7 Tips to Improve Morale in the Workplace During the Busy Season

When the busy season approaches, maintaining employee morale becomes both more important and more difficult to do than the rest of the year. Whether you’re in retail preparing for the holidays, hospitality bracing for summer, or accounting facing tax season, these intense periods can profoundly affect employee morale.

But not to worry! With a little bit of planning, communication, and flexibility, you can improve morale in the workplace, even during the busy season.

This blog post will delve into practical tips and ideas to uplift your workforce and create a thriving atmosphere, even amidst the chaos.

Let’s get to it!

What is Morale in the Workplace?

Workplace morale refers to how employees feel about their work, their co-workers, and the company overall. It’s a measurement of how happy they are with their job.

High morale contributes to engaged and productive employees who communicate freely and collaborate well together. Low morale, on the other hand, can lead to disengaged or burned-out employees.

Why is Morale Important?

High workplace morale is crucial for several reasons, as it significantly impacts both individual performance and the organization’s success. When morale is elevated, employees are more likely to be productive, innovative, and willing to go the extra mile for their colleagues and the organization. This heightened engagement translates to better customer service, higher-quality work, and increased efficiency. Furthermore, positive morale fosters teamwork and collaboration, creating a supportive atmosphere where employees feel valued and respected.

But when morale is low, both individuals and the company can suffer, with issues like burnout, absenteeism, and high attrition.

How Does the Busy Season Affect Morale?

Whether your busy season is the summer, winter holidays, or another time of year, these intense periods impact employee morale. While the energy surrounding heightened activity can inspire camaraderie among employees, the seasonal hustle can also increase stress levels.

By taking a proactive approach to the busy season, you can enhance the positive impact and mitigate the negative to maintain or even improve overall morale.

7 Ideas for Improving Morale in the Workplace During Peak Season

Whether you’re in human resources, management, or executive leadership, you can take steps to improve morale in the workplace during the busy season. Here are some practical ideas to implement.

Prioritize Work-Life Balance

Maintaining a healthy work-life balance always matters, but especially during busy periods. You should encourage employees to set boundaries between their professional and personal lives, enabling them to disconnect and rejuvenate after hours.

Yes, some seasons in some industries will require overtime or weekends in the office. That’s why it’s also good to encourage breaks during the workday. Even just a quick walk or coffee break can reenergize workers. When you show you care about employee well-being, you improve employee morale.

Employees will also better manage work-life balance when they have flexibility over their schedules.

Offer Flexibility

Offering flexibility during the busy season can significantly enhance employee morale by accommodating diverse needs and preferences. Allowing for remote work options, flexible hours, or even the ability to adjust workloads can help employees manage their responsibilities more effectively. For shift work, accommodate preferences when you’re able, and make it easy for workers to switch their shifts.

Communicate flexible options as soon as you can so employees have time to determine their own schedules.

Communicate Clearly and Often

Clear and frequent communication is essential in maintaining morale during the busy season. Regular updates about schedules, workload expectations, company goals, and team progress can help employees stay informed and connected. This also contributes to their work-life balance because they can plan their personal lives around their work schedule, even when it’s busy.

Remember, communication is a two-way street. Provide employees with the opportunity to speak freely with you.

Implement Feedback

Leaders should strive to create an open dialogue where employees feel comfortable sharing their concerns, ideas, and feedback. Make it easy for them to share openly with you. Set up anonymous surveys, one-on-one meetings, or team brainstorming sessions so team members can offer their experiences, suggestions, and challenges.

Honestly consider the feedback you collect. Implement ideas whenever possible.

Even if you can’t implement every suggestion, practice active listening. Demonstrate that you hear and understand the feedback offered. When possible, explain why you can’t make the suggested changes.

By demonstrating that feedback leads to tangible change, you create an inclusive environment where employees feel heard and appreciated. This maintains morale when workloads are high.

Recognize and Reward Employees

Recognizing and rewarding employees for their hard work during peak seasons is essential in improving employee morale. Acknowledgement can take various forms, from simple thank-you notes to formal employee recognition programs. Leaders should make it a priority to highlight individual contributions and achievements regularly, ensuring employees feel valued for their efforts.

You can also celebrate project milestones with a fun reward for the whole team, like an afternoon break to play board games or a company-sponsored happy hour after work.

Find Ways to Have Fun

Just because you’re in the office doesn’t mean you can’t have fun. Team-building activities, themed dress days, or friendly competitions build connection in the workplace.

In addition to incentivizing employees with fun rewards, you can also tie fun activities to philanthropic work. For example, Insight Global raises money every year with Field Day. When employees pay the entrance fee, they can wear workout attire to the office and participate in different activities throughout the day.

Setting up fun activities and team incentives takes planning, which leads us to our final tip.

Plan in Advance

Everything on this list will be more effective if you plan ahead, before the busy season starts. Look at the calendar and ask these questions:

• Do you have enough team members scheduled for each day? Is this true if someone needs to call out sick? Nothing plummets morale faster than workers picking up extra work when they’re already stretched thin.
• What work needs to be done in person? What work can be done at home? How can you realistically offer flexibility during the busy season?
• What project milestones should be recognized? How will you celebrate them?
• Is there a budget to reward employees?
• What fun days on the calendar could inspire office celebrations? Look for holidays like National Donut Day (June 6th) and Talk Like a Pirate Day (September 19th).

By answering these questions and more, you can clearly communicate the schedule and expectations before peak season begins.

The Insight Global Difference is Care

At Insight Global, we know the importance of improving morale in the workplace. That’s why we take extra time and care with our consultants. Our proprietary approach to consultant engagement includes onboarding, routine check-ins throughout their assignment, and offboarding.

Our industry-leading retention rates and NPS scores only underscore our dedication to our people.

If you’re ready to improve morale in the workplace during the busy season, connect with Insight Global today.