How to measure morale?

[rms]

How can morale be measured?

[moosatp]

Morale is basically a psychological question and consists of several individual tendencies. Consequently, the measurement of morale is a very difficult task to measure it directly. Employees may be unwilling to excess their feelings of satisfaction or dissatisfaction with their jobs to the management. A properly designed programme has, therefore, to be utilised to test the morale of individuals. Morale is measured indirectly by checking the extent to which the organisation is achieving the results in terms of productivity profit or other forms of goal achievement. But this is not reliable because productivity and profits maybe higher yet morale may not be higher and vice-versa. Morale is measured by indirect factors like absenteeism labour turnover, fluctuations in output, quality records etc. The most commonly used methods for measuring morale are as follows: (1) Observation Method (2) Interview Method (3) Questionnaire Method (4) Projective Techniques (5) Company Records and Reports (6) Counselling.
1. Observation method
Under this method, the evaluator observes the employees on work and records their behaviour, attitude, sentiments and feelings which have developed in them. The changes in the attitude and behaviour of the employee are the indicators of high or low morale.
2. Interview method
Interview may be taken as one of the techniques of measuring morale. The interviewer calls upon the employee and asks questions. Interview may be of two types—guided and unguided. Guided interview emphasises mainly on the questions set out beforehand in consultation with the higher management. Under this method, the investigators go to the respondent with printed questionnaires, explaining them the general objects and provide explanation, if asked for. The interviewer asks a series of formal questions with simple choice, responses, similar to those included in the printed questionnaires which are answered orally.
Under unguided interview, the participants are encouraged to talk freely about what he thinks about the organisation and its people. There are no specific or formal questions. The interviewer listens to and encourages the employees to take freely with an assurance that talk will remain secret and confidential. It may be held individually or in groups. The interviewer may ask questions of general interest and should avoid specific questions.
3. Printed questionnaire or attitude surveys
Under this method, detailed questionnaires are prepared by the organisation with the help of psychologists and distributed among the workers, to be returned duly filled in by them. The surveyor, then, .analyses these questionnaires, and measures the attitude of the workers. The questions include yes/no, true/false, items, check-list, and also sometimes provide space for written comments on specific questions. This method is widely used in measuring the morale of the work force.
4. Projective techniques
The techniques include a series of devices involving the use of written as well as verbal materials in the measurement of attitudes. The world 'association', the sentence competition, the short story competition tests are among such devices, as are also, a series of projective methods which allow the subject to call upon his literary imagination and to project his feelings and attitudes into the completion of arguments, the invention of story-plots or the writing of autobiographical materials.
5. Company records and reports
The personnel department collects various information regarding the job and the person from time to time and keeps and maintains records of them. The investigators analyse the records and bring out the variations in output, rate of absenteeism, labour turnover and accidents, grievances and complaints and their severity. By analysing the records, he checks the extent to which the organisation is achieving results. The extent of increase or decrease in profitability, productivity or any other direct benefit to the enterprise. It is the indirect method of measuring the employee morale.
6. Counselling
This method is used to find out the causes of the dissatisfaction of the employees and lo take remedial action, and offer advice on personal matters. Counselling aims at following:
(a) Providing advice to an employee on the cause of his dissatisfaction and rendering assistance.
(b) Giving him reassurance and courage to face up his problems.
© Giving him information on company policies and gathering information for the management in regard to employee feelings and altitudes.
(d) Assisting an employee in thinking clearly about his problem.
(e) Re-orienting his basic goals and values.
The above methods of the measurement of the employee morale present only the tendencies or the attitude of the employee morale. The statistical measurement of morale is not possible because it relates to the inner feelings of human beings. We can say that morale is increasing or decreasing but cannot measure how much it decreased or increased.