Employee Satisfaction and Work Engagement

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

Employee satisfaction is a driving factor feature that contributes to work engagement and well-being that leads to discontent among personnel. Individual happiness is a constructive emotional reaction to a working circumstance arising from the realization of what the individual needs and the working interest. The word job performance relates to the mentality that individuals have and felling towards their employment. Staff happiness is characterized by an optimistic and friendly disposition towards the work. Weak and adverse behaviours suggest frustration with the work. Job satisfaction and organizational engagement of the employer becomes very necessary to improve the staff’s productivity rate and the morale and efficiency of a company. A variety of considerations, particularly personal variable such, tenure in the organisation, temperament, internal and external control conceptual frameworks, decide the operational contribution. Institutional consideration of someone’s manager and non-organizational considerations, such as role configuration and style of management. Any of which affects future dedication. Employment satisfaction is, as per Vroom (1964), an attitude of the desires that workers possess against the position they play at the workplaces. Satisfaction is a crucial element for inspiring and empowering workers to produce more significant results.

The current move towards increasing employee satisfaction and morale is to find various ways of becoming competitive. The business environment is characterized by various challenges and significant issues that could compromise the essence of human resources, especially in managing their human resource. Employee satisfaction is an essential factor that draws the attention of different scholars and academicians. Different studies have been conducted to establish various factors that would determine job satisfaction the way it enhances employee production. So far, no researcher or organization has been able to quantify the magnitude to which employee satisfaction enhances productivity; this is mainly because employee productivity is determined by various factors. Employee satisfaction is a mental satisfaction that influences employees to have a feeling of favourableness which an individual possesses on their job. The phrase Job Satisfaction is used very widely in publications on Industrial Psychology for the disposition of the worker towards the particular elements of the overall work circumstance (Mason, 2017). The term career applies to a particular role in which the phrase job satisfaction is of higher orders in which it is linked to human desires, and they are fulfilling by jobs. It is created by the understanding of the employee how well his work fits his specific needs. It is also claimed that “a satisfying workplace is a successful workplace.” Employee fulfilment is very significant as most employees invest a large amount of their time at their workplace. Besides, work satisfaction often impacts the workers’ personal existence since a fulfilled individual is a contented and healthy human being (Zhang et al., 2015). A pleased worker has more excellent physical and emotional health. While it is arguable on which one is the trigger and which one is the consequence, it is comparable. Even with the widespread recognition of the essence of fostering a relationship between job satisfaction and motivation in facilitating organizational commitment, there are various perspectives on how employee satisfaction ought to be achieved. The most common and traditional approach that has been used to foster employee satisfaction has been increasing the wages of employees in an attempt to satisfy them and motivate them to stay in the organization. However, recent studies have revealed that monetary incentives are not enough in fostering employee satisfaction, and other perspectives of employee satisfaction have emerged, such as training and development has emerged as essential aspects of employee motivation that have been applied through the basic principle of continuous training and development.

Although this concerns only one dimension of human resources development, a comprehensive strategy has developed that seeks to establish some defined level of work-life that requires equal compensation, healthcare, various standards of work, and professional growth to promote engagement and employee fulfillment for organizational contribution. This implies that it is not quick or straightforward to obtain inspiration and employee satisfaction to build corporate engagement and functions according to the background of the specific firms. While best practices exist within sectors, it is up to local organizations to establish which human resource techniques satisfy them. Njoroge and Yazdanifard (2014) researched job satisfaction. They established that job satisfaction was influenced by several variables such as type of jobs, pay, and opportunity for growth, managers, leadership teams, and conditions of employment. It’s among the most significant issues for the business, especially. Job satisfaction is the collection of the employees’ attitudes and beliefs towards their job.

Furthermore, when an employee in a corporation is hired, he brings with him the wishes, desires and perceptions that determine the aspirations he has refuted. Work satisfaction reflects the degree to which goals and the real rewards relate. Job satisfaction in the work environment is directly related to the actions of the person. Job happiness is a feeling of pride and workplace progress on the job. This is commonly considered to be connected explicitly to both profitability and personal safety. Work fulfilment involves doing a work that you like, performing it well, and getting praised for your contributions. Job enjoyment means more passion and pleasure in one’s jobs. To establish how individual companies tend to achieve the process of employee satisfaction, the study will focus on an intensive human resource strategy of Cardamom Lounge and if these strategies ensure that the company’s employees are motivated.

The objectives of the study

The study aims to achieve the following goals;

To examine the motivation level of employees in the Cardamom Lounge

To define the facets that would help to foster employee satisfaction both in the short and long run

To define elements that the company can use to improve the levels of employee motivation

The scope of the research

The study majorly focuses on the following space;

Define the staff level of motivation on their respective job positions

The study would be relevant to the organisation in terms of defining its gaps in employee motivation and staff retainment.

The relevant organization will also be able to identify the staffs’ level of job satisfaction regarding their welfare.

