The Four Drives That Encourages Employee Motivation

 According to the Harvard business review (July-Aug 2008), Individual managers must address the four fundamental emotional drives as well as the organization as a whole. Employees may be constrained by organizational norms, but they are astute enough to recognize that their immediate superiors have some leeway. In fact, our research shows that individual managers have as much influence on overall motivation as any organizational policy, as well as the levers managers can use to address them and the "local" strategies that can boost motivation despite organizational constraints.

Because the four drives are hardwired into our brains, the degree to which they are satisfied directly affects our emotions and, by extension, our behavior. Let’s look at how each one operates (Harvard business review, July-Aug 2008).

1.      The drive to acquire 

We are all compelled to obtain scarce goods that enhance our sense of well-being. When this drive is satisfied, we are delighted; when it is not, we are dissatisfied. This phenomenon applies not only to physical goods such as food, clothing, housing, and money, but also to experiences such as travel and entertainment, not to mention events that improve social status such as being promoted and receiving a corner office or a seat on the corporate board. The desire to acquire is both relative (we constantly compare what we have to what others have) and insatiable (we always want more). That explains why people are always concerned not only with their own pay packages, but also with those of others. It also explains why salary caps are difficult to implement. (Harvard business review, July-Aug 2008)

 2.      The drive to bond 

Many animals form attachments to their parents, kinship group, or tribe, but only humans extend that bond to larger collectives such as organizations, associations, and nations. When the desire to bond is satisfied, it is associated with strong positive emotions such as love and caring, and when it is not, it is associated with negative emotions such as loneliness and anomie. At work, the desire to bond accounts for both the enormous boost in motivation that occurs when employees feel proud to be a part of the organization and the loss of morale that occurs when the institution betrays them. 

It also explains why employees struggle to break free from divisional or functional silos: People form attachments to their immediate cohorts. However, the ability to form attachments to larger collectives can lead to employees caring more about the organization than their local group within it. (Harvard business review, July-Aug 2008). 

 3.      The drive to comprehend 

We want to make sense of the world around us, to develop scientific, religious, and cultural theories and accounts that make events understandable and suggest reasonable actions and responses. We are frustrated when things don't make sense, and we are usually energized by the challenge of figuring out answers. The desire to make a meaningful contribution in the workplace is accounted for by the drive to comprehend. Employees are motivated by jobs that challenge them and allow them to grow and learn, while those that appear monotonous or lead to a dead end demotivate them. Talented employees who feel trapped often leave their companies in search of new challenges. (Harvard business review, July-Aug 2008)

 4.      The drive to defend 

We all have a natural instinct to defend ourselves, our property and accomplishments, our family and friends, and our ideas and beliefs against external threats. This drive is based on the basic fight-or-flight response shared by all animals. It manifests itself in humans not only as aggressive or defensive behavior, but also as a desire to establish institutions that promote justice, have clear goals and intentions, and allow people to express their ideas and opinions. Fulfilling the desire to defend produces feelings of security and confidence, failing to do so produces strong negative emotions such as fear and resentment. (Harvard business review, July-Aug 2008)

The desire to defend reveals a lot about people's resistance to change, it's one reason why employees can be devastated by the prospect of a merger or acquisition an especially significant change even if the deal represents the organization's only hope for survival. So, for example, you could be told one day that you're a high performer and essential to the company's success, and the next that you're being let go due to a restructuring a direct challenge, in its arbitrary nature, to your drive to defend. It's no surprise that headhunters frequently target employees during such transitions, knowing that employees are vulnerable and at the mercy of managers who appear to make arbitrary personnel decisions. (Harvard business review, July-Aug 2008)

Each of the four drives we've discussed operates independently; they cannot be ordered hierarchically or substituted for one another. You can't just pay your employees well and expect them to be enthusiastic about their work in an organization where bonding isn't encouraged, work seems meaningless, and people feel defenseless. (Harvard business review, July-Aug 2008)

It is also insufficient to help people bond as a tight-knit team when they are underpaid or working in deathly boring jobs. You can certainly get people to work under such conditions; they may need the money or have no other current prospects; however, you will not get the most out of them, and you risk losing them entirely if a better offer comes along. To fully motivate your employees, you must address all four motivational factors. (Harvard business review, July-Aug 2008)

 

Reference

Employee Motivation: Harvard business review July–august 2008 page 3, Page 4  

Nitin Nohria (nnohria@hbs.edu) is the Richard P. Chapman Professor of Business Administration 

Boris Groysberg (bgroysberg@hbs.edu) is an associate professor, at Harvard Business School in Boston.  

Linda-Eling Lee (llee@hbs.edu) is a research director at the Center for Research on Corporate Performance in Cambridge, Massachusetts.