed too much.

As the article points out, when companies suffer economic, PR, or other crises, it is often the employees that are hardest hit. Unfortunately employees' troubles often are overlooked in favor of the more salacious media tidbits like crooked executives, insider trading, and coverups. What we often do not think about, though, are the front line employees that lose their jobs because the company must shut down or downsize or cut costs as a result of the crisis.

As the article points out, great companies have strong leaders who will focus on the company's employees and address the employees' concerns and fears directly, openly, and honestly. As a manager, you may not always have the answer an employee wants to hear but that does not mean you stick your head in the sand and avoid the issue. A fearful and uninformed employee is not a productive employee.

The amount of books and information about employee morale is staggering. You may feel there is a secret or a method you must use to have happy employees. That is just not true. There is no magic way to make happy employees. It's very simple. Treat your employees like they are your company's best asset. It does not matter how you do that (whether it be incentives, awards, recognition, an understanding of their issues, or a simple thank you). All that matters is that you do it. You will see your productivity increase and your business thrive.