Chapter 1

INTRODUCTION

Morale is an employee’s attitude toward his or her job, employer, and colleagues.
Employee morale as the psychological state with respect to satisfaction, confidence and
resolve; the attitude of an individual or group of employees, resulting in courage,
devotion and discipline; level of fulfillment one has with intrinsic work aspects, such as
variety and challenge, feedback and learning, and space to grow and extrinsic
circumstances of employment such as fair and adequate pay, job security, and health
and safety.
A high morale means the employee is satisfied with the job, puts in effort, is creative,
takes initiative is committed to the organization and focuses on achieving organizational
goals rather than personal goals. Low morale leads to high skiving, high turnover,
unsolved complaints and strikes, thereby encumbering firm’s performance. According to
the business dictionary morale is defined as the depiction of emotions, satisfaction, and
overall attitude towards a workplace. Productivity is directly related to morale. Happy
employees have high morale while dissatisfied and unhappy employees have low
morale. measured employee morale, using job satisfaction, organizational commitment,
turnover rates, complaints and employee strikes as a proxy. High morale contributes to
high levels of productivity, high returns to stakeholders, and employee loyalty. Low
morale may cause high absenteeism and turnover. Respect, involvement, appreciation,
adequate compensation, promotions, a pleasant work environment, and a positive
organizational culture are morale boosters. Many companies offer diverse benefits to
boost morale and satisfaction
Morale is perhaps the most frequently used term, in Organizational literature. Yet it
remains one of the more evasive, controversial topics that lack universally acceptable
and comprehensive, definition. Morale in spite of its importance is largely
unacknowledged and poorly understood by managers.
Some social scientists consider morale as a feeling of an individual whereas others treat
it as “group feeling”. Almost all scientists unanimously agree to the importance of
morale for it is the hallmark of sound behavioral climate. A penetrating discussion of
morale is hence called for.
Morale is the vital ingredient of Organizational success for it reflects the attitudes and
sentiments and individual or group has toward the Organizational objectives. These
feelings and sentiments largely affect the productivity and satisfaction of individuals.
When people are enthusiastic in their work environment we generally label them to be
having “high morale”.
Morale is an individual’s zest for working or the lack of it. A person with high morale
will have confidence in himself, in others, and in his future. An individual with a high
morale feels his work is worth doing well and that he is doing good job. It also helps him
take minor irritation in stride, and to work under pressure without blowing up.
Morale is the term usually applied to armed forces during war time, and to sports and
athletics teams. It refers to team spirit and togetherness of people for a common
purpose. It indicates evident commitment that is exhibiting the behavioral symbols and
symptoms of personal commitment.
The morale of employees became a subject of extensive study after World War II. High
or favorable morale seemed the key to productivity and success during those days. Each
manager started to develop and maintain morale in the organization.
The usual dictionary definition relates the term morale to mood and spirit. High morale
means an enthusiastic, confident feeling with respect to individual or group
achievement. In employment, the term refers to participative attitudes towards
achievement of organizational objectives.

Meaning
Morale is a collection of employee’s feelings, attitudes and sentiments towards their
jobs, superiors and organization. It reflects a state of mind of people.
Description of the emotions, attitude, satisfaction, and overall outlook of employees
during their time in a workplace environment. Part of effective productivity is thought to
be directly related to the morale of the employees. Employees that are happy and
positive at work are. said to have positive or high employee morale. Companies
that maintained employees who are dissatisfied and negative about their work
environment are said to have negative or low employee morale
Robert M
“Morale is a group phenomenon consisting of pattern of attitudes of members of the
group. It refers to the spirit of the organization. It represents the attitude of individuals
and groups in an organization towards their work environment and towards voluntary
cooperation to the full extent of their capabilities for the fulfillment of organizational
goals
Dale S
Beach morale is the total satisfaction a person derives from his job, his work group, his
boss, his Organization and his environment. Morale is frequently referred to as being
satisfaction and happiness of people. Morale is involved in everything that makes a job
satisfying.
Rohan v.
morale is the extent to which an individual needs are satisfied and the extent to which
the individual, person perceives that satisfaction is stemming from his total job
satisfaction.

Definitions

Flippo
Has described morale “as a mental condition or attitude of individuals and groups
which determines their willingness to co-operate. Good morale is evidenced by
employee enthusiasm, voluntary confirmation with regulations and orders, and a
willingness to co-operate with others in the accomplishment of an organization’s
objectives. Poor morale is evidenced by surliness, insubordination, a feeling of
discouragement and dislike of the job, company and associates.”

Dr Leighton.
Capacity of a group of people to pull together persistently and consistently in pursuit of
a common purpose

Guion
“The extent to which an individual’s needs are satisfied and the extent to which
individual perceives that satisfaction as stemming from his total job satisfaction.”
Edwin Flippo.
“Morale is a mental condition or attitude of individual and groups which determines
their willingness to co-operate.”
Dale Voder.
“For group of workers morale refers to the overall tone climate or atmosphere of work,
perhaps regularly sensed by the members if workers appear to feel enthusiastic and
optimistic about group activities if they have a sense of mission about their job, if they
are friendly with each other, they are described as having a good or high morale. If they
seem to be dissatisfied, irritated, cranky, critical, restless, and pessimistic, they are
described as having poor or low morale”
Approaches to Morale
Morale is generally referred time as “willingness to work”. Job satisfaction and
dissatisfaction create the problem of low morale among the employees. Good motivation
leads to high morale. It being a psychological concept, it is not easy to define it precisely.
Different authorities have variously defined morale. Different definitions office moral
can be classified into three major approach, classical approach, psychological approach,
social approach

Classical Approach
Robert M. Guion defined morale as the extent to which individual needs are satisfied
and the extent to which an individual perceives that satisfaction stemming from total job
satisfaction. According to this approach, the satisfaction of basic needs is the symbols of
morale. If the basic needs of the employees are satisfied their morale will be high.

