Obviously, keeping employee morale up is both critical and challenging during difficult times. Companies who do a great job at this (like Southwest Airlines) do certain things that other companies don't. Based on years of research on companies who do a good job--and those who don't--here are 6 guiding principles I've found useful.

“High morale doesn’t come from goodies, gimmicks, or gala events” – Excellent benefits, “morale boosting” events, and “flavor of the month” management fads don’t lead to long term high morale. While great benefits, special events, and programs like on-site massage, bring-your-dog-to-work, and casual Fridays are nice, they are the “frosting on the cake.” The “cake”—the true source of high morale—is an intrinsically rewarding work experience.

“High morale comes from an intrinsically motivating work experience that satisfies core human needs” - When work satisfies many of the core human needs that drive motivation, the day to day work experience itself inspire passion and involvement. Therefore, your approach to creating a high morale, high performance workplace must include creating a work experience that satisfies these critical human needs:

- Believing that one’s work matters
- Feeling a sense of control over one’s job
- Having the opportunity to make a difference
- Seeing that one’s efforts are helping them make progress towards worthy goals.
- Feeling a sense of mastery and self-efficacy
- Feeling a sense of belonging, of community
- Being seen and treated as an individual
- Knowing that others care about you
- Being treated with respect

While this is not a comprehensive list of all the human needs that create an intrinsically satisfying work experiences address, these are some of the most important needs that, when satisfied, lead to a spirited, motivated workforce.

“Employee appreciation programs and events can actually damage morale.” – One of the best ways to increase distrust, disengagement, and cynicism in a workforce is to put on employee appreciation-type events, while not addressing the fact that employees are treated with disrespect and indifference on a daily basis. The only way such events and programs help build—rather than further damage—morale is if they truly:

- Represent how management views the workforce. (i.e. respects them, appreciates their hard work, sees them as a valuable asset, etc.)
- Reflect the day to day experience employees have on the job of being respected and valued.

“You can’t bribe your way to high morale.” – One of the big problems with trying to use external motivators like best-in-class pay and benefits or any type of “give away” is that external rewards are never enough. Just as individuals cannot buy happiness through acquiring toys, employers cannot buy their way into high morale. The fleeting sense of pleasure one can receive from buying a fancy electronic toy, new car, or piece of clothing quickly evaporates, and so does the morale boost from a pay raise, yearly bonus, or other perk.

“If you focus on external rewards as a means to improving morale, you’re likely to get an entitled workforce.” - The fact that the uplifting effect of extrinsic rewards doesn’t lead to lasting morale is just part of the problem. Even worse, relying on “goodies” to motivate employees creates the workplace equivalent of “spoiled kids.” Because what first starts out as a special gift or bonus quickly becomes expected, employers who focus their energy on finding the perfect “bribe” to make their employees happy create a me-focused, entitled, “what have you done for us lately?” workforce. While companies like Google and SAS Institute are legendary for their cornucopia of benefits and employee-friendly workplace, they are also extremely demanding. They enjoy a loyal, highly motivated workforce because they balance these two messages:

- “We want you to be happy here.”
- “For you to remain here, you need to provide maximum value.”

“Everything matters” – Pay attention to every interaction you have with your employees, every communication, and every decision, because they all affect employee morale – for better or for worse. Not only can they directly affect morale, they also communicate something about who management is and what they think of employees. Whenever making a decision or change, ask “How will this choice affect employee morale, engagement, and respect for management?” and “What message would this send to employees about what management thinks of them?” Keep in mind that every action by management communicates something to employees about any or all of the following:

- Whether management knows what it’s doing
- Whether management acts with integrity
- Whether management cares about and respects their workers