Page 44 - Anne Bruce - Building A HIgh Morale Workplace (2002)

24 Building a High Morale Workplace

tinue to feel motivated about all the new projects going on
at the home office. Tell them how they can duplicate suc-
cessful programs in their locations—and be specific.

Encourage celebrations and ask for feedback on what
turns people on in different locales.
• Laugh out loud online. Humor is appreciated in every cul-
ture. Just be sensitive to the culture you’re addressing

and to what you say and how you say it. Share your
humorous stories with everyone and get employees to
laugh out loud online. Take time to translate for people
what a specific humorous event may look like in their cul-
ture, then offer a similar explanation as to why or how

something may be funny in your neck of the woods.
Nothing brings people together faster than shared humor.
• Encourage global innovation. The mantra is “Innovate or
abdicate.” That holds true no matter where you live and
work. When your organization is global, innovative think-

ing is a standard requirement. Get the wheels turning in
employees’ heads worldwide. Ask them to create their
own customized innovation program. Offer resources like
books or online courses for creative thinking and stimulat-
ing inspirational ideas. Make innovation the theme of your

next audioconferencing or videoconferencing meeting.
• Conquer complacency when you sense it. Complacency
kills employee morale. A global operation and its people
simply cannot thrive and remain motivated when compla-

cency creeps in. Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. wrote in The
Autocrat of the Breakfast Table: “I find the great thing in
this world is not so much where we stand, as in what
direction we are moving.” As a manager, you must keep
people moving forward and continue to fight against illu-

sions of security in employees’ past successes. Pump
people up with visions of what’s to come and what can
be. The message worldwide is clear: innovate or abdicate.