Psychological Approach
In the words of Jucious and Slender, "morale is a state of mind and emotions affecting
willingness to work which in turn affects individual and organizational objectives".
According to this approach, morale is a psychological concept i.e. a state of mind.
Emotions are affect the willingness to work which in turn affect individual and
organizational objectives. Accordingly the attitudes and willingness to work is morale.
Morale is a 'mental condition or attitude of individuals and groups which determine
their willingness to cooperate.

Social Approach
Morale is a social phenomenon which enables the men to live in a society or group in
pursuit of a common goal. According to Blackman ship, morale is the feeling of
togetherness. There is a sense of identification with and interest in the elements of one's
job, working conditions, fellow employees, supervisor, employer and the company.
Broadly speaking, morale is; a stimulation of the feeling of togetherness an
identification of group interest and that of the interest of the enterprise, fellow
employees and the requirement of the job; the creation of an atmosphere in the
organization conducive to the achievement of the enterprise. Morale is an indicator of
the attitude of employees towards their jobs, superiors and the organization's
environment. It is a collection of employees" attitudes, feelings and sentiments Morale
is a by-product of the group relationships in towards these variables. the organization. It
is a mental process, which, once started, permeates to the entire group creating a mood
which results in the formation of a common attitude.
Nature of Morale
Generally, the term morale is used to describe an overall climate prevailing among the
members of a group. It is not an absolute concept which can convey a specific meaning.
Like the word health, the word morale by itself does not convey any favorable or
unfavorable meaning. Morale is an elusive thing. It is not easy to define, control or
measure. But it exercises a potent influence on the human relations climate in an
organization. It has to be qualified with a degree, as high morale or low morale. Thus,
morale is the degree of enthusiasm and willingness with which the members contribute
their efforts towards the organizational goals. If the enthusiasm and willingness to work
of a group are high, we will say the morale is high and vice versa. Therefore, morale has
to be qualified like the word health". Just as good health is essential for any individual,
high morale is necessary for any organization. Managers cannot establish high morale
once and then forget about it for several years. High morale is to be built and
maintained by continuous efforts. Morale is multi-dimensional in nature in the sense
that it is a complex mixture of several elements. It recognizes the influence of job
situation on attitudes of individuals and also includes the role of human needs as
motivational forces. Morale is mostly regarded as a long-term phenomenon. Raising
morale to a high level and maintaining it is a long-term measure such as gimmicks,
contests or one-shot actions.

Concept of Employee Morale

 Morale is a fundamental psychological concept. It is the sum of several psychic

qualities that include courage, fortitude, resolution, and above all, confidence.
 Morale is a multidimensional concept. It is a complex mixture of several
elements. It is viewed multidimensional because it recognizes the influence of job
situation on attitudes of individuals and also includes the role of human needs as
motivational forces.
 Morale is a group phenomenon consisting of pattern of attitudes of the members
of the group. It refers to the spirit of the Organization and the managerial
climate.
 Morale is different from team work. Morale is the capacity of group of people to
pull together persistently and consistently in the pursuit of common purpose.
Morale is the state of-attitude of the members in a group whereas team work is a
condition. Good morale is helpful in achieving team work, but it is possible that
team work can be high and group morale can be low.
 Morale is mostly regarded as a long-term condition. As morale represents the
state of balance and health within an Organization, it must be viewed from long-
 term point. Rising morale to a high level and maintaining it there is a long-run
and continuous process which cannot be achieved through short-run devices such
as contests, pep talks, gimmicks, or one shot actions.
 Morale may be “high” or “low”. Like the word “health” morale used alone has no
meaning unless it is specified in terms of degree. High morale is hallmark of
sound behavioral climate in the Organization. Low morale results in inefficiency,
waste, industrial indiscipline. Keith Davis contends one of the surest of
deteriorating human relations is the phenomenon known as “low morale”. In its
most sinister form it lurks behind wildcat strikes, slowdowns, and absenteeism
and employee turnover. The reverse-high morale gladdens the hearts of
managers.
 Morale is different from motivation. Though both are cognitive concepts they are
different. Morale describes a state of complex attitudes and feelings about work
situations whereas motivation deals with the propensity for particular behavior
pattern.
 Morale is contagious. Both favorable attitudes and unfavorable attitudes can
spread among people. It can deteriorate rapidly when seriously unfavorable
events occur.

Features of Employee morale

The word morale does not convey any favorable or unfavorable meaning. It is dynamic
in nature represents the attitudes and sentiments of the workers. It is multidimensional
in the sense that it recognizes the influence on job situation as attitudes of individuals
and also includes the role of human needs as motivational force
 It is composite of feelings, attitudes and sentiments of the employees.

 It is the degree or enthusiasm and willingness with which the employees

contribute their efforts towards the organizational goals.

 It is different from job satisfaction because morale refers to group concept while
job satisfaction is an individual concept.

 The degree of morale can be estimated through labor absenteeism and turnover.

 It is both an individual and a group phenomenon. The high moral is reflected in

good team and team spirit in case of group morale.
  Morale is the primary concern of the management because high production and
productivity of workers are the direct result of high morale.

Importance of Employee morale

The management is always interested in higher production and productivity in order to
achieve the desired goal. Higher productivity is an index of favorable attitudes of
workers about the work and the organization.

