Motivation and management: our firsthand experience in the field

It would be easy to paint an alarmist picture of the working world in 2026. The figures on stress, disengagement, and absenteeism could feed into a doomsday narrative that many organizations have heard before and that doesn't actually help them move forward. That is not our approach.

What we observe on the ground is more complex and, in many ways, more encouraging. The companies we work with are not organizations in crisis. They are organizations facing rapid transformations and real human tensions, just like any others, and they are looking for concrete answers. What we share here are those observations and answers, lived day-to-day through our training programs. 

What we observe: five recurring signals in teams in 2026

These five observations are not generalizations. They are constants that our facilitators encounter, to varying degrees, in the vast majority of organizations they support. Naming them accurately is the first step to addressing them effectively.

1. A lack of meaning that gradually sets in

This is not the "quiet quitting" or spectacular symbolic resignation the media talks about. It is something quieter and more insidious: a gradual fraying of the link between what employees do daily and why they get up in the morning. They continue to do their job correctly, but something has gone out in how they do it.

During introductions at the start of training programs, we regularly hear revealing statements: "I do my job but I don't really know why anymore," or "I feel like I'm ticking boxes without knowing what purpose it serves." These phrases do not come from lazy or disengaged employees. They often come from highly competent, historically dedicated people who have lost their connection to meaning.

This phenomenon has intensified since 2020. Successive transformations, accelerated digitalization, frequent reorganizations, and the proliferation of tools have sometimes eliminated the breathing room where meaning was naturally built: informal conversations, collective debriefs, and team rituals that created alignment between people and their mission.

2. Structural, not situational, stress levels

The stress we observe in teams is no longer the temporary pressure of a peak period or an exceptional project. It is a baseline, chronic stress that has become established as a normal working condition. Employees have adapted to it, which makes it less visible but no less real in its effects on focus, creativity, and relationship quality.

According to an OpinionWay study for Empreinte Humaine (2023), 44% of French employees report psychological distress. This figure does not only apply to traditionally high-stress sectors. We find it in organizations that have invested in workplace well-being, offering remote work, gyms, and relaxation spaces. These initiatives are helpful, but they do not address the root causes.

We observe that the main source of this structural stress is not the workload itself. It is the combination of a heavy workload with a feeling of loss of control and a lack of clarity on priorities. Working hard does not necessarily generate stress. Working hard without knowing what really matters almost always does.

3. Contradictory demands that exhaust managers

While employees experience a lack of meaning and stress, managers face a specific challenge: they are caught in a vise between contradictory demands. "Stay close to your teams but hit your targets." "Trust your employees but follow procedures." "Be supportive but demanding." "Spend time with your teams but manage your time efficiently."

These demands are not absurd individually. It is their accumulation and simultaneity that creates a tension difficult to sustain. The manager constantly navigates between conflicting imperatives without always having the resources or support to do so calmly. In this context, they are often the first to neglect their own well-being, too busy taking care of others and delivering on targets.

4. Lost bearings in organizations undergoing permanent transformation

Organizations have gone through profound and rapid transformations in recent years: mergers, reorganizations, tool changes, evolving work models, and team rotations. Each transformation, taken in isolation, is manageable. Their succession without stabilization periods creates change fatigue that we observe in many teams.

This fatigue shows up less as an outright refusal to change and more as a difficulty to engage with the same energy as before. Employees have learned to adapt. But they have also learned that what they build today might be questioned tomorrow. This implicit calculation leads to a more cautious, economical investment of effort, which sometimes looks like disengagement but is actually a form of rational self-protection.

5. Motivation weakened by a sense of unfairness

We see this in almost every team: motivation is deeply tied to a sense of fairness. Not fairness in a legal sense, but perceived fairness: the feeling that my effort is valued appropriately, and that this recognition is equitable compared to what my colleagues receive. When these equations are unbalanced, engagement gradually erodes, often without anyone explicitly saying so.

This feeling of unfairness is rarely caused by bad intentions. It usually stems from a lack of transparency regarding recognition criteria, unintentional omissions in saying thank you, or differentiation that feels arbitrary because it was never explained. These small, perceived injustices accumulate and eventually outweigh the satisfaction derived from the work itself. 

What works: five solutions we implement with our clients

These observations call for concrete, operational responses. Here is what we deploy with the organizations we support, producing the most lasting effects on team motivation and well-being.

1. Helping managers bring back meaning to daily tasks

Answering the lack of meaning does not require grand strategic speeches. It comes down to simple, regular managerial actions: explaining the "why" behind every decision, connecting daily tasks to a broader goal, and creating shared moments where team members can see how their contribution fits into something larger than their individual scope.

In our management training programs, we focus specifically on building this capacity to share a clear vision and translate it into practical meaning for every employee. Not in abstract terms, but in Monday morning meetings, project briefs, and 1-on-1s. This is where meaning is built or lost, not in annual seminars.

