The Attuned Blog
Research-backed insights on intrinsic motivation, psychological safety, hiring & retention, and the science of building teams people actually want to work on.
City of Greenville
How an ambitious government organization turned to Attuned to measure, track, and improve Psychological Safety while boosting engagement.
Why I’d Rather Close My Company Than Return to the Office Full-time
In this article, which was originally published in Fast Company, Attuned’s CEO Casey Wahl explains why he could never go back to the way things were pre-pandemic, and why companies need to take a data-driven approach to decide on their own RTO strategy.
How to attract, motivate and retain top talent
Building on years of management experience, Daniel Bodonyi provides a three-step approach to not only hiring the best people, but also keeping them engaged and motivated so that they stick around longer.
How do you improve Psychological Safety? First you need to measure it
Psychological Safety is not something you can see or easily measure. Or rather it wasn’t until now. Using Attuned’s new Psychological Safety Assessment you can now know the level of Psychological Safety for your team definitively, and at-a-glance.
How can Psychological Safety improve your bottom line?
Fostering Psychological Safety within teams and organizations can lead to tangible, measurable benefits that directly impact an organization’s bottom line, making it an essential ingredient for achieving impactful organizational outcomes.
What is Psychological Safety?
Psychological Safety is a crucial consideration for any modern business, but what does it mean? In this article, Melissa goes back to the basics and covers psychological safety, why it’s important, and how can you implement in within your teams.
How Extrinsic Motivation Impacts Performance
Extrinsic incentives are usually the go-to options for most organizations when it comes to motivating their employees. But although this can work in some contexts, research shows that relying on extrinsic motivation alone does more harm than good.
From good to great: How to harness the power of extra-role performance
“Good performance” at work almost always mean hitting specific KPIs tied directly to one’s job. However, there is another dimension to this that could be equally important but often goes unrewarded: extra-role performance.
What’s the best way to manage different generations?
Managing different generations can seem like a challenge. But each generation doesn’t require wildly different management styles to stay motivated and do their best. Here’s why.
Why a successful people strategy has never been harder to execute
What do you do when the needs of your business seem to be at odds with the needs of the talent you’re trying to attract or retain? The answer lies in understanding the effects that the most recent recession had on talent acquisition.
Emojis are a communication-enriching tool in remote and hybrid leadership
Any remote or hybrid leader relies extensively on written communication. But as a medium, writing is prone to misunderstandings. Emojis are a valuable tool for overcoming this challenge.
The top 5 reasons 1-on-1 meetings fail (and how to fix them)
1-on-1 meetings are valuable for relationship building, goal discussions, and feedback, but they can sometimes fail to achieve their purpose. Learn the top 5 reasons why they fail and how to fix them for effective meetings.
Does gender make a difference in what motivates you?
Are men and women motivated by different things? Using global data from tens of thousands of Attuned Intrinsic Motivation Assessments we compare the motivational needs of each in the workplace.
How to coach through uncertainty and overwhelm
The Circle of Influence is a versatile coaching tool for navigating uncertainty. Here’s everything you need to know to utilize this tool, including how and when to use it.
Maximizing appreciation: Investment strategies for people-centered leaders
Showing appreciation is often misunderstood and, ironically, underappreciated. Here are some key insights on how to leverage this powerful and multidimensional motivational tool.
A recipe for better communication
The secret sauce to building rapport and effectively communicating with new or existing team members.
Are Altruism & Innovation key to creating psychologically safe teams?
Managers who are motivated by Altruism and/or Innovation are more likely to create psychologically safe teams. Here’s why.
The Research Says: No, Different Generations Don’t Want (Very) Different Things At Work
What the motivational profiles of 13,000+ people reveal about the needs and values of four generations.
How to build trust and credibility as a new leader (Part 2)
Part 2 of our post on how to build trust and credibility as a new leader focuses on clarifying direction, designing for early wins, and creating a robust team OS.
How to build trust and credibility as a new leader (Part 1)
60% of managers fail in the first two years of their leadership career. Here are three key steps towards building a stronger relationship with your co-workers as a new leader.
Why Quiet Quitting is here to stay, and what we can do about it.
Is there more to quiet quitting than meets the eye? In this article, we take a closer look at this trend, and how you can meet it half-way.
8 Steps to Effectively Manage Your Team’s Workload
Understand what workload management is, its benefits, and how you can optimize your team’s project queue through 8 actionable steps.
Insights from a year spent exploring intrinsic motivation
Attuned Writer Fellowship winner Tania Rabesandratana reflects on a unique year spent exploring, researching, and writing about intrinsic motivation.
