This research study examined how organizations might apply the wealth of research about employee motivation into business practice. Incorporating the knowledge from behavioural economics and psychological studies positively influences the following: employee motivation, productivity, well-being, engagement (Pink, 2011). In turn, this helps reduce the stunning loss of productivity, due to employee demotivation, quoted between USD 480-600 billion a year (State of the American Workplace 2016, Gallup).
To conduct my research study, I relied on qualitative research methods including literature review of scholarly sources, an overview of grey literature, with some insights from semi-structured interviews. My research looked to both North American and European sources. Scandinavian countries are known for their leadership in management practice (Eriksen et al, 2006) and attracting, developing, and retaining top talent (IMD, 2017). According to the Varieties of Capitalism framework, which outlines the differences in economic and political institutions, USA and Canada and the Nordic countries belong to two contrasting economies, and have profoundly distinct approach to law, development of labour market, inter-firm and employee relations (Hall, Soskice, 2001). This awareness is important to situate both approaches to company-employee relationship in economic and political context. I illustrated the ways the findings from behavioural economics and psychological studies have been harnessed in innovative ways. This manifests through creative management initiatives such as Results-Only Workplace Environment, reduced work hours, and Holacracy. This growing understanding of changing employee needs leads to the rise in team members’ motivation and furthers general engagement, decreases turnover and increases profit for business.