The Myth
"A bitching army is a good army" -- when employees
are happy it is because their employer is giving them too much and not demanding enough
from them
The Finding
A disgruntled army is not a good army, at least not for long. The authors
show that there is a strong positive relationship between employee morale and business
success, as gauged by productivity, quality, sales, long-term stock market performance,
and many other measures. Employee morale is a direct consequence of giving workers what
they want and the three major goals of the overwhelming majority of workers (see below)
are entirely compatible with the objectives of the company. Further, included in what
employees want is high -- not low -- performance standards.
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