Motivation in the workplace represents one of the fundamental pillars for achieving high performance in work teams. Not only does it directly influence the productivity and efficiency of organizations, but it also plays a key role in the emotional well-being and personal satisfaction of employees. Fostering a motivating environment is not only a business strategy, but a human need that profoundly impacts people’s happiness and overall development.
A few years ago, Harvard Business School Professor Teresa Amabile set out to answer a question we’ve all asked ourselves at some point: What truly motivates us at work, day after day? To find the answer, Amabile and her team analyzed more than 12,000 work diaries written by professionals from eight different companies. Each person wrote down how they felt, what they experienced, and what was most relevant about their day.
THE RESULT? A conclusion as powerful as it is simple: what motivates us most is the feeling of making progress. It’s not financial incentives, praise, or even pressure for results. What truly drives our motivation is “experiencing progress on tasks we find meaningful.” Even small achievements—solving a problem, completing a task, contributing a useful idea—have a huge impact on our mood, our creativity, and our productivity. As Teresa Amabile often says, “The desire to do something because you find it deeply satisfying and personally challenging inspires the highest levels of creativity, whether in the arts, sciences, or business.”
WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM THIS DISCOVERY?
- As professionals, we must consciously seek that daily breakthrough. It doesn’t matter if it’s large or small; the important thing is that it’s real and that we feel we’re making progress.
- As leaders, we have a responsibility to facilitate the progress of our teams. Sometimes, it’s enough to remove obstacles, provide timely support, or recognize genuine effort. Help our team members progress and be aware of their own progress.
Because when people feel they’re making progress, they’re more engaged, collaborate better, and enjoy what they do more.
Helping people find meaning in the work they’re doing is essential, because Amabile emphasizes that “As long as work is meaningful, managers don’t have to spend time thinking about ways to motivate people.” I wrote about the importance of meaning in my previous post: “Find Your Purpose.”
I’ll end this post with a quote from Teresa Amabile herself that I think we should all keep in mind:
“Because people spend so much of their lives working, people deserve the dignity of having a positive lives at work.”
I’d like to take this opportunity to recommend Teresa Amabile‘s brilliant book, “The Progress Principle”.
