Employee Motivation
What motivate us as human beings? New esearches suggest that people are guided by four basic emotional needs:
- Obtain: scare goods, including intangibles such as social status.
- Link: form connection with individuals and groups.
- Undersand: satisfy our curiosity and master the world around us.
- Protect: protect against external threats and promote justice.
What should managers do? In practical terms, these findings suggest that for each of the four emotional drivers that employees need to fulfill, managers can utilize a particular organizational tool to motivate them. First, the drive to obtain is most easily satisfied by the organization’s reward system. Second, the drive to link is most easily satisfied by creating a strong sense of camaraderie – create a culture that promotes teamwork, collaboration, openness and friendship. Third, the drive to understand is best addressed by designing jobs that are meaningful, interesting and challenging. Finally, to meet people’s drive to protect managers should rely on designing and implementing transparent processes within their organizations.
To conclude, the secret to catapulting employees’ motivation is to improve its effectiveness in fulfilling all four basic emotional drives, not just one. Each of these drivers is independent; they cannot be ordered hierarchically or substituted one for another. To fully motivate employees, managers must address all four emotional needs.
Reference: Employee Motivation: a powerful new model, Harvard Business Review, July-August 2008
Tags: employee motivation, motivation, needs