The Happiness Project recently posted an article, Nine Tips for Giving Memorable Praise--and Why To Bother, in which it listed nine ways for managers and supervisors to praise their employees. With layoffs, furloughs and other cost cutting losses causing employees to worry about the fate of their jobs, praise is probably something that's sorely needed in most workplaces these days.

Nine Ways to Praise

1. Be specific
2. Find a way to praise sincerely.
3. Never offer praise and ask for a favor in same conversation.
4. Don't over-praise.
5. Look for something less obvious to praise.
6. Don't hesitate to praise people who get a lot of praise already.
7. Praise people behind their backs.
8. Beware when a person asks for your honest opinion. (According to the article, this is an indication that what the person really wants is praise.)
9. Don't damn with faint praise.

"By acting in a way that shows appreciation, discernment, and thoughtfulness, we make ourselves feel more appreciative, discerning, and thoughtful. And that boosts happiness," The Happiness Project says.

Receiving regular doses of praise is bound to boost the morale of employees who are feeling overworked or insecure because their companies have had to cut back either on staff or perks in order to weather the recession. It may also alleviate some of the worry that many have about the potential for them to lose their jobs, too.