 Higher productivity is the result of the positive attitude of the workers. High
morale for this the management should know the impact of its policies and
practices on the attitude of the workers.
 According to Dale Yoder, “if workers appear to full enthusiastic and optimized
about the group activities and mission and friendly to each other, they are
described as having good or high morale. If they are dissatisfied irritated, critical,
restless and pessimistic, there reactions are described as evidence of poor or low
morale.”
 The success or failure of the organization very much depends upon the morale of
its employee. As per opinion of Keith Davis, “Never under estimate the power of a
woman and the same certainly must be said about morale never under estimate
the power of morale.”
 The high morale is important because it assists management to solve many labor
related problems such as – labor turnover, absenteeism, indiscipline and
grievance, etc.
 Government has introduced many labor welfare and social security measures to
improve the morale of industrial workers.
 It has realized that low morale has long range effects damaging the organization,
thus the management has recognize the importance of high morale

Characteristics of Employee morale

Morale is a feeling, somewhat related to esprit de corps, enthusiasm or zeal. For a group
of employees morale, according to a popular usage of the word, refers to the over-all
tone climate or atmosphere of work, perhaps vaguely sensed by the members. If
employees appear to feel enthusiastic and optimistic about group activities, if they have
a sense of mission about their job, if they are friendly with each other, they are described
as having a good or high morale. If they seem to be dissatisfied, irritated, cranky,
critical, rustled and pessimistic, they are described as possessing a poor or low morale.
It is a mental condition or attitude of individuals or groups which determines their
willingness to cooperate. Good morale is evidenced by employee enthusiasm, voluntary
conformance with regulations and orders, and willingness to co- operate with others in
the accomplishment of an organization’s objective. Poor morale is evidenced by
surliness, insubordination, a feeling of discouragement and dislike of the job, company
and associates. Morale is a group concept with five components

 Morale is a state of mental health which is closely associated with loyalty,

egoism and enthusiasm.
 Morale is a densification of group interest, interest of organization, fellow
workers and requirements of the job.
 Morale is the subjective feeling of the employees.
 Morale affects behavior, performance and discipline.
 Morale can be assessing in the form of productivity, employee discipline,
absenteeism and turnover.
 Morale is an index of good industrial relations.

Need for Morale study

Since morale is fundamentally the result of good human relations, its promotion is the
primary responsibility of the management. It should be remembered, however, that the
work of morale promotion is not a new development in industry; it is only much more
necessary than in handicraft days. Even in those days, the worker had to be encouraged
to give the best value to the master, by applying his knowledge and skill to the making of
the article which the employer hoped to sell to pay wages and make his profit.
But there is a vast difference in the attitudes then and now. At that time the worker
knew for whom he made the article; why he was making it; how much the master would
charge; how much the material cost; where it would come from; there was a full chance
for him to show his workmanship; it was his product, and he was proud of it. It gave him
complete satisfaction and a sense of pride, his morale was high. In the factory of today
the worker produces only a fraction of an article.
He sees neither the preceding nor the subsequent processes of manufacture. The
product is not his; he does not know the consumer; and it is only by chance that he
might see the product rendering its service in use. He does not know who the
proprietors are, behind the mask of the company; and he is likely to know but few of the
executives.
He is seldom told what the company’s policies are; and more seldom yet what its
financial condition is, although his risk, in case of failure of the company, is much
greater than that of the shareholders. For him the modern process turns chiefly upon
two bearings – arbitrary authority and wages. There is hardly any interest in
accomplishment and resultant satisfaction which should impel him to work with a will.
Man, by nature, is co-operative, but modern industry has contrived a situation in which
friction is chronic. This may, in part, be ascribed to the fact that the existing industrial
organization has shattered the personal bond between workers and employers. “The
incentive to work, that is, willingness of the worker to increase or even maintain output
at lowest cost,” says Professor Sargent Florence, “is checked at the outset as soon as he
finds himself divided off as a mere employee, from ownership of the products of his
labor.”

Employee Morale Factors Influencing the Morale of Employees in a Work

Organization

The factors affecting morale of employees in a work organization can be logically

grouped under the follower two categories

 External Factors

These are the factors external to the Organization. These comprise of the personality of
the individual Employee, his psychological make-up, level of intelligence, his physical
health, family background and relations with social groups and friends. Every human
being is unique just like fingerprints. When an individual comes to the work place he
carries all these factors with him.
These factors influence his perceptions, attitudes that, in turn, affect the morale. Since
these are external factors that are outside the control of managers, managers can do
very little to change, control or influence them. But it cannot be denied that external
factors also influence morale of employees.
  Internal Factors
Perhaps the single most important factor that can have profound influence on the
morale of employees is the Organizational objectives. If the goals set by management are
worthwhile, valid and useful, then workers develop a positive feeling toward the job and
the Organization. Allowing workers participation in setting goals enhances morale of the
employees to a larger extent.
Structure is another influential factor of morale. In a sound structure where lines of
authority are clearly specified; and responsibility is precisely defined and where there is
candid communication among the people, morale tends to be high. Further, if the
structure of the Organization is such that employees associate with management at least
now and then, helps remove the sense of isolation and misunderstanding among
employees, about the Organization serves to build morale. Normally, in decentralized
structures morale will be high.

Types of Morale
 High Morale
High morale exists when the employee's attitude is favorable to the total situation of a
group and to the attainment of its objectives. It is represented by the use of such terms
like, spirit, zest, enthusiasm, loyalty, honesty, dependability, resistance to frustration
etc. Possible effects of high morale: Higher performance, Better quality of work, Job
satisfaction, Cheaper goods and services, Lower cost, Higher profits, Better wages,
Employment stability, Low absenteeism, Low labor turnover, Employees initiative,
regularity and punctuality, Good discipline, Fewer industrial accidents, Stability and
growth of the organization, Sound industrial relation
 Low Morale
Low morale exists when attitudes inhibit the willingness and ability of an organization
to attain its objectives. If employees seem to be dissatisfied, irritated, cranky, critical,
restless, and pessimistic they are described as having poor or low morale. Effects of low
morale are: Apathy and non-involvement, Fatigue and monotony, High labor turnover,
Work stoppages, High rate of Absenteeism, Disciplinary problem, Restriction of output,
Increased grievances, Labor unrest, Strike, Wastage and spoilage
Individual and group morale
Morale may be concerned with an individual. An individual's morale is related with
knowing one's own expectations and living up to them. If one is clear of one's own needs
and how to satisfy them, one's morale is high. Whereas an individual's morale is a single
person's attitude toward life, group morale reflects the general esprit de corps of a
collective group of personalities. Group morale is everyone's concern and it must be
practiced continually, for it is never ultimately achieved and is constantly changing.
Group morale and the morale of the individual are interrelated but not necessarily
identical. They have an effect on each other. It is conceivable that an individual's own
personal perception of existing conditions as they relate to himself may be high, and the
group" perception of conditions may be low, or vice versa, but more usually the two
share common feelings.