Amy Edmondson on Psychological Safety & Intrinsic Motivation
In this one-on-one interview, Amy Edmondson shares invaluable insights into Psychological Safety, the interplay between Psychological Safety and Intrinsic Motivation, and how companies can create teams where everyone feels safe and can take risks.
How Psychological Safety can reduce employee turnover
How can employers create Psychological Safety in their organizations to reduce employee turnover? Here are 5 overarching goals that any Psychological Safety plan should aim for.
5 ways to coach leaders in Psychological Safety
Five key areas that coaches can explore to help the leaders they work with understand the interplay of Psychological Safety and Intrinsic Motivation within their teams and organizations.
Creating Psychological Safety in high-pressure teams
Working in a high-pressure environment doesn’t have to mean living in constant fear of making mistakes. Cultivating Psychologically Safety in your teams allows you to take more risks, which might in turn lead to more rewards.
How working couples succeed together
Jennifer Petriglieri, author and an Associate Professor of Organizational Behavior at INSEAD business school, discusses some of the key questions that dual-career couples need to address if they want to create the conditions for lasting relationships in which intrinsic motivational needs are met on both sides.
The Attuned Writer Fellowship: Founder Favorites
As the Attuned Writer Fellowship 2021/22 comes to a close, Founder and CEO of Attuned Casey Wahl shares his favorite articles by the winner, Tania Rabesandratana, including some personal reflections on their impact.
How can nudges boost motivation?
At their core, 'nudges' are based on the idea that a wide range of factors influence behavior, and by designing people’s environment, you can shape the way that they behave—including boosting motivation and preventing burnout. Here are three significant studies that demonstrate this.
Daniel Pink on the importance of intrinsic motivation and the power of regret
Daniel Pink, #1 New York Times bestselling author, and Tania Rabesandratana, Science Journalist & Attuned Writer Fellow 2021, discuss Daniel’s latest book, ‘The Power of Regret’', and the importance of using intrinsic motivation and regret as a guide towards a better life.
Is your team remotely (un)productive?
Remote work and hybrid workplaces are here to stay, forcing managers to re-evaluate management styles and reconsider what makes for a happy and productive workplace. In this article, we share some key takeaways for managers looking to increase motivation and productivity when managing their remote teams.
Why would anyone disclose their goals?
In this Q&A, we share insights from Ayelet Fishbach, professor of behavioural science and marketing at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, and her book “Get It Done. Surprising Lessons from the Science of Motivation.”
Why retention rate is not the metric you are looking for
Retention rate is still one of the key metrics for assessing employee satisfaction and HR performance. However, it is deeply flawed. Here are four reasons you shouldn’t focus on retention rate and what you can do instead.
Why ‘Humanity + Data’ is at the heart of everything we do
Our vision is to bring more humanity + data to the world to make work more meaningful. We will therefore act, or take a position in the most human way possible, when we need to. Our 8 values give us guidance on what position to take, and how to act.
When should you coach and when should you manage?
The best leaders will blend elements of coaching and managing to tailor their approach, meeting the needs of their employees and the situation to maximize performance. Here are three key questions you can ask yourself to determine the best approach for each situation.
How to change your life by staying focused
Nir Eyal talks about his approach to productivity and time management; the importance of zeroing in on why we get distracted in the first place; and how we can stay focused on what matters most to us.
Barnett Plumbing & Water Heaters
How we helped one of California’s top installers of heat pump water heaters deepen trust and keep motivation levels high in a time of intense change.
Azon Recruitment Group
How an Irish recruitment firm improved their hiring and transformed employee motivation and retention.
Alphaus Inc.
How an ambitious cloud cost management solution used Attuned to ensure remote teams stayed motivated.
Rise Against Hunger
How a global charity used Attuned to improve staff motivation and drive increased fundraising.
FEW Japan
How a non-profit community of time-strapped team members used Attuned to improve communication and motivation.
Cedar Communications
How we helped an international content marketing agency redefine their work culture.
How to tell if your work environment is toxic (as told by Office Space)
Here, as told by Office Space memes, are telltale signs of a toxic work environment, and some suggestions to get you or your team on a better path.
6 Ways Japan Can Create Psychological Safety in the Workplace
Establishing an environment of Psychological Safety is an increasingly important consideration for modern companies. It’s linked to improved productivity, lower staff turnover and greater employee wellbeing. And yet, many Japanese companies have a reputation for falling short. Why? And what can be done about it?
Why would anyone keep working after retirement?
Ruth Gotian, author of The Success Factor, talks about her book and how intrinsic motivation, perseverance, strong foundations and continuous informal learning are key habits of successful people.
How to retain your top talent
While employers may not always be able to do anything about it, being aware of why employees leave helps you to anticipate and solve those situations. Here are the most common reasons good employees leave a company.
