Jessica is a customer assistant in a retail store. She started the job six months ago, enjoys supporting customers, and has been consistently meeting her monthly targets.
But Jessica doesn’t get acknowledgment from her manager or other staff members. Not just that. The store recently hired another person in the exact same role as Jessica and — according to the grapevine — at a higher salary than her.
Jessica’s co-worker, Marco, has been working at the store for a couple of years. He knows the job like the back of his hand and is feeling bored and underutilized. But, as far as he knows, the organization doesn’t have progression or training pathways suited to him. So he’s started looking for a job elsewhere.
Jessica and Marco came into the organization with high levels of morale — and they’ve been putting in the work. But they aren’t getting what they need from their employer. So their morale dips. Customer service and productivity suffer. Employee turnover ticks upward.
This makes it harder for the organization to achieve its goals. And it’s why every company should be working to build and sustain employee morale.
Here, we look at how to boost employee morale and motivation in 2025.
What is employee morale and why is it important?
Employee morale is how employees feel about their jobs and work environment. It’s linked to employee engagement, job satisfaction, and staff retention.
What does low team morale look like?
In a workplace with low morale, employees do the bare minimum to ensure their paycheck while keeping one eye firmly on the job boards.
And unfortunately for employers, low morale is contagious. If one demoralized employee fails to pull their weight — or badmouths leadership — they hurt the morale of co-workers, making it increasingly difficult for an employer to reset the tone.
What does high team morale look like?
In contrast, in a workplace with high morale, employees are loyal, happy, and engaged in their work. They’re productive and more likely to go above and beyond their prescribed duties. These workers also tend to pitch in during times of crisis.
Employees with high morale are happy with the employee experience at their organization — and they help to set the mood. They create a wave of positivity that inspires improved morale and performance among their peers.
What’s the situation in 2025?
When we look at the current state of employee morale, the news isn’t great.
According to recent Glassdoor research, almost 2 in 3 employees feel stuck in their current roles. They might not be heading for the door just yet, but these “quiet quitters” are feeling dissatisfied and unmotivated — and they’re having a negative impact on the morale of co-workers.
It seems there’s never been a better time to boost staff morale in the workplace. Let’s find out some strategies you can use at your organization.
How to boost employee morale in 2025
Whether morale has been slowly declining or has taken a hit due to workplace changes, here are some employee morale boosters to use in your organization.
Master change management
In today’s workplace, change can feel like the only constant. But that doesn’t mean employees are used to it. If change isn’t managed and communicated sensitively, it can damage workplace culture and employee morale.
For example, imagine you’ve just announced a hiring freeze. Existing workers may assume that a downsizing initiative is on the way and start worrying that their jobs are at risk. Workforce morale suffers.
You can avoid this dip in morale by clearly communicating with employees. It could be that the hiring freeze is helping to ensure the safety of existing roles. Or that budgets are being diverted to training and development.
When implementing change, consider what employees need to know, demonstrate empathy, and follow change communication best practices to give employees the information and assurances they need.
Challenge your team
When a job is too easy, employees become bored. But a job that is too difficult causes problems, too. Employees can become discouraged.
To build staff morale, you need to strike a balance. Give employees the tools, training, and support they need to fulfill their roles. And challenge them with new tasks that push at their limits, so they develop new skills and grow their confidence.
Recognize hard work
Imagine you put a ton of effort into a project. Or you go out of your way to give a co-worker the support they need. Or you ace a presentation you’d been feeling really nervous about.
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You probably (deservedly) feel really proud of yourself. But what if your actions don’t prompt any praise from leaders, managers, or peers? You may end up feeling deflated and demoralized.
Employees who don’t feel recognized for their hard work, are two times more likely to say they’ll quit within the next year. But those who receive regular, authentic, and meaningful recognition are more likely to bring their A-game.
So, to raise employee morale, bring recognition into the mix. Take a look at these employee appreciation ideas for inspiration.
Invest in training and development
Progression is a key driver of employee engagement. You can raise engagement and morale by helping employees to progress in their roles and careers.
