John Koskinen has been talking about the effects of the IRS budget cuts since they started in 2010. It sounds like the biggest cut of all is the most important – morale.

Poor morale at that IRS is worse than I thought. The Bloomberg article on Miserable IRS Workers miserable IRS workers , really opened my eyes to how the offices at the IRS seem to go in a downward spiral.

First of all, an IRS employee comes out and says “The pay isn’t fantastic.” When you have employees saying that, they are obviously not excited to come to work everyday. Negativity can drag morale down and hinder productivity. Not to mention all the people they have told, bad news travels fast, who now think you’re not fantastic.

The IRS employee in the article was given a 2% raise in 4 years. If the pay wasn’t fantastic to begin with, then there sure isn’t any incentive to get a great evaluation. A yearly evaluation should reflect the work performance throughout the entire year. No great performance = no raise.

Staffing has been cut at the IRS. Bloomberg mentions that efficiency of the current staff will continue to improve. I think this is an issue everywhere. The important thing to remember in cases like this is to not kick employees while they are down. If they are overwhelmed, stressed, and tired – take that opportunity to motivate them. A few nice words of appreciation can go a long way. As can a lunch invitation.

Not having tech support speaks for itself. If you have UltimateTax you won’t have to worry about that! The employee in the article also grumbles about no office supplies – NONE! No pens, paperclips, hole punchers and even printer paper. This doesn’t sound like much to spend, but those costs can add up. Employees should not have to purchase things that are necessary to complete their jobs. This too will give employees a reason to say negative things about their workplace.

No free coffee (WHAT?!?). In the article they had coffee at one point, and then it was taken away. The employees overlooked this and were still able to find other positive job perks…until those were taken away too. If you can offer them something small, it can make a big difference in the way they feel about the company.

When employees go home they often talk to friends and family about their day. Rumors can spread around the community quickly. You don’t want your business to have a negative reputation and neither do we!

Moral of this story is morale is huge. Employees give better performance and service to everyone (both internally and customers) when morale is up.

It is worth a little effort and spending a few dollars to get:

• Happier co-workers
• Happier clients
• A positive work environment
• Fewer attendance issues
• A better business reputation

At least you know if you are with UltimateTax, you won’t have to worry about tech support! We have that covered for you. We don’t however include coffee or office supplies with our professional tax software. We do give you a better chance at giving out those raises though!