How can I boost team morale?

When teams are stretched it is important to foster a supportive working environment, Abi Rimmer hears Billy Palmer, Nuffield Trust senior fellow, says, “We know from our analysis of staff survey data that the gulf in job satisfaction between the NHS’s youngest and oldest staff is widening.1 Clinicians aged 21-30 are far less likely to look forward to going to work than those of a similar age a decade ago, whereas this has plateaued or improved for all other age categories. A lack of satisfaction with pay and work-life balance, as well as increasingly feeling unwell because of work related stress, seem to be contributing to the negativity for this younger age group. “While many studies on improving morale lack methodological rigour, there seems to be reasonable weight behind many interventions, with some of those long standing. A 2006 literature review on nursing morale highlighted the importance of both intrinsic (professional respect, skill development, workplace relationships, patient care) and extrinsic (organisational structures, leadership approaches, communication, staffing) factors.2 “Influencing morale is complex, however. It is generated not only within a team but also at individual, professional, …