Morale

The belief that “if you work hard, things will get better.” If you only pursue comfort (optimizing welfare/perks), morale can actually decline. To sustain morale, people need to see that effort is rewarded and laziness is punished. Conversely, when wrongdoing or free-riding is visible, overall morale drops. Economic growth also helps sustain morale, but many people don’t really understand inflation and may instead feel relatively deprived.