How Work Uniforms can Improve Employee Morale

After all, the inverse is also true: unmotivated workers are going to more inclined to slack off and seek time off work. So what can an employer do to get their staff team motivated about their jobs and rearing to go? One very cost effective and unifying means of building worker motivation can be found in the simple application of some work uniforms.

Have you ever noticed how most organised bodies out there have some unifying code of dress surrounding them? Such doctors with their white coats, soldiers with their berets and badges, priests with their dog collars and Boy Scouts with their handkerchiefs and woggles. The reason for this is simple: it not only marks them out immediately to other people about who they are and what they do, but it also allows them to spot and identify with each other. It builds a sense of solidarity and trust, and this is a key part in building motivation in a work force.

Take Pride in What You Do

The same mentality applies to the workforce. Think about, how many of you kept your old school ties, or a name badge from one of your first jobs? People place pride in their uniforms. It makes them feel as though they are part of something bigger than themselves, and makes them feel as though they are part of a group. It’s basic human mentality to enjoy feeling a part of a social unit, whether it’s a workplace, a sports team, a club, or a fandom surrounding a particular music band.

It also goes a steps further and demonstrates that you, as an employer, take a certain amount of pride in them as well, seeing as you’re willing to let them wear your brand and have them identified as belonging to your organisation. Then there’s also the fact that you were willing to go to the expense of providing the uniforms to begin with, which depending on the uniform in question may have required ordering clothes specifically. This removes the burden of them providing the uniform out of their own pocket, and helps alleviate another financial burden. Employees will take notice of that, and they’ll certainly appreciate it. Nothing motivates a worker more than a sense of being valued and being looked after.

This is especially true if the provision of work uniforms includes safety gear, such as steel-capped shoes, thick gloves or aprons as well. If a staff member feels safe at work, he has more reason to be motivated about it.

Appearance is Everything

One other advantage behind a work uniform is how it makes people perceive your employees. Regardless of how polite, eloquent and capable they may be, if they’re seen in plainclothes by clients and customers then they won’t be seen in quite the same light as workers in uniform. They’ll always seem amateurish and unprofessional. Whether they intend to or not, this will reflect in how they treat your employers and can have an adverse impact on their morale.

A work uniform shows that they are part of an organised and highly effective team, and will immediately improve how clients and customers will respond to them. It will also improve how they perceive your business, and may prove crucial for further custom. Uniforms also provide additional advertising – if a customer received good service from an employee in your uniform, they know who to recommend to friends and relatives.