Leadership: “Motivation can be destroyed surprisingly effectively”

Many bosses discourage their employees with certain behaviors. Organization researcher Hans Rusinek knows what these are and how we can keep ourselves happy at work.

Dusseldorf. Almost half of Germans say their job is the main cause of frustration in their lives. Organization researcher Hans Rusinek explains why this is the case in his new book “Reclaim Work”. He says: Managers have to create a job environment for their people that gives them hope again. But each individual can also increase their own motivation with a few tricks.

In an interview he explains how both can be achieved.

Mr. Rusinek, you write in your book that less than half of Germans give their best at work. So is Chancellor Friedrich Merz right when he says we all have to try harder again?

It is true that we as a society need more economic performance. But is it because of behavior or because of circumstances that people don't make more effort? I think: We have to fix the work and not the workers.

And how?

Politicians can definitely provide incentives so that people want to work more. For example, by ensuring that work becomes more worthwhile again. For me, this also includes the question of why employment income is taxed higher than capital income or inheritance. If instead you limit yourself to calling people lazy and increasing the pressure, it's a bit under-complex. In sociology this is called a “comfortable problem”.

What does that mean?

A comfortable problem is a problem that takes me out of responsibility. This also happens in organizations. When bosses complain about Generation Z's lack of motivation to perform instead of asking themselves: How do we become an attractive place to work for young professionals?

You write in your book: Nobody starts their career mentally quitting. Why is it that so many people become so unmotivated after just a short time in their professional lives?

I asked myself that too and conducted 27 interviews with people from the world of work for my book. This resulted in “hope killers” that systematically discourage people.

What do you mean by that?

Over time, most people lose hope that their work can make a difference. Leadership in particular can become a hope killer. Because nowhere do we experience power as directly as at work. Managers can use this power to enable people to act – or to intimidate them. People come for the product, the meaning or even the money; they leave because of their superiors.

Do you know any examples of this?

I once accompanied a manager from the aviation industry. He realized that one of his company's products could be made much more sustainable. So he talked to his manager about it. Instead of accepting his suggestion, she simply blocked him. At the same time, the company advertised its alleged focus on sustainability to the outside world.

What happened then?

The manager stayed for a while, but increasingly found his job pointless and felt alienated from his employer. Eventually he quit and founded a fairly successful green aviation start-up.

Besides the leader, what else discourages people?

The performance factor: What performance is required and rewarded? In most companies, it's not about doing the best work, but rather the most visible work. I call this “performative work.” That means: always sit nicely in meetings, always appear busy. On the other hand, anyone who locks themselves in the office for three hours to concentrate on work is more likely to make themselves suspicious.

Especially in times of crisis, many companies rely even more on presence and control.

And that exacerbates the problem. This is shown by research on the “threat-rigidity effect”. When a company cuts jobs, many employees react with even more performative work: more meetings, more visibility, so as not to attract negative attention. At the same time, tolerance for criticism often decreases in crises - among managers, but also within teams. Because under threat the need for unity grows. Anyone who disagrees is quickly seen as a troublemaker or disloyal. The tragedy is that organizations need critical voices particularly urgently, especially in crises.

Do you have an example of this?

I'm reminded of an engineer I interviewed for my book. She was nicknamed “Doctor No” because she was often the person with the most critical opinions. She was valued for this for a long time. When the company slipped into crisis, this suddenly became a problem. When groups are threatened from outside, they lose their tolerance for those who think differently. They radicalize inwardly. This is a crisis in crisis management.

What are early warning signs of such a development?

Many leaders confuse silence with consent. If no one complains, that's not necessarily a sign of harmony. Many bosses simply don’t ask enough questions. It may be that employees already find their job so pointless that they don't care about anything.

What should leaders do then?

You should break this apparent harmony and ask: “What is bothering you?” It is better to have dissatisfied employees who want to change something than those who say no to everything because they are already internally logged out.

Companies often talk about how to motivate their teams. So should they think more carefully about how not to demotivate them?

Motivation cannot be prescribed. But it can be destroyed surprisingly effectively. The task of leadership is therefore not to constantly motivate people anew, but rather to create conditions under which they can translate their existing motivation into effective action.

If a feeling of hopelessness has spread throughout a company, what can each individual do to avoid being infected by it?

Hope doesn't come from telling ourselves that everything will be okay. It arises when we experience that we can change something through our actions - even if it is initially just a small habit. My mom always said, “Try to break a rule every day and not get caught.” I regularly ask myself: Which seemingly set – often self-set – rules of behavior that we have in the world of work would I like to break out of?

What would be such a breaking of the rules?

Imagine sitting in a meeting and having the feeling: This is another bullshit meeting, no one says anything and the mood is bad. Just say, "Hey, I don't think I can contribute anything here today - I'm going to tune out. If you need me, call me again." This is a small pattern break that brings you back to self-efficacy. And the best thing: Others see that there is another way - and may soon dare to change something themselves. Practical hope is contagious in the best sense.