The study will help the company and any other interested organisation in identifying potential areas that could lead to employee dissatisfaction and low morale.

The findings from the study would be beneficial to the managers in terms of informing their decision-making patterns.

2.0. Chapter Two: Literature Review

2.1. The concept of Employee Motivation

The analysis of employee motivation is a matter of immense importance for both individuals employed in organisations and those researching them. Work satisfaction was closely linked to other institutional dynamics such as inspiration, success, management, disposition, confrontation, motivation, etc. Researches have investigated the different factors of motivation, assess the resulting critical dimensions of work motivation, and explore the influence these aspects have on the performance of workers. Cheeran, Saji, and Joseph (2015) referred to workplace motivation as to how people do feel regarding their work and the various dimensions of their employment. Cheeran et al. (2015) enable this opinion by describing the degree to which workers enjoy their work. Sukoco (2017) posits employee satisfaction as both a strong or compassionate reaction to the specific facets of the work environment. Nyambegera and Gicheru (2016) identify employee motivation as the impression that an employee has for his workplace or a broader disposition towards employment or a career that is affected by his / her understanding of employment. Nyambegera and Gicheru (2016) allude job satisfaction is the amount of employment material in all aspects of a career. Abraham Maslow (1954) proposed the need for a five-level structure spanning from physiological, comfort, identity, and affection, respect to self-actualization. Focused on Maslow’s philosophy, several investigators addressed employee motivation from a need satisfaction context.

The analysis of employee motivation is a matter of immense importance for both individuals employed in organisations and those researching them. Work satisfaction was closely linked to other institutional dynamics such as inspiration, success, management, disposition, confrontation, motivation, etc. Researches have investigated the different factors of motivation, assess the resulting critical dimensions of work motivation, and explore the influence these aspects have on the performance of workers. Cheeran, Saji, and Joseph (2015) referred to workplace motivation as to how people do feel regarding their work and the various dimensions of their employment. Cheeran et al. (2015) enable this opinion by describing the degree to which workers enjoy their work. Sukoco (2017) posits employee satisfaction as both a strong or compassionate reaction to the specific facets of the work environment. Nyambegera and Gicheru (2016) identify employee motivation as the impression that an employee has for his workplace or a broader disposition towards employment or a career that is affected by his / her understanding of employment. Nyambegera and Gicheru (2016) allude job satisfaction is the amount of employment material in all aspects of a career. Abraham Maslow (1954) proposed the need for a five-level structure spanning from physiological, comfort, identity, and affection, respect to self-actualization. Focused on Maslow’s philosophy, several investigators addressed employee motivation from a need satisfaction context.

The presence and availability of managers at the time when employees need them, the capacity to effectively coordinate employees, and evoke creative thinking, having an open mind, and the capability to communicate with staff are the essential traits that most employees look up to for a manager for inspiration. The outcomes from a study by Dobre (2013) revealed that managers with practical supervision approaches evoked high employee motivation, while those with poor communication skills evoked reduced levels of motivation among employees. Another research by, Cheeran, Saji, and Joseph (2015) on employee satisfaction demonstrated that if sufficient consideration is focused on interpersonal interactions, accountability, and supervision, the degree of employee engagement will improve Singh and Paithankar (2015) observed that work conditions are a significant factor in workplace happiness for staff working in challenging workplace conditions. Staff is frustrated by this aspect under challenging working conditions. To increase employee retention in challenging workplace circumstances, leadership has to change employment conditions. This would render them similarly happy as others who function in usual working conditions, which in exchange would improve overall efficiency. Research by Lee and Raschke (2016) in the telecommunications industry showed that there are multiple factors such as responsibilities, wage, occupational tension, and work-related disputes with relationships due to job-related causes and employee discontent resulting in more attrition. In the final phase, these key variables harm the productivity of the company, which is adversely impacted by these aspects. Wojtaszek (2016) assert that a company has to emphasis on developing a work atmosphere that increases workers’ potential to become more competitive to raise corporate income. They added that human-to-human relationships and relationships undertake a more leading role in overall employment happiness instead of money. At the same time, leadership skills, time, and energy are all required to enhance the institution’s overall results in the modern age. The empirical framework evaluated in this review is illustrated in Fig 1, focused on the publications above. In this study, the independent variable is the workplace atmosphere in which the workers operate inside an organization, and the response variable is staff motivation. Work environment covers hours of operation, workplace health, employment protection, staff interactions, employee motivation requirements, and the impact of senior management on employee performance.

