Alive at Work

1. Organizations often deactivate the seeking system, leading to disengagement.

“When the seeking systems are not active, human aspirations remain frozen in an endless winter of discontent.”

Industrial Age Legacy. Many organizations, designed during the Industrial Revolution, prioritize control and efficiency over employee engagement. This often results in repetitive, specialized tasks that stifle employees' natural curiosity and desire to explore, effectively deactivating their seeking systems.

• Bureaucracy and management practices were created to control large workforces.
• Policies often suppress employees' desires to experiment and learn.
• This leads to a sense of boredom, creative bankruptcy, and disengagement.

Biological Basis of Disengagement. The seeking system, a neural network in the brain, drives our urge to explore, learn, and find meaning. When this system is deactivated, employees experience a lack of motivation, purpose, and zest. This is not a motivational problem, but a biological one.

• The seeking system releases dopamine, a neurotransmitter linked to motivation and pleasure.
• When suppressed, employees become cautious, anxious, and wary.
• This can lead to depressive symptoms and a feeling of learned helplessness.

Need for Change. In today's rapidly changing environment, organizations need employees to innovate and adapt. Suppressing the seeking system is no longer viable. Activating it is crucial for organizational survival and growth.

• Organizations need employees' insights and creativity.
• They need new ways of working based on technology that employees understand better than leaders.
• Activating the seeking system is essential for enthusiasm, motivation, and innovation.

2. Self-expression at work ignites the seeking system, boosting performance and retention.

“Working at Wipro gives you the opportunity to express yourself.”

Best-Self Activation. Encouraging employees to share stories about their best selves at work creates a sense of belonging and authenticity. This approach, unlike traditional onboarding, allows newcomers to express their unique skills and traits, activating their seeking systems.

• New hires who shared best-self stories showed 11% higher customer satisfaction.
• Retention improved by 32% in the best-self condition.
• This approach fosters a sense of connection and purpose.

Beyond Job Titles. Self-reflective job titles, like "Fairy Godmother of Wishes," allow employees to bring their personal identities into the organization. This reduces emotional exhaustion and promotes psychological safety.

• 85% of employees said self-reflective titles reduced exhaustion.
• 77% said titles opened people up and helped change the culture.
• Titles also create enjoyable interactions with outsiders.

Team Dynamics. When team members express their unique qualities, it enhances collaboration and decision-making. This approach transforms diversity into an asset, as team members feel valued and respected.

• Teams with self-reflective titles performed better in a spaghetti tower challenge.
• Openly discussing unique qualities enhances team learning and performance.
• It allows team members to be "optimally distinctive."

3. Experimentation and play create safe zones for learning and innovation.

“Play can promote emotional resilience, diminish the negative affective consequences of stressful emotional experiences, and fertilize affectively positive gene expression patterns.”

Safe Zones for Learning. Creating risk-free environments where employees can experiment and play is crucial for activating the seeking system. This approach reduces fear and anxiety, making employees more receptive to new ideas and information.

• Using Legos to simulate manufacturing processes allows for experimentation without real-world consequences.
• This approach fosters intrinsic motivation and curiosity.
• It allows employees to learn and experiment without negative consequences.

Playful Learning. When employees are encouraged to play and experiment, they become more creative and innovative. This approach also normalizes experimentation and exploration, making it a natural part of the work process.

• Play is a robust finding among mammals, and it is how we learn what we are capable of.
• Playfulness is inhibited by negative emotions such as fear.
• When the seeking system is activated, employees are more likely to move away from their comfort zones.

From Play to Production. Once employees' seeking systems are activated, it's important to translate their enthusiasm and ideas into real-world applications. This involves giving them ownership of the vision and providing space to experiment and fail.

• Employees should be involved in redesigning their work processes.
• They should be given the freedom to implement their own solutions.
• This approach leads to greater commitment and better outcomes.

4. Freedom within a frame balances creativity with organizational needs.

“The language of planning and control, of targets and KPIs, of metrics and benchmarks, of efficiency and excellence, of specialisation and standardisation, of jobs and careers betrays a way of thinking that is wholly unsuited to the challenges confronting firms today.”

The Need for a Frame. While freedom is essential for creativity, organizations also need structure and control to meet regulations and customer commitments. The key is to balance freedom with a clear organizational frame.

• Organizations need employees to meet regulations and deliver on promises.
• There needs to be a frame to ensure continuity and control.
• The goal is to help employees find freedom within that frame.