Is your work persona hiding something important?
Are you 100% yourself at work? Most people, whether they know it or not, have a work persona, but maintaining this can become a burden over time. How can we free ourselves from the need to have a work persona in the first place?
Why employee retention starts with the interview process
In the third and final part of our Attuned for Hiring series, we look at how to improve retention, and why this needs to begin with the initial interview process. Adequate pay and an abundance of perks are all well and good, but what really keeps employees at companies is a strong relationship with their manager built on open dialogue and mutual trust.
14 simple ways to improve your onboarding process
Whether you’re designing a new program or updating a system that already exists, it helps to break the onboarding process down into a few stages. Here are 14 tried-and-tested ideas to enhance the first few stages of the process.
How to improve your interview process to attract top talent
In the first installment in our three-part “Attuned for Hiring” series, we look at how you can make use of Attuned during the interview process to stand out from the crowd and attract the right talent.
Embracing family motivation at work
Hastened by the pandemic, the lines between family life and work life have become increasingly blurred, with new flexible working styles bringing the two worlds together like never before. But, with the right approach and firmer boundaries, could this actually be a good thing? In short: is it time for family to come to work?
What if I disagree with my Motivator Report?
There are a number of reasons why your Intrinsic Motivator Report may not immediately resonate as an accurate picture of your underlying values. Here are a few factors to consider.
Finding happiness in flow
Flow describes the moments in life when a person is wholly engaged by a particular activity. Creating flow in workplace settings is particularly challenging, but there are a number of things that organizations can do to help cultivate it.
Do your Intrinsic Motivators change? And if so, how do you know?
The world is constantly changing, and people change with it. Our early research suggests that people’s Intrinsic Motivator Profiles change over time in response to significant changes in both their work and their personal lives. As such, we’ve decided to introduce a new feature that reflects this: the Motivation Assessment Retake.
How to avoid demotivating your top performers
We’ve all heard the trope that the key to being a great leader is ‘Hiring good people and getting out of their way.’ But hiring and motivating aren’t that simple. And neither is ‘getting out of the way’. So if you really want to build a highly motivated team and keep them performing at the top level, then there’s one thing you simply can’t afford to ignore.
How to turn your managerial blindspots into strengths
There is no organization in which everyone has the same top Motivators. It is therefore crucial for leaders to understand the key areas that are important to the majority of the team, so that they can recognize and overcome their own blindspots.
Why would anyone stick with something they stink at?
In the second featured post from the winner of The Attuned Writer Fellowship 2021, Tania Rabesandratana explores the question of why we persist at hobbies and activities that we know we’ll never excel at, why the concept of the growth mindset is flawed, and why there is joy to be found in mediocrity.
5 motivational myths that need busting
Motivating people is difficult enough at the best of times, but if your plan of action relies on fallacies or misconceptions, it’s nigh on impossible. Here, we debunk five of the most common myths around motivation at work and show you what you can do to really motivate your employees.
Better communication starts with sharing
Have you ever left a conversation with a coworker feeling like you didn’t get through to them? This happens because of different dominant Motivators. By sharing each other’s Motivator Reports, you can develop a common language and better understand each other.
The Attuned Writer Fellowship: ‘Why Would Anyone’ is live!
Following the launch of the inaugural Attuned Writer Fellowship earlier this year, we’re thrilled to bring you the first post from our winner, Tania Rabesandratana. If you like what you read, make sure you sign up for ‘Why Would Anyone’ on Substack!
Failure: It’s what you do with it that counts
All companies face failures. But the key to navigating them successfully and learning from them lies in how managers and executives react to those failures. Here, we cover the three types of failure, the effects of Intrinsic Motivation on failure, and seven ways to manage your employee after a failure.
How to nurture Psychological Safety in coaching
Psychological Safety creates a climate in which people feel safe enough to take interpersonal risks. Here are four ideas for incorporating the four dimensions of Psychological Safety into a coaching session with the goal of building trust.
How to create Psychological Safety in 1-on-1s and team meetings
Your employees have to feel safe to feel happy. If you want to keep up with the global battle for talent, you need to carefully design your business culture and provide an environment of Psychological Safety. Here are some best practices for doing that within your 1-on-1s and team meetings.
How leaders can build Psychological Safety
Creating the right culture often seems daunting, but there are two key focuses at the heart of what a leader needs to do to build the foundations of a strong culture: measure the right things and build Psychological Safety.
The Attuned Writer Fellowship: And the winner is...
The results are in! Three months after launching the inaugural Attuned Writer Fellowship, and after a judging process that was by turns fascinating, surprising, and genuinely inspiring, we have a winner: Tania Rabesandratana.