Various groups have varying perceptions of compensation. In this report, reward concepts used in different cases include incentives, acknowledgment, and bonuses (Zobal, 1998). American Association describes paying as “money and non-cash pay and benefits received by the contractor for the services provided. From the findings of the research by Stone et al. (2016), the salary was identified to be the critical variable for the morale and work satisfaction of contract employees in the automotive sector. The study sought to determine the different aspects of the work and how the workers rated them as motivating factors and satisfiers. The findings revealed that pay was rated as the top job factor for overall satisfaction and success wage rise was rated as the top incentive work factor. Remuneration is constructive engagement and selling device. It also is a motivating factor for a worker engaged with the company, which improves attractiveness and productivity. It also acts as an indicator when offered toward its resources to the worker that demonstrates how vital a staff member is with his company. Development-orientated mentorship is included. When a manager introduces professional development, the partnership influences the capacity growth of the proteges and the desire to continue with the manager. On the contrary, non - managerial instructors can improve the trust of the mentee by offering exposure to an external organization. In a systemic transition, the direct assistance of the boss is quite critical. Though supervisor assistance is not entirely necessary to morale, but it has a significant impact on performance. Following on from Syafii et al. (2015), ‘Maybe the easiest approach for managers to present themselves as mentors is to directly show effective strategies so that workers can appreciate how research can be performed.’ Syafii, Thoyib, and Nimram (2015) have explored the leadership positions in the information retention phase, and a study of 223 individuals participating in information retention practices has been conducted out to investigate the partnership. The findings revealed that transformational leadership, including interpersonal engagement and promoting participatory decision-making, is strongly linked to the qualities that are necessary for the development of information within an organization, which fosters employee motivation.

It has been revealed that leadership & functional workplace interactions lead to a high degree of work satisfaction and motivation; this was according to the study performed by Magnusson (2014) this finding, nevertheless, conflicts with Herzberg’s (1966)’s opinion that management is unrelated to the degree of work satisfaction. Following on from Frederiksen, Knudsen, and Magnusson (2014), employment conditions are described as the workspace of the worker, working equipment, the job itself, organizational policy, and regulations of the association. Tekingündüz, Top, Tengilimoğlu, and Karabulut (2017) Praised different variables as a critical aspect of workplace conditions such as temperature, lighting, air conditioning, sanitation, noise, work hours, and infrastructure. The employee would probably prefer working environments, which would lead to enhanced physical safety and reliability. Among many aspects, the lack of these working environments may hurt the physical and emotional well-being of the employee. Lazaroiu (2015) supports that workplace environments can positively affect worker morale when workers have a pleasant physical work setting. That, in effect, would allow for a more optimistic degree of job performance. Tekingündüz, Top, Tengilimoğlu, and Karabulut (2017) showed that variables such as weather, illumination, ventilation, sanitation, noise, hours of operation, and services all form part of the workplace conditions. Workers may believe that lousy working environments can only result in negative results because their roles are emotionally and physically challenging. Following on from Tekingündüz et al. (2017) described justice as equitable care, having the same rewards and resources as others. Justice implies many things to many individuals, and the situations always rely on their understanding of whether something is just or not. Skilled workers are vital to every organisation’s performance. Service is a critical factor that drives engagement in the social context. One line of thinking applies to the standard of operation as a general evaluation of a type of activity or a specific task. It was suggested lately that gratification is usually regarded as a broader category, and the quality of the service is a part of fulfillment. It is because happiness arises from different sources, like satisfaction with service experiences and satisfaction level. In other terms, a bit of happiness with increasing customer experience contributes to greater service happiness. Various research examined indicate that workplace fulfillment was analysed concerning the actions of colleagues conduct managers, salary and advancement, interpersonal dynamics, and other aspects relevant to the jobs. The workers were extremely pleased with individual research or otherwise.

Raina and Roebuck (2016) researched on “Motivation trends in Asian Manufacturing Companies” and reveals that inspiration is the drive for better efficiency and enhanced efficiency among workers. Saunders, Lewis, & Thornhill (2012) motivation is an essential cognitive property which contributes to the level of responsibility of a individual. Research on “Work Happiness: Performance Narrative-Analysis” and found that workplace happiness reacts most to different work variables. Employment happiness is put in the workforce and occupational psychology as control definition. While originally compelling, living conditions have been questioned as the leading cause of employee turnover.

2.4. Impact of Employee Motivation on Employee Performance

Different researchers also sought to examine the connection behind encouragement and absenteeism in workers. Absenteeism as exclusion is often used as among the ways to escape from difficult job conditions. Following on from Shields, Brown, Kaine, Dolle-Samuel, North-Samardzic, McLean, Johns, O’Leary, Robinson, and Plimmer (2015) Analysis has typically shown a strong inverse association between motivation and absenteeism, for example when motivation is high, absenteeism tends to be lower and absenteeism seems to be significant if motivation is weak. Although this association was found to be relatively mild, the underlying inference is that absence is, at least partly, the product of work dissatisfaction Absenteeism had already long been regarded as a major and rampant issue in business sector. As a response, hypotheses were established and various experiments were carried out in order to determine the triggers of the absenteeism. The idea that absenteeism is induced by workers escaping a difficult or dissatisfying job condition is perhaps one of the more popular hypotheses. While it is acknowledged that absenteeism can be triggered by the lack of ability of the staff member to show up to work, it is presumed that motivation to participate in work is a significant factor in deciding how often a staff member is absent. Absenteeism is one of those enduring challenges for those in the world of work, about this there is no simple cause and no quick solution. Employment distress is the body’s way of responding to any work-related cause that severely disrupt the individual’s equilibrium. In the course of enduring pressure, the internal condition shifts of the worker while chronic stress causes severe symptoms to the individual, like cardiac attack, ulcer, blurry vision, shoulder pain, skin irritation and muscle aches. Recurrent workplace frustration is a potent cause of work tension. No reasonable short-term remedy can be found by the worker to prevent this form of tension. Khan and Gautam (2014) assumes that a staff member who is stranded in a frustrating job may retract by means like high staff turnover and postponement; or that the worker may quit.

