Angela
10 Staff Morale-Boosting Ideas During a Crisis
Learn how to boost staff morale and keep your company culture strong.
Table of Contents
1. Acknowledge and Address Concerns
2. Provide Opportunities for Volunteering
3. Remain Flexible
4. Celebrate Small Wins
5. Show Appreciation
6. Provide Development Opportunities
7. Encourage Team Bonding
8. Use Tools to Increase Employee Performance
9. Offer Support and a Positive Work Environment
10. Lead by Example
How to Boost Staff Morale During a Crisis: FAQ
Final Thoughts
Tough times can affect everyone, from entry-level employees to business owners. Economic uncertainty, political unrest, and global crises such as pandemics create stress for your workforce and may require tough business decisions like layoffs or pay cuts. These conditions often lead to lowered employee morale, which puts normal business operations and performance at risk.
Knowing how to improve team morale in the UK workplace in these circumstances is essential. In this article, you’ll find practical, actionable employee morale booster ideas that help create a positive and productive work environment. Whether you’re managing a small team or a large workforce, these practices will help you maintain momentum.
1. Acknowledge and Address Concerns
Listening is one of the most effective ideas for morale boosters at work. Ask yourself: What are your employees concerned about? What support do they need from leadership? Be transparent and honest about company developments. Share regular updates and create safe spaces like anonymous surveys, team chats, or suggestion boxes where employees can voice their thoughts. This open communication builds trust, encourages a sense of community, and shows your team you care.
2. Provide Opportunities for Volunteering
Volunteering offers purpose and pride, making it one of the best team morale-boosting activities. It also demonstrates your company values in action and enhances your brand image.
You can organise company-wide volunteer days, offer paid volunteer hours, or match employee donations. Encouraging employees to lead their own volunteer projects is another excellent morale booster idea for work. These activities not only help the community but also foster team bonding and satisfaction.
3. Remain Flexible
Flexibility is a must during hard times. Adjust work hours, allow remote work, or offer compressed workweeks. Flexibility reduces burnout and helps staff manage personal challenges.
You can also use employee scheduling software to streamline shift management. For example, RO App’s Employee Hours section offers an upgraded experience. It includes two tables:
- A Schedule table for planned working hours
- A Timesheets table for the actual recorded time
Employees can clock in and out using a time tracker, or edit their timesheets manually — perfect if someone forgets to track time. If tracking is not enabled for an employee, the service business software will automatically reflect their scheduled hours. You also get a summary of recorded hours by week or month. These employee morale activities for small businesses add structure while respecting your team's time and autonomy.
Employee Hours in RO App
4. Celebrate Small Wins
Recognising achievements, even small ones, can be a powerful way to boost employee morale. Did someone meet a tough deadline? Receive positive customer feedback? Find a missing inventory item? Celebrate it.
These ideas to boost employee morale can include public shout-outs in team meetings, digital announcements, or small rewards like gift cards. By promoting a culture that values progress, you inspire motivation and staff engagement.
5. Show Appreciation
Various experiments show that managers’ appreciation and attention to employees' work and dedication are natural staff morale boosters that do wonders. A heartfelt thank-you, a quick message recognising someone's effort, or celebrating birthdays and work anniversaries can go a long way.
Automating repetitive tasks using tools like the work order app also helps reduce stress, giving employees more room for meaningful work. Less busywork equals happier staff, making automation one of the lesser-known but impactful staff morale booster ideas.
When we schedule detailing jobs, we can see in RO App who is working, having a day off, or having a holiday, so we don't overbook cars.
6. Provide Development Opportunities
Career growth is a major contributor to morale. Offering training, mentoring, and opportunities to explore new skills shows your team that you invest in their future. Try the following proven options:
- Specialised workshops and webinars. This can include workshops, seminars, and online courses that teach valuable competencies like stress management, negotiation, or communication skills.
- Mentoring or coaching programmes. Let your employees learn from experienced professionals and receive feedback on their performance.
- Cross-departmental projects and job rotations. Happy employees can explore new roles and career opportunities within their organisation, change career paths, and realise their full potential.
- Structured career planning. Helping employees set goals and plan their career growth within your company ultimately leads to greater job satisfaction and retention.
Running a garage business? Find out what employee morale ideas will best work in your industry.
7. Encourage Team Bonding
Want to implement fun and effective staff morale booster ideas? Try hosting regular team-building events. From retreats and workshops to fun team-building games, friendly sports competitions, and lunch outings, these activities help foster connection.