Freedom in the Frame. This involves creating space where employees can experiment, express themselves, and play to their strengths within the boundaries of their jobs. This approach activates the seeking system and directs enthusiasm toward solving organizational problems.

• KLM encouraged employees to experiment with social media within the frame of normal operations.
• Employees were not ordered to use social media, but were given a budget to experiment.
• This led to employee enthusiasm and creativity that helped the organization adapt and innovate.

Agility, Not Fragility. Organizations need agility, not fragility. This means balancing a strong sense of employee freedom and experimentation with an operational frame. This is only possible when employees understand the big picture and the shared purpose of the work.

• Too much control stifles creativity and innovation.
• Too much freedom can lead to chaos and lack of focus.
• The goal is to find the right balance between freedom and frame.

5. Humble leadership fosters a culture of learning and innovation.

“Show me what you can get done when you have no budget and no authority. That’s how you know you’re a leader.”

Servant Leadership. Humble leaders prioritize serving their employees and creating an environment where they can thrive. This approach involves listening to employees, valuing their ideas, and helping them solve problems.

• Jungkiu Choi, head of Consumer Banking at Standard Chartered Bank, visited branches and served breakfast to employees.
• He asked employees how he could help them improve their branches.
• This approach fostered a culture of ownership and innovation.

Learning Mindset. Humble leaders model a learning mindset by acknowledging their own limitations and being open to feedback. This encourages employees to experiment, take risks, and learn from their mistakes.

• Humble leaders express feelings of uncertainty and humility.
• They share their own developmental journeys.
• This encourages a learning mindset in others.

Overcoming Arrogance. Arrogance, often a form of learned helplessness, stifles learning and innovation. Humble leaders, on the other hand, create a culture where employees feel safe to express their ideas and experiment with new approaches.

• Arrogance is a defense system that prevents people from admitting they don't know.
• Humble leaders help people move toward their full potential.
• They model how to grow by acknowledging mistakes and limitations.

6. Experiencing the impact of work fuels a sense of purpose.

“Tires became cool to them. It’s very different than if we’d just have given them the €1,000 that the trip cost.”

Personal Connection. When employees witness the impact of their work on others, it creates a powerful sense of purpose. This personal connection is more effective than simply telling employees about the importance of their work.

• Nokian Tyres employees who visited a tire launch event in Finland felt more engaged in their work.
• They experienced the tangible effects of their work and felt proud to be part of the company.
• This led to a sense of mission and connectedness.

Emotional Impact. Purpose is not just a logical concept; it's an emotional experience. When employees feel the gratitude of those they serve, it activates their seeking systems and increases their motivation.

• Fundraisers who met scholarship recipients raised 171% more money.
• A message from a student had a greater impact than a message from a leader.
• Purpose needs to be felt, not just heard.

Authenticity Matters. Purpose-building initiatives must be authentic and consistent with a leader's values. If employees perceive these initiatives as manipulative, they can backfire and lead to disengagement.

• "Phishing for purpose" occurs when leaders try to exploit employees' emotions.
• Employees are attracted to authenticity and repulsed by insincerity.
• Leaders need to genuinely care about their employees' sense of purpose.

7. Crafting personal narratives about purpose enhances resilience and motivation.

“He who has a why to live can bear with almost any how.”

Personal Interpretation. Purpose is not something that can be imposed on employees; it's a personal interpretation of their work. The stories we tell ourselves about why we do what we do have a powerful impact on our motivation and resilience.

• Employees can choose to focus on the "how" or the "why" of their work.
• A higher level of construal, focusing on the "why," leads to greater commitment.
• The stories we tell ourselves about our work can have huge effects on our behaviors.

Meaningful Stories. When employees craft meaningful stories about their work, they are more likely to persevere through challenges. These stories connect their daily tasks to a larger purpose, making their work feel more significant.

• A janitor at a cancer center reframed her work as helping patients through a difficult time.
• This reframing led to a more positive attitude and a greater sense of purpose.
• It also expanded her set of behaviors at work.

Resilience and Perseverance. When we personally understand and believe in the "why" of our actions, we have greater resilience and stamina when the going gets tough. This is because our emotions are engaged, and we are more likely to persevere through difficulty.

• A high-level construal of exercise focuses on long-term health benefits.
• This makes it easier to stick with a fitness regime.
• The "why" of our behaviors is a more powerful story than the "how."

Last updated: January 31, 2025