Firms tell lies to boost staff morale

Big businesses exaggerate how well they're doing to get staff to work harder.

Companies like IBM claim telling "urban myths" about their success makes employees more enthusiastic.

But experts warn the practice could leave employees cynical of anything their bosses tell them.

At IBM, the process is known as "faction" and involves real-life anecdotes being exaggerated by executives.

Rob Lawrence, UK creative director for IBM, said: "People have started to realise that a lot of structural changes are actually necessary to turn their companies into effective e-businesses, and one way to effect change is to write their own urban myths."

Professor Nick Chater, of the Institute for Applied Cognitive Science at Warwick University, said the practice could leave employees reluctant to believe anything their bosses say.