10 / Effective Leadership and Human Relations The Conference Board has been tracking levels of U.S. job satisfaction since 198 Research shows decreasing morale in the American workplace, with only 49.6 per of employees satisfied with their jobs, down from 61.1 percent three decades ago Managing morale is the task of management. Meeting this responsibility requires willingness to listen to employees and the ability to read between the lines of wha they say and do. In this process, the morale of each person should be considered individually. Although the elements of morale-job, group, management, and econo rewards-are the same for everyone, each element may be more or less important to different people at different times. Satisfaction with the work itself is the single strongest driver of overall job satisfaction, but the nature of the job itself may not be as important to the individ who views work as a temporary source of income while going to school as it is to person in midcareer who foresees many more years in the same line of work.25 Typically, wages and the opportunity for advancement are of primary importar to younger workers, while older employees are more interested in fringe benefi for their retirement years. All three-wages, benefits, and advancement-are usu important to workers in their middle years, when the financial demands of rais a family must be met, security for sickness and retirement must be considered, and social needs for status and responsibility can be great. Relations with co-workers and practices of management probably would be less important to an inventor, who works alone, than to factory and office employee who spend a significant amount of time in the company of co-workers and who subject to a supervisor's orders. In summary, when an employee has an attitude problem that is work-related, stress levels rise and performance goes down. It may be discovered that management is part che problem. Occasionally, the problem is caused by other employees. Often, the probl s caused by the employee her- or himself. In any case, management's potential to hel enormous. If you are a manager and have an employee attitude problem, you should concerned for the sake of the individual and the good of the organization. 26 Nork Morale and the Role of the Leader Does morale make a difference, and does leadership count? Yes and yes, say Rober Levering and Milton Moskowitz in The 100 Best Companies to Work for in America, dentifying Southwest Airlines as a "best" company and quoting an enthusiastic mployee: "Working here is an unbelievable experience. They treat you with respect ay you well, and ask you to use your ideas to solve problems. They encourage you be yourself. I love going to work!"27 revenues, 2,100 employees, and flights to 14 cities. By the time of his ment in 2001, Southwest had become a $5.7 billion business with 30,00 ployees and was flying to 57 cities. At $14 billion, Southwest's m capitalization was bigger than American's, United's, and Continental's bined. Most astounding of all was that, since the company first earned a in 1973, it never lost a penny. In an industry plagued by fare wars, oil and other disasters, this is an amazing accomplishment-traced primari caring leader who cared about his people 29 It is interesting to note that Kelleher was succeeded by his former secretar leen Barrett, in 2001. What happened to the company? Its performance got additional testimony to Kelleher's leadership ability. Of course, when asked Kelleher and Barrett (now "president emeritus") are certain to assign Souti Airlines success to "our people. "30 It is not surprising that in a 2013 interview, her described his leadership philosophy as follows: When employees are h problems, be there; when things are going well, stay out of their way. Questions Discuss the role of the leader in creating a high-morale, high-perform workplace. What morale-building policies and practices do you recommend