Assumptions in the understanding of morale

The following basic assumptions about people are significant because they are tied up
closely with an understanding of what morale is: There are psychological uniformities
which obtain among all tribes, nations and races. Each psychological uniformity has a
range through which it varies. Some variants are characteristic of particular groups of
people and form a part of their culture. Everyone is disturbed by the following general
stresses: Threats to life; Discomfort arising from pain, heat, cold, fatigue and poor diet;
Loss of the means of subsistence, whether in the form of money, job, business or
property; Deprivation of sexual satisfaction; Enforced idleness; Isolation; Threats to
children and other members of the family and to friends; Restrictions on movement;
Dislike and ridicule to which one may be exposed, and rejection by other people;
Capricious and unpredictable behavior on the part of those in authority on whom one's
welfare depends. Personnel management carefully analyses these different items of
morale because employees vary greatly in their ability to face a situation of stress, and
because it is capable of determining the impact which good or bad morale will have on
the attainment of organizational objectives. By taking the necessary steps in time, it may
improve the attitudes and morale of its employees.
Factors Influencing Employee Morale
Employee morale is a very complex phenomenon and is influenced by many factors on
the shop floor. For example, the job, the supervisor, the company and the working
conditions obtaining in it as well as its policies; the group and inter-personal relations
prevailing in that group; salary and other benefits; the employee's family and home life;
his social and community life; the policies and attitudes of the top management to its
employees and trade unions-all these influence employee morale to a certain extent.
Factors influencing employee morale can well be divided into two groups namely
organizational factors and personal factors.

Organizational Factor
The goals of the organization influence the attitudes of employees greatly. If the goals
set by the management are worthwhile, useful and acceptable, then employees develop a
positive feeling towards the job and the Likewise, a clear structure with well-defined
duties and organization. responsibilities encourages people to work with confidence.
The reputation of the company is another important factor worth mentioning here.
Persons working in a reputed organization experience feelings of pride and a spirit of
loyalty.
Objectives of the Organization
Employees are highly motivated and their morale is higher if their individual goals and
objectives are in tune with organizational goals and objectives. The commonness of
purpose will result in high morale. Employees want to be a part of the organization
which has a worthwhile purpose in which they can believe.
Organizational Design
Organizational structure has an impact on the quality of labor relations, particularly on
the level of morale. Large organizations tend to lengthen their channels of vertical
communication and to increase the difficulty of upward communication. Therefore the
morale tends to be lower. Against this, a flat structure increases the level of morale.
The Nature Of Work
A meaningful and satisfying job helps to improve employee morale. In such a job each
member of the group understands clearly how his specific task contributes to the
attainment of group goals. Morale tends to be low when the job provides no challenge
and satisfaction and job standards are considered too high. Many jobs of a routine or
specialized nature make for the boredom of the employee, for obsessive thinking and
alienation. Dull, monotonous, repetitive work affects employee morale adversely. On the
other hand if an employee is asked to do something interesting and challenging, his
morale may be high
Work Environment
The building and its appearance, the condition of machine tools available at work place,
provisions for safety, medical aid and repair to machinery, etc. have an impact on
employees morale. Morale is a direct function of the conditions in the workplace. Clean,
safe, comfortable and pleasant work conditions are morale boosters.
Work Conditions
Physical work environment, job security, wages and other allied factors exercise a
significant influence on employee morale. When the wages are fair, job is secure and
there are opportunities for promotion, job satisfaction and morale are likely to be high.

Rewards
Employees expect adequate compensation for their services rendered to the
organization. A good system of wages, salaries, promotions and other incentives keeps
the morale of the employees high. One of the requirements of high morale is the
possibility and opportunity of progress in any concern. All employees should be given an
opportunity to progress and to earn high wages without discrimination. Any
discrimination.
Leadership
The actions of the management exercise a tremendous influence on the morale of
employees. High rates of turnover, for example, indicate that the leadership is
ineffective. Competent, dependable and fair-minded leadership can build and maintain
high morale. Such a leadership can win the confidence of employees through
sympathetic and friendly behavior. Lines of authority and responsibility are clear and
communication system is effective. The actions of managers exert a strong influence
over the morale of the workforce. Fair treatment, equitable rewards and recognition for
good work affect morale greatly. Employees feel comfortable when they work under a
sympathetic, caring leader in place of one who is authoritarian, dictatorial and
domineering. Negativism, inconsiderateness and apathy are not conducive to the
development of a good work climate.
Supervision
The nature of supervision can better tell the attitudes of employees because a supervisor
is in direct contact with the employees and can have better influence on the activities of
the employees. There should be an impartial, helpful, and capable team of supervisors
and managers and their sympathetic attitude towards their subordinates.
Fellow Employees
Man, being a social animal, finds his work more satisfying if he feels that he has the
acceptance and companionship of his fellows. If he has confidence in his fellow
employees and faith in their loyalty, his morale will be high. Poor attitude of co-
employees influences others. Imagine working with a person who talks about the
negative points of an organization all day long. Such a person can make each workday
an unpleasant experience for others. He can cause co-employees to think negatively and
even if they don’t, such an attitude is certainly not a morale booster. The confidence of
an employee in fellow employees influences morale. When an employee is confident that
his co- employees are loyal to him and will provide advice and assistance whenever
necessary his morale is likely to be good. A feeling of togetherness (group cohesiveness)
and common goals tend to raise employee morale.

