What could be causing low morale when nothing obvious has gone wrong?
When nothing obvious has gone wrong, low morale is often caused by conditions that have built up slowly enough that nobody noticed them as a change. For example, expectations may have become less clear after a change in leadership, work may have piled up on the same reliable employees, or a process may have become frustrating enough that capable people feel they can't do their jobs well.
Morale is also shaped by relationships and by how people interpret what is happening to them: whether they feel valued and capable, whether they feel they belong, and whether the people they work for support them.
Pay and benefits matter too, and they shouldn't be ruled out. In a 2022 Pew Research Center survey of workers who had left a job by choice in 2021, 63 percent cited low pay, 63 percent cited no opportunities for advancement, and 57 percent said they had felt disrespected at work. Those were reasons for leaving, and the survey didn't measure morale, but they show how often the way people are treated sits alongside pay. Which of these applies in your organization is something to find out.
How do we find out what's behind low morale without making it worse?
You can find out what's behind low morale without making it worse by starting with what you are trying to understand and with the information you already have, before you launch a new survey. Turnover, absences, overtime, transfer requests, and exit conversations, looked at by department, shift, role, and length of employment, can show you where morale may be lowest before anyone is asked a question.
Then ask the employees and supervisors in those areas what has become harder, what is working well, and what they would change. Tell them why you are asking and what you will do with what they say. Who asks matters, because employees may not tell their own supervisor that the supervisor is part of the problem. When employees give feedback repeatedly and nothing happens, the process can undermine trust and lower morale further. How do I find out what my employees actually need? covers how to ask so that people answer candidly, and We ran an engagement survey and nothing changed. What went wrong? covers what to do if a past effort went nowhere.
How much does an employee's relationship with their supervisor affect morale?
An employee's relationship with their supervisor can affect morale a great deal, because supervisors shape much of what people experience at work day to day. How a supervisor communicates expectations, responds to problems, distributes work, and treats people can influence whether employees feel valued, whether they feel capable of doing the job well, whether they feel they belong, and whether they want to stay.
That makes supervisors an important place to look, but it doesn't make them the only explanation, and it doesn't mean the answer is to blame them. Many are carrying pressure from above and below at the same time. If they are expected to support their teams, they need support themselves: time, training, and leaders who are willing to listen to them too. If the issue is people who were promoted into management and are struggling, We promoted our best people into management and they're struggling. What now? covers that question.
What do we do once we know what's lowering morale?
Once you know what's lowering morale, decide what the organization can change, make those changes, and tell employees what you learned and what will happen next. Some changes, such as clearer expectations or fewer unnecessary steps in a process, can happen quickly. Others, such as redistributing work, developing supervisors, or creating ways for people to grow, take longer.
Some things won't be able to change, at least not yet. When that's the case, explain why, so employees don't conclude they weren't heard, and work with them on what might reduce the strain even if the constraint itself stays. Then go back after a reasonable period and check whether the changes made a difference. How do we know whether the change we made actually helped? covers how to do that.
Notice what's going well, too. Understanding what makes employees stay can be just as important as understanding what is wearing them down, because those strengths are worth protecting.
The Grantibly perspective
Angelika's perspective
We are not interested in generic advice about improving morale or creating a positive culture. What we want to understand is how people are being treated, whether they feel valued and capable, how they interpret what is happening to them at work, and whether their relationships and working environments help them grow and thrive.
That's why we look at both individual and organizational responsibility. People can develop healthier ways of working, but that alone isn't enough. Organizations, leaders, and supervisors also have a responsibility to create the conditions that support their employees, and supervisors and leaders need support themselves if they are going to do that sustainably. It also takes a sincere commitment to understanding what is happening and addressing the underlying issues, even when what you learn is uncomfortable. The goal isn't to blame leadership or to expect perfection.