3.0. Research Methodology

The section describes the research approach. That involves the nature of the study, Target group, sample group and sampling methods, tools for data gathering and techniques for processing the results. It also concerns the quality and durability of testing devices.

3.1. Research Design

This thesis implemented a comprehensive research strategy because each evaluation was provided by the parameters in the sample. Descriptive analysis architecture decides how objects are, then explains them. It aims to clarify a unit in depth, both contextually and pragmatically. The work tried to account for how pay, advancement, oversight, success evaluation and salary allocation affected the efficiency of workers. Unprocessed data was obtained by questionnaires provided to the respondents. This study model was preferred because it allowed explanations of staff values and opinions of attitudes.

3.2. Sample Population

The sampled population for the research was 260 respondents who were employee of the Cardamom Lounge. The data derived form the staff members was assessed and the results of the analysis will be used to draw a conclusion.

3.3. Sample Procedure

Establishing the company’s number of institutions, probability sampling technique was used to identify the respondents in each department. In each department, stratified random sampling was utilized to select representative participants from the identified departments. The workforce has been stratified into five workplace cadres; administrative, managerial, professional, secretarial, and supporting staff. Following on from Sukoco (2017) the study respondents of the populations will be 20-30 per cent.

3.4. Tools of Data Collection

The study used online surveys for gathering the primary data. The adequacy of using surveys as a tool is that it shows the correct findings and is ideal for the surveyed community. The researcher developed a questionnaire that was issued to the company’s workplace managers and staffs. The questions were divided into parts to gather pertinent details while being restricted to the study’s objectives. Those parts were focused on worker bio data, employee retention, worker success and individual management encouragement impact.

3.5. Validity

3.5.1. Testing the Research Tools

In each of the four establishments a study equivalent questionnaire was given to team members. The circa-test was to classify equivocal responses to reshape the goals of the research. False choice of words, inadequate areas for reaction and ambiguous guidance have also been detected and rectified. Pre-test findings confirmed the quality of the study was accurate.

3.5.2. Authenticity

Authenticity is the consistency and sense of the observations depending on the findings of the study. For this analysis, accuracy was assessed by way of the capacity of the research tools to quantify what it would be measuring. A sample survey was designed, and retested on one business to review the questions.

3.5.3. Reliability of the Tools

Reliability is a calculation of the extent by which a testing tool is generating reliable findings or evidence after multiple check re-test procedure has been implemented to check the accuracy of the tools. This was accomplished by prescribing the device periodically to a certain pilot community with stable initial parameters, at periods every two days. Analyses from two pilot experiments decided to what degree the background for the devices was conducted. The correspondence coefficient calculated using the Spearman Brown relation method was 0.79. That implies the elements were considered suitable in the survey. The review course tests have been used in reviewing the methods to insure that they are accurate.

3.6. Operational variables

3.7. Data Analysis Technique

The survey question was loaded into a software and was used to interpret it in a research kit for the social scientists’ program. The total number of participants would be identified in charts as per characteristics such as gender, gender, education level and motivating elements. It has identified the effect of inspiration on the success of employees. Regression study was implemented to decide whether the output of the employee varies as pay, advancement, acknowledgment and control are complex. It used description to explain the relationship among variables. Descriptive analysis was structured as per concepts defined from the study objectives and the researcher used comparative study to interpret the results.

3.8. Ethical Consideration

The obtained details and the findings were strictly classified. To maintain this degree of anonymity, the respondents were requested absolute permission, and they were told not to document their names on the survey papers anywhere. The research did not establish any sort of danger or induce any type of distress on the respondents. There were no clear advantages for the topics but it is hoped that the findings would be of interest to the whole company.

4.0. Data Analysis and Interpretation

4.1. Questionnaire Response Rate

The research recruited 260 participants who returned 188 surveys for review with a answer rate of 72%. The return rate was accomplished by strong execution of the information collection activity, which was sponsored by the human resources planning department of company. Additionally, a thorough description on the significance of the analysis was given to all employees. The surveys that were not issued were on a vacation time owing to the complexity of the job.

4.2. Characteristics of the Sample

The research was undertaken in Cardamom Lounge, and a number of 188 workers were surveyed. In the following cadres: executive (5%), managerial (11,7%), skilled (24%), administrative (28%) and workplace assistance, for the remainder of staff (60%). Regarding gender (52.12 percent) were males, and female (47.9 percent). The age range is indicated in Table 1.