Concept Of Self
How employees perceive themselves influences their attitudes to the organizational
environment. For example, the morale of individuals who lack self-confidence or who
suffer from poor physical or mental health is generally low. How the employee looks at
himself (the self-concept) also influences morale greatly. For example, individuals who
lack self-confidence or who suffer from poor physical or mental health frequently
develop morale problems. Further, how the employees personal needs are satisfied can
significantly influence their morale. Salary, fringe benefits, DA rates, allowances, may
affect employee morale in a positive or negative manner, when they compare themselves
with others doing similar jobs. Employees can become disgruntled when they feel that
their pay and benefits are not in line with the current industry rates or are not keeping
up with rising prices.
The level of Satisfaction
The satisfaction which an individual obtains in his job is largely the result of the extent
to which different aspects of his work situations are relevant to his job-related value
systems-such as opportunity to learn a job, steadiness of employment, supervision, pay,
co-cooperativeness or otherwise of the co- employees, working conditions, cleanliness,
working hours, communication, recognition; individual adjustment and group
relationship outside the job. If the job factors and the satisfaction they bring are
perceived to be favorable to the employees, morale will tend to be higher than if the
factors seem unfavorable. If the job gives an employee opportunity to prove his talents,
and develop his personality, he will certainly like it and he will have high morale.

Future Opportunities For Rewards

If the employee looks to the future and perceives opportunities for satisfaction and for
attainment in the rewards and conditions that lie ahead, morale will tend to be high. If,
on the other hand, the rewards and opportunities for the future appear to be bleak,
morale will tend to be dampened.
Personal Factors
The sex, age, education, intelligence of the employees, occupational level, family life of
an employee, monthly income, marital status etc., determine his morale. An employee's
self concept, habits and family relations exercise a significant influence on his morale.
For some people, it appears most jobs will be dissatisfying irrespective of the
organization condition involved, whereas for others, most jobs will be satisfying.
Personal variables like age, educational level, sex, etc. are responsible for this difference.

The Employees Age

Till recently it was believed that there was a "U" shaped relationship between age and
morale. Morale was thought to be highest when people started on their job, but
subsequently declined until people reached their twenties. Then morale began to rise
again. But today's belief is that age and morale are directly related and that, other things
being equal, older employees seem to have higher morale, because perhaps younger
employees are more dissatisfied. They are a "new breed" with higher expectations than
their elders. Studies have reported that employers, therefore, hire employees of
somewhat higher age, for they perceive in them these qualities: stability that comes with
maturity, a serious attitude towards job, more reliability, less absenteeism, and proven
steady work habits, a sense of responsibility and loyalty and less tendency to be
distracted by outside interests or influences.
Educational Level
An inverse relationship has been found between educational level and employee morale.
In other words, the higher the educational level of an employee, the lower his morale
because he compares his own attainments with those of others. The higher he thinks
should be the high morale he is. With occupational level held constant there is a
negative relationship between the educational level and morale. The higher the
education, the higher the reference group which the individual looks to for guidance to
evaluate his job rewards.
Sex
There is as yet no consistent evidence as to whether women are more satisfied with their
jobs than men, holding such factors as job and occupational level constant.
One might predict this case, considering the generally lower occupational aspirations of
women.
Marital Status
The general impression is that married employees and employees who have more
dependents tend to be more dissatisfied with greater responsibilities. But such
employees may be more satisfied because they value their jobs more than unmarried
employees.
Occupational Level
The occupational level of the employee also influences his level of morale. For example,
executives are on the whole more satisfied than managers; managers are more satisfied
than subordinates; and so forth.

Experience
Since morale manifests itself in the attitudes of employees, it is important to find the
results of high morale and low morale. The effects of morale are given below
Morale And Productivity
One of the most unpredictable effects of the level of morale is its impact upon
employees" productivity. The reviews of the research studies do no-show a direct
relationship between morale and productivity. Productivity sometimes is high with high
morale, but at other times may be low even when morale is high, and vice versa. There
can be four combinations of morale and productivity.
High morale-High productivity:- High morale reflects a predisposition to be more
productive if proper leadership is provided. This situation is likely to occur when
employees are motivated to achieve high performance standards through financial and
non-financial rewards.
High morale-Low productivity:- The situation arises when employees spend their time
and energy in satisfying their personal objectives unrelated to the Company's goals.
Faulty machinery, lack of training, ineffective supervision and restrictive norms of
informal groups can also lead to-low productivity on the part of employees with high
morale.
Low morale-High productivity:- Low morale cannot result in high productivity for. a
long period. However, this situation can occur for a temporary period due to fear of loss
of job, exceptionally good supervision and machine paced work in which only a part of
employees" capabilities are used.
Low morale – Low productivity:- This is a normal relationship. In the long run low
morale is likely to result in low productivity. Thus, there is a complex relationship
between morale and productivity. This is because morale is only one of the factors
influencing productivity.

Productivity
The main objective of a business firm is to provide value satisfaction to the consumers at
a profit. Business firms always attempt to maximize profit. But in order to maximize
profit a business firm has to be efficient. Efficiency is measured by the capacity of a
business to raise the productivity of existing resources so that cost per unit is reduced
Since cost and productivity are reciprocal of each other, a raise in productivity implies a
fall in cost of production which ends in higher profit.
Productivity, as a common sense is the quantitative relation between what we produce
and what we use as resources to produce them i.e. an arithmetic ratio between the
amount produced (output) and the amount of resources used in course of production
(input). It will be desirable to examine, in brief, the concept of productivity.

