The Business of Motivation, from Forty1

What underpins our desire to perform well in the workplace? And just how important are motivation levels in organisations to their success?

These were just a couple of the questions deliberated by the Forty1 panel as they unpacked the research from their state-of-the-nation report, The Business of Motivation. The largest of its kind to date, over 2.6k employees from global organisations across the UK and US contributed to the study.

Host Kath Goodson Global, Client Development Director at Forty1, joined by colleagues Dr Guy Champniss (Head of Behavioural Science), Richard Burton, (Managing Partner) and Hillary Brown (Managing Director), anchored this deep dive into what affects our workplace drive.

What ‘motivated’ the report?

The panel outlined that organisations were waking up to the importance of addressing motivation in their workforce. With an increasing number of studies pointing to the billions being lost globally to poor motivation – the scale and impact of not doing so could no longer be ignored.

They also pointed to the need to understand the different forms of motivation – and in striking the critical balance between ‘Extrinsic Motivation’ (peer recognition, financial rewards, and ‘Intrinsic Motivation’ (how meaningful or inherently enjoyable I find my work).

What were the key learnings?

• The good news – Motivation really matters. All six key business outcomes chosen as measures for the report (stress, commitment, churn, belief in team… etc.) were positively impacted by high motivation.
• The bad news – Less than 50% interviewed experienced high motivation in the workplace. A great deal of potential and productivity is being wasted.
• The big surprise – Identity motivation, not financial recognition, nor love for the work itself, was the biggest motivator in the workplace. Activity that fuelled our sense of self in the workplace proved more important than any other.
• There’s no silver bullet or one-size-fits-all fix – However, a tailored approach can lead to higher motivation and subsequent greater business performance.

What can organisations do?

With so much transformation going on in business, the social contract between employer and employee has never been more critical. Nor has the correlation between an engaged workforce and business performance been clearer.

But what can organisations do to directly address motivation?

A great starting place would be to watch the webcast, codive into The Business of Motivation report itself – and get in touch to see what Forty1 and the team can do to help you better understand your own motivational landscape.