According to the data in table one, it is clear that the ration between men and women in the organisation is fairly balanced, which means that the organization is fair in its recruitment policies, and it has lived to its spirit of being an equal employer. Besides, most the workers in the organization are young. It could be an indicator that the organisation prefers young employees because of factors such as young workers are relatively cheaper as compared to the older ones among other factors, although the number of older workers 45-60 years old is also remarkable

5.0. Results and Discussion

5.1. Outcomes of talent advancement on employee satisfaction

Any business that has the intentions of strengthening its bond with its workers ought to capitalize on improving their staffs. Such a process involves establishing prospects for elevation within the business and providing a prospect for teaching and skill improvement that let workers enhance their employability on the local and international labor markets. Malinen and Savolainen (2016, p. 145) argue that various business entities would be at a better place to retain its employees by spending more capital on teaching and developing its staffs. A business entity that gives training and edification will be competitive, industrious, and will have the devotion of its staffs. Tekingündüz, Top, Tengilimoğlu, and Karabulut (2017, p. 522) undertook a study that surveyed why employees resign or leave their respective occupations. From the data collected, the outcomes indicated that in most cases, employees left their respective previous positions for an advanced career opportunity and development and not necessarily because of financial reasons such as salary, wages, and allowances (Kanyurhi, and Bugandwa Mungu Akonkwa 2016, p. 773). It then means that career development is a fundamental aspect to both the employer and the employee. It is a reciprocal benefit progression because the processes that lead to career development is crucial for both parties. It is also an effective method of enhancing worker retention. Professional development includes a perceptible venture that an employer takes in the employees, providing them with new abilities and more capabilities and self-confidence. In most cases, such initiatives lead to work that is more intrinsically rewarding. Alessandri, Borgogni, and Latham (2017, p. 210) add that the lack of career development in any organization, despite the profile and reputation of the business, leads to a career plateau, which ultimately leads to an improved worker intention to quit the job or search for other favorable opportunities. Various people find themselves in employment positions that offer them a limited mobility opportunity concerning an ascending professional movement within a company. A professional plateau is therefore perceived as a significant contributing element of workers’ desire to quit in their various organizations. Therefore, any organization, through its human resource office has a responsibility of managing their staffs, such that they do not find themselves in the traps of a career plateau and decrease the rate of employee turnover. Zhang, Yang, Wang, Gillespie, Clarke, and Yan (2015, p. 15) retort that employees undergoing through a career plateau are likely to record a high labour turnover because they are in pursuit of more senior positions in other organizations. Various analyses have revealed that staffs who attained higher degrees of career plateau also have a higher probability to quit their careers because of the reduced number of opportunities and chances of professional growth in their present organization (Cahill, McNamara, Pitt-Catsouphes, and Valcour 2015, p. 42).

The possibility of career development and prospects inspire workers to create a long-term commitment to their various workplaces. It also allows them to see a prospect with their current organization. It is also a fact that business entities need talented employees to maintain their competitive advantage over their competitors (Stone, Wilhelm, Bishop, Bryant, Hermer, and Squillace 2016, p. 891). Therefore, staff training and growth should be viewed as a venture, rather than an expense, with development and accounting necessities comparable to those that are directed to monetary enhancements. The human capital of an organization is among its principal bases of disparity and staffs are expected to remain contented if they get a practical orientation and consistent access to both practical and non-technical preparation. Besides, proficiency grounded training and improvement increases the production of various employees, decreases their turnover, enhances employee satisfaction, rewards loyal employees, helps in the recruitment process and reduces the need for employee supervision. Kvist, Voutilainen, Mäntynen, and Vehviläinen-Julkunen, (2014, p. 446) also purports that preparation and development are also fundamental factors to good retention. Kvist et al. (2014, p. 446) advise that staff training contributes to employee retention by establishing employee assurance through a demonstration of support. This provides staffs with the resources to handle job related anxiety and change, acting as an encouragement to maintain their current positions, empowering employees to manage work-related stress, creating a culture of caring, and building commitments through a show of support. Therefore, professional training and skill enhancement are viewed as a way of making the staff commit in that they give them a hope for a better future, where they can work and offer them with the necessary provision to face the on-going encounters related to their profession.

During the study five themes emerged, they include; workplace setting, with a focus on the level of flexibility given to the labor force in the company, feedback mechanisms in a business highlighting quantifiable standards such as written assessments and other resources provided by the employees. Third, the relationship between the manager and the employees, with a specific evaluation of the influence of the manager on the performance of employees. Fourth, barriers in a work environment, which includes internal and external constraints that affect workers’ morale and impede their performance. Lastly, staffing, and promotion strategies, with a focus on the organization compensation scheme. More studies suggest that managers can improve the performance of their workforce by enhancing the various mechanisms that would provide a positive range of motivational tools and opportunities. Further, the same studies suggest that a collaborative decision-making among the managers and employees has a positive relationship with work attitudes and the engagement of employees. Managers in any company might also apply some of the principles discussed in this paper to improve employee morale and retention rate.

