Quelle: CIO, USA

Even in the best of times, morale is a delicate,unpredictable thing. Will one employee sulk when anotherreceives a promotion? Will a canceled project throw a teaminto a tailspin of recrimination and apathy? Will a switchfrom lobster bisque to pea soup in the company cafeteriacost you your best worker? Threading your way through theseproblems can be like negotiating a minefield. At any moment,something can blow up in your face and send productivitytumbling even as your employees commence to mumbling andgrumbling.

Of course, these are not the best of times.

It's no secret that morale is an omnipresent issue rightnow. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, last yearcompanies laid off almost 1.7 million workers, up 5 percentfrom the year before, and filed 41,000 bankruptcy claims, up13 percent from the previous year. Those cuts have forcedthe survivors, including those in IT, to shoulder moreresponsibilities even as their salaries and benefits fallunder the cost-cutting ax.

Bad morale is insidious. Bad morale skulks, it lurks, itsimmers just beneath the conversation at thewatercooler. But if you keep your eyes and ears open, you'llknow when it's there.