There are a lot of things you could do to improve your workers’ performance but if you also want them to be happy at the same time you should try rising their morale, just like Napoleon Bonaparte once said ‘The effectiveness of the army depends on its size, training, experience and morale, and morale is worth more than all the other factors together.’

And according to this study he’s not the only one that believes that how workers feel at work matters a lot in their performance, this particular one came to the conclusion that job satisfaction determines organizational performance, meaning that the better they feel, the more they perform their duties.

Now that you are aware that morale matters, it is time to know how to raise it and keep it high.

1. Remember that your employees are people too. Giving others a good treatment is something that should be done regardless of who they are and what they do. If you have been too hard on your workers they might feel too pressured and not everyone can do their job pressure or stress.

Give your workers support by complimenting their good deeds; this will give them more encouragement to do their best to not disappoint you.

2. Pay proper attention to them. Not listening to your employees is a sure way to make them feel unappreciated and also to miss important details about what they are doing.

If you listen to what they have to say about their job you will always know important details that will help you understand what is going on, if you listen to what they have to say about themselves then you will know them more, thus giving you details as how much you can ask from them and how to reward them.

Being a good listener is one of the most crucial aspects of being a good leader, this is not to say that you have to agree with everything tell you, but instead to listen and respect their opinions.

3. Know how to criticize constructively. Yes, giving them encouragement when they are doing a great job is a good thing, but what one should do when they are doing it poorly?

The answer is: Give constructive feedback. A good feedback is one that tells someone the truth without resorting to personal attacks, it should tell what has been done wrong while also giving information about how it should be done properly, thus giving space to personal growth.

And just in case, after giving your feedback you could watch your employee to see if they understood what you tried to tell him and if is now correctly performing his job.

4. Have fun! Being happy at work isn’t only determined by how good it is going, but also how fun it is to do it. Take the time to bring joy to your employees doing nice things unrelated to the job, like celebrating birthdays, promotions, weddings and any sort of event that would make you congratulate a friend.

You can also implement something for your employees to take their minds off of work, like offering them some sort of entertainment during their breaks. You could follow Google’s exampleby giving them gaming tables and videogames or you could ask them what kind of activity they would like to do in their free-time.

Always give importance to the morale of your employees and gain their respect by bringing them a good mood to the workplace, be the boss everyone wants to have!