5.2. Employee Morale and Burn Out

The phrase ‘burn out’ was first used in 1970s, and was popular among human services professional and it refers to professionals who focused on refining the quality of life of the individuals and communities they serve. Lazaroiu (2015) defines employee burnout as emotional fatigue, depersonalization and decreased personal accomplishment that can happen among staffs who work with people in some capacity. Being that McDonold is a fast food industry, which serves different people with various age, religion, sex and social-class, employee burn out is likely to occur among their staffs. To have better understanding on how staff burnout can happen in Cardamom Lounge, there is need for more analysis on the definition of the term. There are three conditions highlighted in the definition of stuff burn out which all affect employee morale. These are; emotional depression, depersonalization and decreased personal accomplishment. First emotional depression refers to the energy discharge of emotional properties, which is considered the bedrock of stuff burnout. Njoroge and Yazdanifard (2014), define depersonalization as employees behaving with a rather cold heart and a ‘don’t care attitude.’ Lastly, a decreased personal accomplishment is the tendency to devalue one’s work, which subsequently leads an undesirable self-assessment (Mason 2017). Syafii, Thoyib and Nimran, (2015), stipulate that staff burn out could lead to the following adverse effects in Cardamom Lounge; high rate of absenteeism, poor customer services, reduced quality of the food offered, increased cases of drugs and alcohol abuse, negative staff attitude and lastly, poor customer outcomes. Additionally, staff burnout can affect both psychological health of staff, especially those staffs who directly interact with the clients, which in this case are the waiters. In a study conducted by Syafii et al. (2015) in United Kingdom among employees working on fast food joints, it was revealed that in every ten employees one employee could exhibit signs of psychological disorder and the need to seek a psychiatrists because of work related issues and burn out. However, it is imperative to note that employee burnout does not only apply to particular working class for example the waiters, chefs and middle managers. In another study conducted by Frederiksen, Knudsen, and Magnusson, (2014), it revealed that staff burn out among experts, semi-skilled and unskilled workers are either moderate or high level, in other words all these employee face equal chances of suffering from burn out and its consequent effects. Therefore to increase staff morale, there is need to combat employee burn out.

5.3. Methods to reduce staff burn out

Cardamom Lounge is a business entity with a sole aim of maximizing their profit margins; as such employee welfare sometimes tends to be overlooked at the expense of maximizing profit margins. Staff burnout is an intricate problem. Due to its nature and complexity, various scholars have suggested different methods of solving this problem (Achim, Dragolea, and Balan 2013). The first methodology that could be used by Cardamom Lounge to combat the problem of staff burn out is known as problem focused coping. This strategy of combating burn out is a strategy that aims at altering the stressors or changing the elements of the problem. Therefore, it is also referred to as active coping; because it pursues an attitude that would help employees to directly cope up with the actual problem. This approach involves finding advice, discussing issues with fellow colleagues and more emphasis on time management skills (Robinson 2016). By applying this scheme, workers may try to increase their perceived control of the state of affairs. When an employee feels that the situation is under control, it relaxes their mind and the employee would find more solutions to a problem efficiently and display lower levels of burnout (Dar, Bashir, Ghazanfar, and Abrar 2014). In Cardamom Lounge, some periods of the day referred to as ‘rush hours,’ these are the periods when customers are more than the other times of the day. These periods are motly in the morning hours when people are going to their various work places and stop by Cardamom Lounge for a take-away breakfast (take-away is a common term used among fast food employees to refer to packed food that the clients consumes outside the enterprise), and in the evening after work hours. These periods may present an employee with various challenges, due to different demands from clients and the need to offer quality service. Balancing customer satisfaction, quality service and timely delivery at these period is always challenging and might lead to employee burn out. Using problem-focused strategy at this point could be beneficial; to reduce staff burnout and increase staff morale (Parvaiz and Ahmed 2016).

The second approach is the emotional focused coping. As opposed to the problem-focused approach, this strategy is closely linked to the passive coping methodology. This approach does not try to resolve the problem, but instead it concentrates in managing the sentimental responses to an issue (Boxall, Hutchison, and Wassenaar, 2015). For instance, avoiding self-blame, distraction, reflection and consulting a therapist are elements of the emotional focused coping strategy (Elnaga and Imran 2013). It is crucial that since this strategy does not attempt to solve the problem itself but instead it solves the emotional outcomes of the problem, there is a high prevalence that burnout may re-occur if the employees focuses on avoidance (Dagenais-Desmarais, Leclerc, and Londei-Shortall 2017). The policies in Cardamom Lounge does not empower an employee to seek a therapist, however to help employees cope up with various harassments and irrationality of some clients, it is important that Cardamom Lounge trains their employees on how to handle emotional stress emanating from the work environment. The stressors can either be internal or external, which means that Cardamom Lounge’s employees are exposed to stressors form both the public who are their clients and their colleagues and managers.

