Page 103 - Anne Bruce - Building A HIgh Morale Workplace (2002)

6

The High Price of

Low Morale: Six

Morale Challenges

and Six Toolkits

here’s a high price to pay for low morale. No, make that an
Tenormous price. So, what does it cost an organization when
morale hits bottom? Well, what’s the cost of turnover, bad atti-
tudes, decreased productivity, low self-esteem, poor perform-
ance, absenteeism, and lousy customer service? Oh, yeah, and

don’t forget the decreased profits and lower return on share-
holders’ investment.
Basically, there are two prevailing cultures among business
leaders. One is a culture of acceptance—acceptance that

employees are always going to be disinterested and can be
motivated only extrinsically, with more money and benefits and
perks. The other is a culture that is fully aware and empathetic
to the challenges that managers and employees are facing. It’s
a culture of business leaders who strongly believe that an
organization can achieve greatness only through its people and

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