Lead: “Motivation can be destroyed amazingly effectively”

In his book "Reclaim Work," organizational researcher Hans Rusinek explains why motivation can be so easily destroyed in the workplace. According to Rusinek, less than half of Germans put their best effort at work. The question is whether it's the people or the conditions that make them lose motivation. Rusinek believes that society needs more economic performance, but it's the working conditions that need repair, not the workers.

He argues that politicians can set incentives to make people want to work more, such as ensuring that work pays more. He also notes that labeling people as lazy and increasing pressure is an oversimplification, calling it a "comfortable problem."

Hoffnungskiller, or "motivation killers," are factors that systematically discourage people from being motivated. Rusinek identifies these as "Hoffnungskiller" and states that leadership can be a motivation killer. Leaders can use their power to make people proactive or intimidate them. People go to work for the product, the purpose, or the money, and they may feel disengaged due to their supervisors.

One example Rusinek shares is a manager in the aviation industry who had a great idea to make a product more sustainable but was blocked by his boss, who instead promoted the company's focus on sustainability. The manager felt increasingly that his job was meaningless and eventually left, starting a successful green aviation startup.

Other factors that can discourage people include the type of performance and reward emphasized in the company. Rusinek calls this "performative work," which emphasizes being seen in meetings rather than doing meaningful work. In times of crisis, companies often rely more on presence and control, which can worsen the problem. Research shows that this effect is called the "Threat-Rigidity Effect," where employees respond to layoffs by increasing performative work, making it harder to criticize, and losing tolerance for dissent.