Employee Motivation: A Powerful, New Model

THE PYSCHOLOGY

OF MOTIVATION

Aristotle Adam Smith Sigmund Freud Abraham Maslow

Why do people do what they

do?

Professor Nitin Nohria Harvard Business School

UNTIL RECENTLY...

Motivation

Acquire

Bond

Comprehend

Defend

- the acquisition of physical and non-physical goods

- always relative and insatiable

Drive to acquire

- if fulfilled -> sense of delight, if thwarted -> sense of disappointment

- the feeling of a connection to others and belonging the organization - people mostly care about the smaller ’cohort’ they are in, not the organization itself

Drive to bond

- if fulfilled -> love and caring towards the society if not supplied -> sense of loneliness and anomie

- making sense of the world around us, making events comprehensible and suggesting reasonable responses for them- demoralizing effect of monotonous, never-ending tasks

- encouragement by challenging and entertaining jobs

Drive to comprehend

- if fulfilled -> challenge, feeling of justice if neglected -> sense of frustration and invigoration

- naturally innate defense of ourselves, our property, our family and friends, our ideas and beliefs

- resistance to change, importance of just and transparent actions

Drive to defend

- if fulfilled -> feeling of security and confidence if neglected -> fear and resentment

Motivation

Acquire

Bond

Comprehend

Defend

How to fulfill these drives?

Acquire

Reward

systemDifferentiati

on

Rewards based on

performance

Bond

Culture

Camaraderie

Friendship

Teamwork

Comprehend

Job Design

Distinct and important

rolesand

meaningful, contributing

jobs

Defend

Transparency

and fairness

Performance-

management

Resource-allocation