Another coping scheme for combating burnout is referred to as relationship- centered coping. The main aim of this strategy is to control and preserve relationship during periods of heightened stress. This means that employees would focus on building and solidifying various relationships first through the conviction that a strong relationship will decrease conflict, and help in understanding various perspectives that would help in solving the problem (Elnaga and Imran 2013). This approach involves empathy, withdrawal, providing support and compromise. This approach is very useful in a human service industry like Cardamom Lounge, since the employees need to manage their clients of mostly and the relationship between the customer and the staff is important for the success of an organization. So far, Cardamom Lounge has been trying in terms of building a relationship-centered approach among its employees. Occasionally when a when a worker is stressed, one will notice another colleague, stepping up promptly to help the stressed employee and even in some times the managers themselves step up to do the duties of waiters when they notice a stressed staff (Lee and Raschke 2016). However, more training needs to be done on how staff could improve a hostile situation or a disagreement by the client to a more friendly relationship in the shortest time possible before the client leaves the premise. This will help to increase customer retention rate and also, reduce stress among the employee since the stressful situation has been altered to a favorable one (Singh and Paithankar 2015).

Lastly, the final coping strategy is referred to as lifestyle coping. Various scholars have stressed on the link between employee burnout and lifestyle. Mason (2017) believes that a healthy lifestyle would improve the well-being of an individual and reduce burnout. These healthy lifestyles methods involves having a healthy nutrition, exercise, and refreshing oneself using various techniques that would be efficient on a personal basis, like yoga, hot bath, massage and taking part in a personal hobby (Shields, Brown, Kaine, Dolle-Samuel, North-Samardzic, McLean, Johns, O’Leary, Robinson, and Plimmer 2015). In a work environment, this would not be possible, especially on a busy day in Cardamom Lounge. However, Cardamom Lounge should introduce morning jogs, or short exercises that would help their employees relieve stress, also there should be a provision of break-ins during long periods of stressful events. This can be done in shifts such that customers do not feel neglected. The company should also consider enrolling their members in gym or yoga classes, such that when one is free, he or she can walk in the gym or the yoga class and relieve whatever stress they may have. This will help in improving employee morale (Cheeran, Saji, and Joseph 2015).

Tentatively, it might not be practical for Cardamom Lounge to apply all these strategies due to the costs attached to their implementation. Though, the management could come up with a strategy that blends all these strategies discussed or choose on one the implement it. If they were to choose on one strategy, then personally, I would vouch for relationship-cantered approach, due to its compatibility with the fast-food industry.

5.4. Staff Morale

Despite burnout, the overall staff morale is another key factor that reduces employee output. Various scholars have defined morale in different ways. Among these definitions Wojtaszek, (2016) points out that morale is the degree to which a staff feels contented about their work. Additionally morale helps to define the fundamental inspiration, job contentment, work significance, logistic commitment and work pride.

5.4.1. Causes of Low morale among employees

Because morale is directly related to how the employees feel about their employment, it very significant factor in coming up with a healthy work environment. In a study conducted by Nyambegera and Gicheru (2016) among employees in human service are, six factors emerged why high staff morale was fundamental in a business operation. If Cardamom Lounge could implement these six concepts, they could achieve a high staff work morale, enhanced productivity and creativeness, improved performance, reduced absenteeism, keen details to work and improved work quality. Furthermore, Nyambegera and Gicheru (2016) found that entities with a high work morale have staffs who keep time, have a better communication, are more creative, have high rate of employee retention and spend less time talking about others. The same findings were corroborated by Hidayah and Haryono (2015) who posited that employees with high morale develop equally higher levels of job satisfaction, innovation, commitment to the organization and the goodwill to satisfy group objectives. Contrary low morale among employees is costly to the organization. Dar et al. (2014) adds that an organization can lose up to 350 million USD annually because of loss of productivity, which is an outcome of low morale. Low staff morale has also been associated with increased absenteeism, protests and strikes, less efficiency and lack of interest in the work environment.

There are various causes behind low morale among staff, but the key reason cited by most investigators is poor leadership. Hidayah and Haryono (2015) stress the significance of leaders’ role, because business entities are influenced more by the ideas and decision of a leader. Poor leadership regimes have an adverse effect on the morale of employees. Additionally, mistrust of management, poor interpersonal relations and intransigent working conditions could be among the factors that affect staff morale. Olafsen, Halvari, Forest, and Deci, (2015) writes that low staff morale can be caused by departmental layoffs, labor disputes, change in leadership and uncertain expectations. Olafsen et al. (2015) also stated that lack of carrier growth may lead to low work morale.

