5 Tips to keep the low morale vulture away at work

Recently, the news has focused on low morale at work due to a variety of issues. The way some employees view their jobs is through a double lens that highlights either their work or the people around them. Sometimes, when there is a conflict in these realms, an employee's feelings about their job may decrease based on their:

• passion for their work
• work environment

When people select a career, it is usually because they enjoy getting paid for the work they love to do each day. This sentiment may be hampered when there are scarce resources that influence a person's ability to stay happy about their efforts. For example, a lack of advancement, challenging work or professional development opportunities may cause issues with staff who want to strive for great things.

Another effect on a person's morale is their workplace environment. Take a moment and look around the office the next time you arrive at your job. Are the folks engaged, forward leaning and ready to take risks to move the organization forward? Or, are they just getting by to supplement the daily routine because they are inundated with work that truly requires more people to effectively complete it?

Moreover, office politics may cause a reduction in one's passion for work because the "in-group" gains acknowledgment, advancement and recognition based on relational aspects instead of business acumen. Another challenge is preventing the "out of site, out of mind" mentality. For example, some managers may assume that if you are out of the office teleworking or not in their line of sight, you are simply not important enough to them to give you more high visibility tasks. While this is a perception issue, it is still something that needs to be managed with tactfulness and directness to keep you "visible" in front of some managers.

Either way, the problem of low morale is symptomatic of every workplace. While one person may not readily change the issue of low morale, you may possess access to improving your personal feelings about your job.

5 Tips to Improve your office morale

1. Increase your awareness of your career needs and create an action plan to move them forward
2. Build a coalition of trusted advisers who are subject matter experts and encourage them to be your "go-to project team" 
3. Expand your personal and professional network by being actively engaged at work each day
4. Update and practice delivering your elevator speech to promote your skills to others
5. Gain more face time with power brokers