Whether remote or in person, team-building activities like friendly challenges or shared learning experiences encourage teamwork and trust.
8. Use Tools to Increase Employee Performance
As a small business owner, you're responsible for work schedules, but juggling multiple projects can make that task tricky. Fortunately, many tools and methods are available to help you effectively manage employees.
Streamline Job Scheduling
If you use job scheduling software, you don’t need to look for additional programmes to organise your employees’ time at work. You can:
- Create schedules for different employee roles and locations
- Assign work orders and call-outs
- Track hours and days worked
RO App’s Employee Hours also lets you calculate accurate payroll based on planned schedules or tracked hours. This practical payroll management system boosts employee morale by ensuring transparency and fairness in compensation.
Base Salary Settings in RO App
We used to manage the data almost manually. We didn't know what the guys were doing during the day, or what they were using to develop the job. But everything changed for us with RO App.
Employee Productivity Reports are Your Helping Hand
It’s essential to understand your team’s productivity levels. This helps you evaluate employees’ performance with KPIs and identify your top performers.
Employee productivity reports generated by systems like business dashboard software help you:
- Compare completed work orders by employee
- Track total sales or service value per person
- Identify trends and improvement areas
These insights support performance-based staff morale booster ideas and better resource allocation.
Discover more productivity apps for small businesses.
Increase Internal Security
You can’t monitor every employee action in real time, but you can increase transparency using an employee activity log. When staff know their actions are visible, they become more mindful of sensitive data.
This feature reduces human error, protects customer and business data, and even allows you to restore deleted objects in your system. It's another one of the practical ideas for morale boosters at work because it creates a culture of accountability and trust.
Activity Log Report in RO App
9. Offer Support and a Positive Work Environment
Workplace wellbeing and mental health support at work can significantly influence morale. Listen actively to employees, show compassion during personal struggles, and provide mental health resources.
Regular one-on-one check-ins, access to counselling, and thoughtful workplace design (like clean spaces, comfortable furniture, and natural lighting) are all excellent morale booster ideas for work.
10. Lead by Example
Employees look to leaders in tough times. Stay optimistic, collaborate, and show resilience. Transparency in communication, especially when delivering tough news, builds respect.
Also, take care of your own mental and physical health. When leaders model healthy behaviour, it sets a standard and inspires others to follow suit. Leading by example is among the top ideas to boost staff morale that can't be ignored.
How to Boost Staff Morale During a Crisis: FAQ
How to boost staff morale during a crisis in the UK?
To boost staff morale during a crisis in the UK, focus on open communication, flexible work arrangements, and mental health support. Acknowledge the specific challenges your team faces, whether economic uncertainty or industry-specific pressures. Introduce morale-boosting ideas like appreciation programmes, team-building activities, and career development opportunities. Remember to consider cultural values such as fairness, transparency, and work-life balance when supporting your UK-based team.
What are some employee morale booster ideas for UK small businesses?
UK small businesses can improve morale by implementing cost-effective yet impactful strategies. These include recognising employee efforts publicly, offering flexible working hours, creating clear career paths, and celebrating team wins, big or small. Additionally, local initiatives like charity partnerships, mental wellbeing days, and personal development budgets resonate well with British employees.
What are the best ways to improve team morale in British workplaces?
To improve team morale in British workplaces, cultivate a positive work environment rooted in mutual respect and autonomy. Encourage team bonding through social events, professional learning opportunities, and employee-led initiatives. Promote a culture of listening through regular one-to-ones or anonymous feedback channels. Ensuring transparent communication, fair pay practices, and consistent appreciation are all proven morale boosters in the UK context.
What virtual team-building activities can I organise to boost my remote teams’ morale?
Ideas include online escape rooms, virtual happy hours, remote talent shows, and group workouts. These morale booster ideas for work bring remote teams closer together.
What can I do about low staff morale?
Start by identifying the root cause through open dialogue. Act on feedback, foster team spirit, and implement proven ideas for morale boosters at work, like flexibility, appreciation, and growth opportunities.
Final Thoughts
Regardless of the crisis, implementing the right ideas to boost employee morale can help your team stay strong, focused, and resilient. Acknowledge their concerns, foster professional growth, encourage teamwork, and show consistent appreciation.
By embracing a variety of practices, both simple and strategic, you’ll build a culture that thrives even in uncertainty.