When employees get the training they need — through thorough onboarding, ongoing professional development, mentoring, and coaching — they feel more confident and less stressed. They feel valued by the organization and their performance improves.
Lay out career progression opportunities at your organization and there’s even more incentive for employees to do their best. When they can see a future with your company, they become more committed and less likely to look for a job elsewhere.
Create a sense of community
A positive and connected workplace culture is an effective employee morale booster. 83% of employees want their workplace to provide a sense of community, with more than a third willing to trade a bigger pay packet for stronger friendships and social enrichment at work.
When thinking about workplace connection, it’s worth spending a little extra time thinking about remote and frontline employees. These workers can be hard-to-reach and often end up feeling isolated from company culture.
So how do you create a sense of community for workers who don’t spend a lot of time together IRL? An employee app is an increasingly popular solution.
An app acts as a digital water cooler. With an engaging news feed and instant messaging tools, it gives employees access to conversation and company culture via their smartphones. You can also encourage workers to find their tribe, connecting with like-minded colleagues via digital Communities.
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Give health and wellbeing a boost
Show concern for employee health and wellbeing and you’re more likely to achieve high levels of morale. Workers see that you care about them as people — not just as employees — which makes them feel valued.
Here are a few ideas for how to support employee health and wellbeing:
- Create a volunteering program, so it’s easy for employees to give back to the local community
- Encourage employees to take a full lunch break and use their full PTO allowance
- Offer flexible work options and shift swap tools to support employee work-life balance
- Keep fit with exercise challenges and fitness subscriptions
- Talk openly about mental health and ensure employees know who to turn to if they need to talk
Initiatives like these help prevent stress and burnout while improving employee motivation and productivity.
Communicate, communicate, communicate
Having and communicating an inspiring vision is crucial for employee morale. In many organizations, workers don’t know the “why” behind business objectives. Nor are they aware of how their own work ties in with those goals.
Poor communication leads to increased stress, lower productivity, and strained relationships. It also harms the trust employees have in their leaders. Hardly a recipe for workplace motivation.
To keep employees motivated and on the same page, open communication is essential. And with the right internal communication tools, you can share consistent and engaging messages with all employees.
You can keep employees up to date with company updates via a multi-media news feed. You can store essential documents relating to policies and mission in an easy-access content hub. Across all internal communication channels you can amplify company culture and the values that guide it.
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Improve internal communication and you make everyone aware of company goals and the latest company news. Everyone understands what is expected of them — and they pull in the same direction — increasing employee morale in the process.
Give employees a voice
When employees feel heard, they feel valued and are more likely to do their best work. Gathering employee feedback helps in other ways too.
You can use employee surveys, listening tours, and one-to-one chats to find out what helps and harms the morale of your workforce. Let employees have their say and you’ll find meaningful ways to improve the employee experience.
As part of a well-executed employee voice strategy, you then close the feedback loop. You share your findings and your plan of action with employees. This builds trust in the feedback process and means your workforce is more likely to engage with future surveys and listening events.
Measure employee morale
You can supplement the qualitative data you gain from employee listening with quantitative data gained from analytics tools. Employee morale metrics include:
- Absenteeism rates
- Employee turnover rates
- Productivity
- Employee net promoter score (eNPS)
Benchmark and track these KPIs over time and you’ll build a better picture of employee morale. Keep your finger on the pulse and you’ll also be able to spot and address issues in real-time before demoralized employees impact their teammates.
The secret to sustained staff morale?
Building and sustaining employee morale is essential — to attracting and retaining top talent, and to getting the most out of your teams.
When employees feel valued, informed, and connected to the wider company, they’re more likely to feel motivated and engaged.
And when you understand the needs of employees and the state of morale in your organization, you’re better able to make meaningful changes to the employee experience.
With remote or frontline employees in the mix, you may need the help of morale-boosting tech tools. The right software allows you to reach all employees — giving them a voice, connecting them to co-workers and company culture, and recognizing the work they do.
Blink. And watch morale soar with the help of smarter workplace tech.