A measure of the efficiently of a person, machine, factory, system, ete, in converting

inputs into useful outputs. Productivity is computed by dividing average output per
period by the total costs incurred or resources (capital, energy, material, personnel,)
consumed in that period. Productivity is critical determinant of cost efficiency.
This report is about productivity - how effectively we produce value from inputs. So we
can talk about the productivity of different resources used in producing goods and
services (people's time and energy, tools and machinery, land, energy, and so on). We
can also talk about and measure - the productivity of individuals, groups, firms,
collections of firms (industries) and, indeed, whole countries.
Measurement is important because it is the modest but persistent growth of productivity
year on year which is responsible for the huge improvements in living standards we have
seen in advanced capitalist economies since industrialization. Economies usually grow if
the population increases, because more people are working, but this also means the
fruits of their labor have to be more widely shared. Economies can also grow by
investing in more capital equipment and machinery but eventually diminishing rectums
kick in and yet another combine harvester doesn't add much to the volume of harvest.
However, new and better machines (such as the inventions that revolutionized the
textiles industry) or new methods of production (such as the factory) do generate
sustainable increases in income because they mean we can produce more goods and
services than previously in a given time period or with a given amount of raw materials
or with a given stock of people. Indeed, innovation is one of the most important sources
of productivity improvement.
Meaning
The Internationational Labor Organization in its report summarizes the concept of
productivity, thus some think of productivity as a measure of the economy as a whole.
Others think of productivity in terms of individual industries or plants". Some
businessmen in their public relations speak as though the whole matter of productivity
had to do with the degree of application of the workers to their Jobs. At other times, the
concept of productivity is used as though it were a measure of the degree of efficiency
achieved in production.
Productivity Concepts And Measures
Productivity is an overall measure of the ability to produce a good or service.
Productivity may also be defined as an index that measures output (goods and services)
relative to the input (labor, materials, energy, etc., used to produce the output). There
are two major ways to increase productivity: increase the numerator (output) or
decrease the denominator (input). A similar effect would be seen if both input and
output increased with output increasing faster than input; or if both input and output
decreased with input decreasing faster than output. A productivity ratio can be
computed for a single operation, a department, a facility, an organization, or even an
entire country
Conceptual Aspects of Productivity
Productivity is an objective concept, which can be measured, ideally against a universal
standard. As such, organizations can monitor productivity for strategic reasons such as
corporate planning, organization improvement, or comparison to competitors. It can
also be used for tactical reasons such as project control or controlling performance to
budget. Productivity is useful as a relative measure of actual output of production
compared to the actual input of resources, measured across time or against common
entities. As output increases for a level of input, or as the amount of input decreases for
a constant level of output, an increase in productivity occurs. Therefore, a "productivity
measure" describes how well the resources of an organization are being used to produce
output.
Productivity is often confused with efficiency, Efficiency is generally seen as the ratio of
the time needed to perform a task to some predetermined standard time. However,
doing unnecessary work efficiently is not exactly being productive. It would be more
correct to interpret productivity as a measure of effectiveness (doing the right thing
efficiently). Measuring happiness is typically accomplished via self-report. This seems
appropriate and even necessary given the subjective nature of happiness. Though self-
reported happiness is subjective, research supports using these measures in empirically
investigating happiness for several reasons. First, subjective happiness is related to
relatively more "objective" measures such as peer and family member reports of well-
being, smiling behavior, ratings derived from clinical interviews, and physiological
responses. Second, social desirability only modestly correlates with self-reported
subjective well-being. Finally, subjective well-being measures demonstrate construct
validity. In sum, researchers take seriously self-reported happiness, especially when
supported by converging data with these other "objective" measures (Uchida et al,
2009).
Productivity Measure
It has been' said 'that the challenge of productivity has become a challenge of
measurement. Productivity is difficult to measure and stems from the fact that inputs
and outputs are not only difficult to define but are also difficult to quantify.
One common problem with productivity measures is the inability to consider quality
changes (e.g., output per hour might increase, but it may cause the defect rate to
increase significantly). It is easier to conceive of outputs as tangible units such as
number of orders picked, but other factors such as quality should be considered.
Experts have cited a need for a measurement program that gives an equal weight to
quality as well as quantity (productivity). If quality is included in the ratio, output may
have to be defined as something like the number of defect-free units of production or the
number of units that meet customer expectations or requirements.

Earlier Approaches to Productivity

Historically productivity measures related to the physician technical aspects of the
productive process. A formal organization was created to handle problems of specialist
depart mentation and technical co-ordination of jobs in an organization.
The Industrial Revolution brought significant changes in technical conditions of
production. Before the advent of Industrial Revolution an individual made the complete
product and there existed a simple and flexible relation-ship between the crafts man and
his few assistants.
The introduction of machinery and large scale production changed the structure of jobs
and the nature of work process. Jobs were divided and individuals work was
conditioned by work processes which were increasingly characters by repetitive jobs,
immediate dependence on the work of others and problems of man-machine
relationships.
Thus the compensation work, the form of co-operation and the demands on working
performance were central connections. in Marx's analysis together with the influence of
industrial technology.
Subsequently, the writings of Taylor, Gallick and others laid the foundations of a theory
of organization based on division of labor, technical consideration of task, time and
motion study and allocation of jobs or positions. Thus consideration of work process
and division of work were of primary importance.
Man has always been interested in easier ways of doing things, since he first thought of
the wheel and cart to help him carry loads. There have always been persons who have
taught to remove or lessen the drudgery associated with the various classes of work
However these earlier attempt, at work study were not very systematic. It would,
therefore he understood that work study should have its origin with the beginning of the
Industrial Revolution.
The first point of impact of the Industrial Revolution was the British cotton textile
industry. Early in the eighteenth century, mechanical devices, critically driven by water
power, began to replace the spinning wheel and handloom. One of the outstanding
names of this period was Richard Ark Wright (1732-1792). He displayed excellent
managerial qualities and he was the first to realize the value of training human beings so
that they renounce their desultory habits of work and identify themselves with
unvarying regularity of the complex automation. He also devised and administered
successful code of factory discipline.

