It is crucial for employers to keep tabs on employee morale if they are to maintain productivity and gain an advantage over their rivals in the post-recession climate, an expert has claimed.

Chartered Management Institute policy and research director Petra Wilson claimed some managers lack the motivation to ensure members of staff are happy and healthy in the workplace, thereby inadvertently hampering their own business.

“Communication is an absolute critical part of what we model and look at in terms of employer engagement,” she explained. “If there has been a recent change in strategy, or changes because of the recession, then that has to be communicated.”

Ms Wilson accused some business leaders of neglecting their duty to maintain cordial relations with their employees and suggested considerable confusion can arise in such cases.

Recent research from insurance firm Aviva found only one per cent of workers would admit to HR departments that they had been struggling with illness, while 21 per cent expressed concerns that informing bosses of health problems could harm career prospects.

Posted by Cameron Thomson