These are trying times for small businesses all over the world. While we will recover from the pandemic, it’s going to be a difficult road ahead for many smaller businesses and their employees.

However, there are several small things you can try to help improve morale that won’t necessarily have to cost a lot of money.

Check out the suggestions below and see if they make sense in the context of your small business:

1. Wear symbols of solidarity

Thankfully, uniforms and dress codes are not the only ways you can encourage employees to have a unified identity and sense of purpose.

Even things as mundane as lanyards, official hoodies, company-branded PPEs, or even simple silicone wristbands can go a long way into helping everyone in the workplace feel that they are part of the same team.

Silicone wristbands are particularly great for this, as they aren’t only affordable and highly customizable, they can match virtually any dress code.

This means the folks in suits at the office can wear the same bands as the workers in overalls down at the warehouse.

2. Let people work from home if it makes sense

As more people are starting to learn in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, commuting to work isn’t always necessary.

Working from home can encourage many employees to be more productive while affording them a better work-life balance.

If an employee’s physical presence isn’t strictly necessary, then consider allowing them to work from home if they so wish.

3. Weed out bullies

As the old saying goes, people don’t quit jobs – they quit their boss. And to some extent, they quit their toxic coworkers.

A Harvard Business School study suggests that, in most cases, it’s not worth retaining a toxic worker, even if they otherwise perform well due to the negative effects they have on the productivity of other people around them.

Not only that, but they also have the potential to negatively influence your workplace culture and steer it away from your organization’s vision.

4. Offer paid sick days

While paid time off for illness is mandated in most countries in the world, there are still many holdouts – particularly the United States.

If your business is in a jurisdiction where paid time off for illness isn’t mandated, you can greatly increase the morale of your employees over your competitors simply by offering it…
 
Continue reading the article and learn more about business morale on Life Is An Episode website.