MODERN APPROACH TO PRODUCTIVITY

The modern approach to study of organization and productivity attempts to provide an
integrated framework which .combines both the classical and the neo classical elements.
It treats organization as a system of mutually dependent variables. The studies
undertaken by the Tailstock Institute of human relations illustrated the usefulness of
viewing organizations as socio-technical systems.
The analysis of socio technical system is important for the determination of optimum
solutions for process, design. The task of process specifications that will produce the
output most economically process design is concerned with selecting the work stations,
manages have to give consider-ration to the behavioral consequences of arranging work
situations. In an assembly line, the work is divided into individual tasks and assigned to
consecutive operations on the line. The manager should give considerations to the need
for designing work situations so as-to create favorable interpersonal relationship in
addition to meeting the tech-enological specifications. In industries where work groups
operate under conditions of pooled interdependence, the manager should give
consideration to the creation of sequential work groups that generate social motivation
and promote productivity.
Upto some twenty years ago, the techniques for the analysis and evaluation of work
done, were very limited in scope and application. Since then they have developed rapidly
in quality and effectiveness and particularly in the range of work to which they can be
applied work study is the most important concept in the process of increasing
productivity. The growing complexity of new processes and equipment quite apart from
rising prices, means that now a days it is frequently necessary to make a considerable
capital investment for each new plant employee. A modern trend therefore is for all
technical staff to be given some training in the principles of work study and for the
design and layout of new plants and better processes to proceed with these principles in
mind as well as purely technical considerations. In the case of product standardization
and simplification, work study can be used to access the economics of various
alternatives.
 Chapter 2
REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE

Haynes (2008) explains the behavioral office environment behavioral components of

the office environment that have the greatest impact on office productivity. In all of the
work patterns, it was found that interaction was perceived to be the component to have
the most positive effect on productivity, and distraction was perceived to have the most
negative..
Employee’s welfare and social security are important because it frees the employee to
work with his utmost efficiency and effectiveness to the organizations task and thus
organization’s productivity and efficiency get increased. It also play important role in
reducing absenteeism and employee turnover. Social security measures are the part of
welfare activities which play important role in rapid industrialization, growth of national
economy as they improve employee’s morale by providing sense of security to them
against various industrial hazards( Shelar and Phadatare ,2013)

Usmani (2013) explores the relationship between diversity and customer satisfaction
mediated by employee morale. Exploratory Factor Analysis, Confirmatory Factor
Analysis and Structural EquationModelling were run to test the relationship and
significance of the model. The results rejected the mediated relationship of diversity and
customer satisfaction but showed positive direct association between diversity and
employee morale.

Ngamb (2013) revealed that there is a relationship between leadership and morale,
and those leadership competencies such as communication, fostering trust and team
building set a clear direction for the college impact on morale. It is recommended that
morale surveys should be conducted to obtain the requisite information before
developing strategies that relate to employee morale, retention and performance.

Zial (2011) concluded is that teambuilding has long term positive relationship between
employee morale and employee retention. Team performance, individual contribution,
team evaluation and coordination have long term positive relationship between
employee morale and employee retention. Team unity has no significant effect on
employee morale and employee retention.
Employee morale within an organization has a direct impact on the satisfaction level of
its customers and the company's ultimate success. When relationship-based leaders
promote core competency development of its workforce throughout the organization, an
opportunity exists for ensuring high employee morale and customer satisfaction, an
increase in employee and customer retention rates, and a positive long-term outlook for
the company's successful performance Barbara (2002).

Upadhyay and Gupta (2012) conclude that communication plays a major role in
increasing the satisfaction of an employee. Satisfied employees are reported to have high
morale. Welfare measures and work experience does not necessarily relates to
satisfaction .Therefore its recommended that company should provide for adequate
welfare measures but should not burden itself by increasing the cost part of it in greed to
earn the competitive edge and declare itself as most desired company. Other factors like
good and open communication, providing motivating factors, empowerment etc. should
be taken into consideration for increasing the employee satisfaction level.

Chopade (2012): revealed the relationship between survivors’ perception of

rightsizing and theircontinuance commitment, affective commitment and morale.
During this intervention, if employees’ positive perception of rightsizing would have
positive impact on their continuance as well as affective commitment. But, survivors’
rightsizing perception has negative impact on their morale. Employees were satisfied
with their pay and amount of work done. They were worried about their job security. So
that respondents has shown high commitment but low morale.
To achieve high levels of employee productivity, organizations must ensure that the
physical environment is conducive to organizational needs facilitating interaction and
privacy, formality and informality, functionality and cross-disciplinarily. Consequently,
the physical environment is a tool that can be leveraged both to improve business results
(Mohr, 1996) and employee well-being (Huang, Robertson and Chang, 2004) Ensuring
adequate facilities are provided to employees, is critical to generating greater employee
commitment and productivity. The provision of inadequate equipment and adverse
working conditions has been shown to affect employee commitment and intention to
stay with the organization (Weiss, 1999).

Sinha A.K. (1960) found that job satisfaction is a resultant feeling of satisfaction
which the employee actives by gaining from the job-what he expects from it to satisfy his
needs job satisfaction refers to an individuals complex reactions towards his/her job.

Litwin and Stringer(1968) are of the opinion that job satisfaction increases as the
individual perceives the environment as having more achievement opportunities.
Individuals who are in achievement climate rate themselves as higher performers than
individuals in less motivating climate. Salesmen are rated higher in performance if they
perceive an achievement climate. Clerks are climate. rated higher in performance if they
perceive a power
Samithamby senthilnathan (2013) The review explores with the variety of
liferature support the variety of variables with respect to employee morale and
organizational trust. To extend and facilitate further studies contextually and
empirically, a mind-map is presented to show how these relationship variables relate to
organizational trust employee morale. This would enhance the studies related to
organizational trust and employee morale in particular.
Linzet al (2006) Indicate positive relationship between expected rewards and morale
among the employees. They explore that expected monetary rewards exhibit a greater
influence on morale then expected non-monetary rewards. Their results indicate that
there is a strong positive correlation between positive work attitudes and morale.
Nagambi (2011) indicates that leadership approaches can influence the staff morale.
His results revealed that the initiatives by the new leadership have a positive impact on
morale and have significantly reduced the intentions of employees to leave their
organization. Neely (1999) concludes that there is strong direct correlation between
morale. Akintayo (2012) reveals significant relationships among working environment
workers morale and perceived productivity. The study also finds that flexible working
environment and workers morale have significantly to worker productivity.
Hale (1965) reported significant relationship between language achievement and
hindrance, esprit, aloofness and production emphasis respectively. Brown (1965) noted
that principals tended to view their schools more favorably than teachers and specialists
in the school perceived the climate more like administrators than teachers. Hinson
(1965) found that in his total sample principals and teachers differed significantly in
their perceptions of all the climates. He also reported that in all cases teachers tended to
perceive the climate as more closed than in open climates. The principals tended to
perceive more intimacy and esprit and less hindrance than teachers throughout the
distribution of climate.

