Did you know that without your knowledge, your health might be deteriorating due to pressure at work. Effective stress management is the only way out to become happier, healthier, and more productive.  Whatever we do or say has a direct effect on our physiological processes as it affects our psyche-both positive and negative. While positive vibes act as a booster to our health, enhances the morale causing increased productivity which is “THE CONTRIBUTION FACTOR” in corporate organisations, negative vibes causes distress to the party affected and in-turn the organisation. Though in a small way, which is enough to cause great distress waves amonsgt the entire organisation through grapevine. Morale Surveys Therefore, it becomes necessary that every organisation takes some  time to understand and analyse the mind-set of their employees to maintain the entire health of their firm. This can be done through surveys or questionnaires which serve as best platforms that shoulder employees’ opinion. On the side of the individual, he also should spare some time, from time-to-time to analyse his attitude towards the organisation and his/her colleagues and how it affects his/her performance. Management scholars say that “SELF-APPRAISAL” is the best tool for enhanced organisational performance and productivity. What is Stress?  It is very important to understand what stress is, to combat it. Stress is nothing but a condition where people get excited emotionally or in other words ” a disturbed mental state” affecting the well-being. The causal agents may be physiological  which can be medically treated or emotional which we are more worried about as emotionally unstable individuals cannot think properly which again leads to physical distress. It becomes therefore vital to know how we perceive and interpret things through our cognitive skills, again influenced by environmental factors to a considerable extent. People, particularly working in corporate environment and IT industry are subjected to much stress and they don’t know how to find a  vent to their feelings or when there is no adequate support from the family side. What are the Ways Out?  So, what is it we do at times like these? Not to bother. The mantra is “RELAX” to the maximum possible extent. First thing extract yourself away from the scene of action so that you could breathe some fresh air. Then think calmly and try to isolate the bug that is bothering you. Here the problem is the bug and analyse how far you have become vulnerable to the situation. Gauge the amount of damage done and rate the problem in terms of ” recoverable by myself- no help needed”, ” recoverable- but with external support”. Remember, for every problem there is a solution. It may not be tailor- made, but definitely passable with little bit of compromise from our end if necessary. 10 Yoga Poses You Should Do Everyday to Combat...

Employee Morale – Role and Effect What is Morale? Morale is a word that conveys different meaning to different people. It might imply the following meanings: 1. Mental Attitude or Mind set from a psychologist’s perspective 2. A feeling of togetherness from an individual’s point of view 3. Group consent in terms of a business environment etc. Morale can be defined as ” an attitude of mind which conditions how well or how badly duties are performed”- W.H.Walley It can also be defined as ” the collective attitudes of workers towards one another, the employer, the management, or their work”-J.C.Denyen Morale is ” the capacity of group of people to pull together persistently and consistently in pursuit of a common purpose”-Dr.Deighton Morale is thus the undercurrent in an organisation that determines the performance levels of the employees as it dictates employees’ enthusiasm, voluntary conformance with regulations and orders and willingness to co-operate with fellow workers to accomplish the enterprise objectives. Poor morale is evident from in-subordination, discouragement and dislike of job, company and associates. Nature of Morale What it is? : Emotional by nature , a state of well- being and an attitude of mind. What it does? : Directly related to quality of work, enthusiasm, motivation, productivity, discipline, co-operation and initiative. Where it resides? : In the minds, attitudes and emotions of employees as individuals and as groups. Whom  it affects? : Employees and executives during their interaction and ultimately the customers and the community. What it affects?: Willingness to work and placing the enterprise objective behind self interest. To summarise, the ill effects of Bad Morale would be Reduced productivityIncreased absenteeismAntagonism towards managementToo much of complaints and grievancesIncreased employee turn-overFriction between employeesAlcoholismAccidentsIncreased lethargy In contrary High Morale leads to Willing co-operation towards enterprise objectivesLoyalty to the managementGood behaviour in conformance with the rules and regulationsStrong and coherent groups leading to organisational staminaPrioritising jobs and placing self interest behind organisational objectivesIncreased sense of participationPride in organisation Picture Courtesy: extramadness.com Ways to Improve Employee Morale From the workers’ point of view: Fair compensation and bonusSatisfactory working conditions conforming to safety and securityTreated with dignityEfficient and amiable leadershipScope for expressing their views for improvementAcceptable working hoursEnsuring economic security From the management’s view point Co-operation from the employeesStability of tenureIncreased productivityLow cost per unitLoyalty of the workers Is it possible to measure Employee Morale? Level of productivity: When the morale is low due to different reasons, higher is the chance of absenteeism, accidents and grievances since the employees try to overlook their responsibilities towards the organisation. Therefore it is the responsibility of the management to settle and score issues relating to employees or unions then and there to avoid those issues blowing out of proportion. Morale Surveys These are generally conducted by individual organisations to find out if the employees are satisfied with their job and task and how they feel about it. This is considered to be a fairly important measure to gauge the kind of relationship the employees have with the management. Surveys also indicate whether the channel of communication is open between the superiors and sub-ordinates and serves as an emotional release for the workers to express their real feelings. Types of Morale Surveys: Objective Surveys: Objective type of questions are given to the employees for answering but the flaw is that, the management representative writes the answers and this does not give a chance for the workers to express their feelings. Descriptive Surveys: Here the employees write their answers to queries asked which  are more descriptive in nature and reflects the actual feelings of each individual. Projective Surveys: Sometimes psychological tests are conducted to bring out the hidden feelings from tight lipped employees or who fear the management. The management must be aware of the following morale...