2. Making priorities clear to restore a motivating direction

Motivation cannot be forced. It stems from a clear purpose: a meaningful goal, a project people can align with. When priorities are fuzzy, employees do not know where to focus their energy. This motivational fog is a leading cause of quiet quitting. What we work on with managers is precisely the ability to make priorities clear for everyone, in connection with what drives them.

Concretely, this means establishing simple rituals: a short weekly check-in focused not just on urgencies but on the meaning of our work this week, 1-on-1s that link individual missions to collective goals, and a way of communicating priorities that inspires engagement rather than just handing down a task list. Clear priorities are not just organizational tools; they are powerful drivers of motivation.

3. Protecting team motivation against contradictory demands

Contradictory demands damage motivation because they break the fundamental equations we identified: what I give versus what I get, and the alignment between what is asked of me and the means given to achieve it. When employees are asked to perform under fuzzy, conflicting conditions, they lose their sense of purpose. Their motivation dissolves in the confusion.

What we practice with managers in these situations is the ability to protect team motivation despite complexity: by clearly naming what is within their control and what is not, by maintaining a motivating direction even in uncertain times, and by ensuring that the effort requested is always met with fair recognition. A manager who maintains this equity through turbulence builds the foundation for lasting motivation, even in difficult times.

4. Creating spaces of stability in moving organizations

We cannot stop change, but we can build islands of stability that allow teams to navigate transformations without losing their bearings. These islands can be regular team rituals, group debriefs after major transformations, or simply 1-on-1 conversations where the manager checks in on how each employee is handling the situation.

What keeps people grounded in a world of constant change is not the absence of change. It is the quality of the managerial relationship. An employee who trusts their manager will navigate transformations with far more resilience than one whose manager is overwhelmed and unavailable.

5. Putting recognition back at the heart of management

Addressing feelings of unfairness relies on two complementary levers we systematically develop with managers. The first is transparency of criteria: clearly explaining why a contribution is valued, according to what standards, and how anyone can earn more recognition in the future. The second is personalizing recognition: never leaving anyone out of thank-yous, naming exactly what each person contributed, and making recognition a regular practice, not an exception.

These practices cost nothing in terms of budget. They require attention, consistency, and awareness of the impact every gesture has on team motivation. The return on investment for motivation is immense. 

FAQ: common questions about management and workplace well-being

Is workplace well-being really the manager's responsibility?

In large part, yes. According to Gallup, 70% of employee engagement is directly linked to their immediate manager's behavior. This does not mean the manager is responsible for their employees' personal happiness—which would be an unreasonable burden. It means that their daily behavior, communication style, recognition, support, and ability to provide meaning directly shape the level of well-being their team experiences.

How can you discuss well-being with upper management without sounding demanding?

By framing the conversation around performance rather than comfort. The link between employee well-being and collective performance is well-documented. A manager who presents well-being solutions to leadership by linking them to key performance indicators (talent retention, work quality, absenteeism, error rates) speaks the language of the business and makes productive conversation possible.

Can you really find meaning in repetitive work?

Yes, as long as the daily work is connected to its actual impact. An employee whose tasks feel repetitive can find deep meaning in their work if their manager regularly shows what those tasks contribute to: who it helps, what problem it solves, and how it fits into a larger picture. Meaning is not determined by the nature of the tasks, but by how we frame their significance within a broader context.

How can managers take care of themselves to better support their teams?

This is one of the most critical and overlooked questions. An exhausted, overwhelmed manager who is disconnected from their own sense of meaning cannot build the conditions for their team to engage. Taking care of yourself is not a luxury; it is a managerial responsibility. It involves simple, daily practices: blocking out reflection time in the calendar, maintaining disconnection routines, and sharing your own overload with leadership using the same clarity you would use to defend a team member.

How can we train managers in these skills without adding to their workload?

Time constraints are a valid concern. That is why the most effective training on these topics does not take three full days. It is integrated into daily routines: short, regular sessions, insights that can be applied the very next morning, and post-training support to anchor these practices in real-life situations. Discover our approach in our management training programs. 

Conclusion: organizations are not in crisis. They are in transition.

What we see on the ground does not make us pessimistic. It makes us realistic. The organizations we support face real pressures: lack of meaning, structural stress, conflicting demands, loss of direction, and feelings of unfairness. But they are also filled with managers who want to do well, people looking to engage, and teams capable of remarkable resilience when the right conditions are met.

What separates an organization that navigates this era successfully from one that burns out is neither strategy nor tools. It is the quality of day-to-day management: the ability to provide meaning, recognize people fairly, create spaces of stability, and maintain a genuine human presence in an increasingly fast-paced world.

This is exactly what we work on with each of our clients. To take the next step, discover our management training programs, designed to anchor sustainable practices in the daily realities of your organization.

SOURCES

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Motivation and fairness at work

Drivers of motivation at work