Chusmir (1982) found that female employees have higher absenteeism and turnover
rates than male employees. i.e. women employees are less committed. He suggested that
sex differences in job satisfaction and other external moderating influences combine
with sex differences in moderated perceptions of the work place to bring about sex
differences in commitment.

Bhatia S.R(1985) in his study observed that the relationship between job tenure, level
of education, rural and urban backgrounds, emoluments and job level of the employees
are inconsistent and do not lead to any definite conclusions regarding their job
satisfaction.
Meyer and Allen (1984) in their article entitled Testing the Side-Bet Theory of
Organizational Commitment: Some Methodological Considerations' stated that
continuance commitment is the value that an individual invested surplus time, effort,
money and would be deemed lost or worthless when he or she leaves the organization.
Normative commitment is a belief that "employees - have a responsibility to their
organization".

Sparrow and Cooper (2003) in their article entitled The employment relationship:
Key challenges for HR' suggests that normative commitment encompasses an
employee's felt obligation and responsibility towards an organization and is based on
feelings of loyalty and obligation.

Cawsey, (1973) found that individuals within an achievement climate rated

themselves as higher performers than those working in less motivating climates.
According to Cawsay, this relationship holds for salesmen, whereas clerks were rated as
higher in performance within 'lower' climate.

Shelat (1975) made an attempt to measure and identify organizational climate, teacher
morale and academic motivation of pupils. He found a relationship between
organizational climate and leadership behavior, organizational climate and teacher
morale, organizational climate and pupil motivation, organizational climate and pupil
achievement at the S. S.C. Examination. He concluded that the organizational climate in
rural schools was autonomous and paternal, whereas in urban schools closed and open
types were found to be predominant.

Rekha Nair (2006) in his study noted the increasing importance of workplace climate
on employee job satisfaction, creativity, motivation and retention. Because of the
importance of workplace climate, IBM made adjustments and set best practices which in
turn have helped the organization to stay on top. In between organizational climate and
company performance, employee plays an important role because employee's.

Taymaz (2003) it was concluded that organization climate is a key factor that
increases the effectiveness and efficiency of school, and many researchers studying
schools found effective schools have positive organizational climate. But one has to
understand that organizational climate is not something that happens in a blink of a
time, it is a product of long process in which a organization operate.
Washington and Watson (1976) in their article entitled 'Positive teacher morale'
identified the following factors for high morale, eagerness to come to work and
willingness to work late, support of school programs and committees through active
participation, inclination to take on school tasks that are not specifically assigned to
them, investment in the direction of the school policies, alignment with the philosophy
of the school and pride in being an educator linked to a specific school, willingness to
openly support efforts to create effective links with the school's local community.

Hunter, Ventimiglia, and Crow (1980) in their study entitled 'Faculty morale in
higher education' explored that faculty members' satisfaction with teaching and working
with students were the important morale factors at the university level. However, their
morale was distinctly low with regard to being overworked, job stability, job promotions,
nonparticipation in the evaluation process, and lack of support from colleagues.

Robert H.Garin and John F.Cooper (1981) in their article entitled The Morale
Productivity Relationship, How Close?" reviewed the literature of the past to shed some
light on relationship between morale and productivity. They had identified six possible
relationships. Two of them were a) high morale linked with high level of productivity b)
low morale linked with low level of productivity. A third type was that of low morale
coupled with high productivity levels. It occurs when the supervisory style is heavy
handed and shows little regard for the feelings of the employees. A fourth relationship
was absence of relationship. Fifth type of relationship was one of high morale and low
productivity. This occurs when management wants to keep the employees content at all
costs and as a result productivity suffers. The sixth and final relationship was one in
which an improvement in morale leads productivity and vice versa.

Blanchard (2009) after numerous reviews and research, work passion could be
categorized into eight elements. The variables listed were meaningful work,
collaboration, fairness, autonomy, recognition, growth, connectedness with leader and
connectedness with colleagues. It is believed that, if the listed variables are paid
attention by the employer than the employees will probably have a high work passion
towards they're given task or job. Below are the dimensions by Blanchard (2009)

Weber (1995) found that the degree of difference in the climate regarding ethics
between organizational units depend on how "insulated" the employees in that
department were, with technical core employees having a more individual or local
climate, while boundary-spanning employees had more of a cosmopolitan ethical
climate.
Crane (1981) attempted to study the relationship between teachers "perception of
actual climate conditions and their expectation of ideal climate and school size, teaching
experience and teaching tenure. A thirty seven item questionnaire revised from ninety
items questionnaire based on best models, which was reliably based on the test-retest
procedure. The application of the questionnaire sought to determine if inverse
relationship existed between perceptions of climate and experiences tenure and school
83size.
 Chapter 3
Methodology

Introduction
Employee morale describes the overall outlook, attitude, satisfaction, and confidence
that employees feel at work. When employees are positive about their work environment
and believe that they can meet their most important and believe that they can meet their
most, employee morale is positive or high. If employees are negative and unhappy about
their workplace and feel unappreciated and as if they cannot satisfy their goals and
needs, employee morale is negative or low. Employee morale is defined by the
employees outlook, optimism, self- concept, and assured belief in themselves and their
organization, its mission, goals, defined path, daily decisions, and employee
appreciation.

Rational of study
Aim of the study
Aim of study is to find out the employee morale and its impact organization productivity
Objectives of the study
 To know the demographic profile
 To know the level of employee morale in
 To know the impact of employee morale on organization productivity
 To assist the role of social worker in increasing employee morale
Hypothesis