We all have our good and bad days, but no company can afford to ignore low employee morale for long. Low morale leads to high employee turnover, low productivity, and elevated absenteeism rates. Gallup found that actively disengaged employees cost U.S. businesses $450 billion to $550 billion per year in lost productivity.

Valentine’s Day is a great opportunity to show you care for your employees as people and professionals. Here’s our selection of low-cost ways to unite your teams, lift people’s spir­its, and incen­tivize them to go the extra mile.

Workplace Morale Boosters That Won’t Max Your Budget

1. Provide Opportunities for People to Learn and Grow

Creating opportunities for education and advancement will build confidence and empower your employees. For example, you can invite guest speakers to for lunch and learn presentations, host a member of your C-suite for a Q&A session, or invite a local business coach to discuss ways to network more effectively.

These informal gatherings are a low-pressure way to help employees broaden their horizons and learn new skills.

2. Encourage Side Projects

Did you know that Gmail, Twitter, and Slack all started as side projects? It’s easy to assume that side projects will interfere with productivity, but the opposite is true.

Side projects give employees autonomy and stimulate their creativity. This helps diffuse their stress, facilitates personal development, and generates work-life balance.

3. Be a Transparent, Approachable Leader

Keeping employees in the dark about important company decisions can be detrimental to their morale. Regular company all-hands sessions are one way for leaders to speak directly to all employees, but why stop there?

When was the last time your CEO strolled through your office workspace, dropped by the production floor, or stopped by the cafeteria to chat informally? These are great opportunities for leaders to ask questions, get to know workers better, and encourage them to share ideas.

4. Celebrate Successes

Saying “thank you” and instituting small, symbolic awards are great ways to recognize outstanding work and boost morale–if you pay attention to the details.For example, personal letters of appreciation are far more effective than a blanket email to the team applauding them for their hard work. Studies also confirm that employees feel more valued when they see that their employer took the time and effort to choose, purchase, and wrap their gift.

5. Set Healthy Work Boundaries

A company culture that prioritizes work-life balance lets employees enjoy their personal lives without worrying about compromising their careers. While the occasional late night is fine, your employees should generally be out the door by close of business or at the end of their scheduled shift.

Managers should be diligent about setting hard stops, letting everyone know it’s OK to mentally check out until tomorrow (or Monday), and encouraging people to take regular PTO.

6. Volunteer as a Team

In a Gartner survey, 56% of employees said they wanted to make a bigger contribution to society. Employers can fill that need by hosting team volunteer days to help local educational or charitable organizations.

You might offer to host a holiday food drive or work with an environmental group to clean up the local park. Your people will welcome the change of pace and head home feeling great about the day’s work.

7. Create an Employee Financial Wellness Program

U.S. consumer credit card debt is at an all-time high, and 401(k) hardship withdrawals are on the rise. In this climate, your workers are likely to be experiencing financial anxiety. PwC’s 2023 Employee Financial Wellness Survey revealed that 6 in 10 full-time employees are stressed about their finances, with a third saying money worries negatively impact their productivity. 

Employee financial wellness programs are great morale boosters that don’t need to be complicated or expensive. Most programs include access to financial literacy tools and on-demand education on topics such as budgeting, saving, and debt management. The best programs include individual financial planning sessions and access to Earned Wage Access (EWA) services so people can spend and save on their own terms while managing any unexpected expenses between paychecks. Recent research by 60 Decibels revealed that EWA reduces payday loan usage and overdraft incidents by 70% and 69%, respectively.

Final Thoughts on Workplace Morale Boosters

Building your employees’ morale isn’t just something to think about on Valentine’s Day. Frequent and sincere encouragement, and practical support, are vital to creating a workforce that is physically, emotionally, and financially healthy.

Payactiv’s suite of financial wellness services is designed to empower workers all year round.  Learn how EWA and our financial wellness tools can make a meaningful impact on your employees’ morale.

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