5.4.2. Improving Employee Morale

Cardamom Lounge is a single business organization with several outlets across the world, each outlet has a manager. It is important that all the managers are trained on a uniform methodology of management, especially being that Cardamom Lounge is a multinational company employees’ people of different cultural backgrounds. Some cultures are liberal for example the western culture while other cultures believe in strict adherence to the rules without any alterations no matter the circumstances, for example the Japanese culture. It is therefore important to harmonize all these cultures into a uniform leadership culture to be applied across all the outlets (Korzynski 2013). These cultures could be harmonized by promoting;

Servant Leadership: Boyd, Nowell, Yang, and Hano (2017) suggest that servant leadership could the remedy to increase staff morale in Cardamom Lounge. According to Boyd et al. (2017), servant leadership involves giving priority to the requirements of the employees and the respective community that hosts the business entity. The main emphasis of servant leadership is to enable individuals achieve their goals and meet their expectations. Ultimately, this sort of leadership instigates managers to be more motivated in their daily activities. Since Cardamom Lounge has a vertical leadership hierarchy, the same inspiration is expected to be passed down to the employees from their managers. Khan and Gautam (2014), add that managers who take part in servant leadership tend to be trusted and are more efficient in coming up with a value of trust or high morale among employees. Boyd et al. (2017) add that staff morale in Cardamom Lounge could be improved by increasing openness and authenticity and role modeling. Fostering authenticity and openness are linked to approachability and availability in a workforce. The authors also defined authenticity as the genuine and credible interaction between staff. They revealed that authenticity could help in forming trust among employees and create platforms where they can find role models or an inspiration to follow, this could eventual lead to an increased staff morale.

Effective communication is also key to boosting employee morale. Cardamom Lounge have been trying to set up effective communication channels but so far, there has been a challenge in some regions and outlets due to poor infrastructure or the dominant culture (Devito, Brown, Bannister, Cianci, and Mujtaba 2016). However, the managers should be trained on effective communications skills, which include, doing more listening and less talking, informal interactions with various staffs, giving clear and explicit instructions, assigning tasks based on skills rather than office politics and acknowledge people with greater skills (Cheeran et al. 2015). When such principles are applied uniformly across every Cardamom Lounge outlet then, employee morale would be high in the organization, which also helps the organization to maximize their profit due to high quality of services offered by the motivated employees.

Workplace design also plays an important role in supporting employee morale and performance. For instance, a building can improve the performance of employees by offering a relaxed environment and reducing health risks. Therefore, leaders should use various studies to determine the position of the workplace design and how to improve on it (Achim et al. 2013). A positive working environment could also increase employee productivity and decrease stress. Additionally, embracing casual dressing on some days of the week sometimes may invite a relaxed environment and boost the work morale. Electronic learning and formal training within an organization could also help the employees to collaborate efficiently in person and virtual using modern technologies and application. Such communications help the employees to easily reach their managers. This helps in creating a suitable environment for problem solving and socialization in a work place, which improves employee morale (Sukoco 2017).

Since Cardamom Lounge is a multinational organization, different attitudes, communication issues and behavior could lead to cultural conflicts. Leaders should therefore develop a retention challenge if they do not have a good retention strategy. Such mechanisms give room for managers to decrease turnover and the costs of retention, but a few managers might possess the necessary strategies in place (Dobre 2013). Devoid of comprehensive plans, misunderstandings are likely to occur among employees susceptible to change in a work environment, because of different backgrounds, opinions and values (Fernet, Trépanier, Austin, Gagné, and Forest 2015). Such people can embarrass their fellow colleagues and affect their morale, which subsequently costs the organization in terms of profit making and employee performance. According to Parvaiz and Ahmed (2016), interaction is a key factor to high performance, group success and employees keep each other informed to work collaboratively.

Frederiksen et al. (2014), reasoned that training employees and empowering them with knowledge to perform a job escalates the employee morale and motivation. Staff involvement in designing their scope of work has positive outcomes for both the employee and the organization. Kaur (2013) purports that continuous training and practice improves the skills of a worker and empowers the respective worker with then authority to make informed decisions. Generally, this increases employee morale and work performance rate, especially in culturally dynamic environment like the one in Cardamom Lounge.

6.0. Conclusion and Recommendations

In the contemporary times, most employers have acknowledged that the success of their organizations is greatly influenced by the employee capacity and motivation. Various organization must therefore take up the challenge and increase their commitment to employee welfare, motivation and job satisfaction. In the same concern, it is vital to consider the effects of employee needs, aspirations and drives then come up with flexible strategies for financial participation, carrier recognition and personal development opportunities. There is no single strategy that can be used to motivate people in a workplace. The biggest question has been, can money motivate employees? Definitely, it can, but money alone cannot be enough though it plays a role in motivating employees. Therefore when trying to motivate employees, it is also important to look at money as a motivator. The paper discussed some other strategies that can be used realize human motivation and the overall outcome is that human resource is fundamental department in this area, leadership is a very critical aspect and motivation has to be doctored to every employee in a workplace.

Motivating employees has never been this important to the success of an organization like in the currently times. When the margins are non-existent, the economic recovery remains elusive. These hard realities also imply that organizations cannot rely as much as they have in the past using monetary incentives to improve employee morale.

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