Progress makes the world go round
Being motivated by Progress means to be driven by a continual quest for self-improvement, whether that means honing existing abilities and working out how to be more efficient and effective, or learning and developing new skills. Here are 4 ways a high need for Progress can manifest and 4 things to be mindful about.
The Great Resignation (and how to avoid it)
Whether due to pandemic-induced burnout, increased disconnection from their co-workers, or a re-evaluation of their career priorities, a huge number of people around the world are either considering leaving their job or actively looking for a new challenge. So how can organizations prepare themselves to weather this ‘Great Resignation’?
Social Relationships bring teams together
Relationship-building is an area in which many companies could improve, particularly as we enter an era in which hybrid working will increasingly become the norm. Here are 4 ideas to help motivate those in your team who value Social Relationships.
The Age of Ultra (High-performing Teams)
What motivates ultra-high performing teams? Attuned CEO Casey Wahl recently joined a panel of experienced leaders to explore this topic. They brought a range of different perspectives but all agreed on one thing: creating an environment of Psychological Safety is key. Here’s why.
Security requires structure and clarity
To get the best out of those with high Security needs, it’s important to prioritize clarity and structure in your communication and planning. This includes providing clear instructions and lines of reporting, easy-to-track KPIs, and a predictable schedule.
Why you’re more unique than you think
Attuned exists because people are different, and a cookie-cutter approach to management generally leads to a less than optimum work experience. But while the idea that people are different is central to our platform, we never fully appreciated quite how different they could be—until now.
Rationality lays the foundations for empathy
When it comes to recruitment and the world of work, people have a knack for misunderstanding each other, having misplaced expectations, and ultimately making bad decisions. Often, the root cause of these problems is a lack of rational thinking—which is why Rationality should be a fundamental element of every company culture.
Have your team’s values changed during the pandemic?
According to Attuned’s data, people’s motivational needs have changed significantly during the pandemic. But what does this look like on an individual level? How can you tell if your team’s values have shifted? And what can you do about it if they have?
Altruism brings balance to teams
People with a high Altruism score can bring a real X-factor to team dynamics, and one that can help companies foster an atmosphere of psychological safety. This in turn helps managers build teams composed of complementary individuals, and not just uniform ‘robots’. But what does it mean to be motivated by Altruism, and how can managers nurture this attribute within their team?
When keeping it real goes wrong
Authenticity—staying true to one’s values, and not misrepresenting yourself in your words or your actions—is an important concept for both individuals and companies as a whole. But can too much authenticity be a bad thing? And what are the keys to being an authentic leader?
Innovation helps you stay ahead of the curve
Innovation is defined as the practical implementation of novel and useful ideas, and it can be expressed in many different ways. But what does it mean to be motivated by Innovation? How does this motivator manifest itself in daily decision-making? And how do you work together effectively with people who aren’t motivated by Innovation?
Academic research highlights the transformative power of Attuned
A new academic report by Dr. Alicia von Schenk, a mathematician and researcher on the economics of artificial intelligence, offers fresh insights into how using Attuned to understand employees’ Intrinsic Motivations leads to higher engagement and happier work environments.
Embracing Autonomy doesn’t mean losing control
A desire to stay in control at all times is not uncommon among managers, but failing to provide enough freedom to employees with a high need for Autonomy can have a negative effect on their engagement and productivity. By combining Attuned’s motivational insights with effective management techniques, however, you can learn to let go without losing control.
The Attuned Writer Fellowship
The Attuned Writer Fellowship, the first program of its kind on digital newsletter-publishing platform Substack, will give one talented writer US$50,000 to launch and run a newsletter dedicated to exploring Intrinsic Motivation. Apply before July 31st, 2021!
Feedback is about giving as well as receiving
Feedback is vital to our progress. It motivates people to work harder and provides a different perspective. So why can it sometimes be so hard to accept? The answer is that receiving—and giving—feedback are skills that require practice to perfect. Here are some simple steps to improve your ability to give and receive feedback more effectively.
Using Attuned as a family therapist
The past year has taught us what psychologists have known for decades: that people are governed by individual differences and competing needs, with personal preferences determining the individual value hierarchies that drive our choices. But what happens when your own system of needs, values, and preferences contrasts starkly with that of someone you love?
Status doesn’t have to mean titles and cachet
Being motivated by Status conjures up images of power dressing, corner offices and C-suites, but the reality can be quite different. As well as outward indications of a person’s stature within their company and society as a whole, Status is also about taking pride in the work you do and the things you have achieved.
Why AI without humanity is dangerous for diversity
AI can change billions of people’s lives for the better, but only if we make sure that machines learn from the best traits of humanity—and not the worst. As such, it’s crucial that AI regulation factors in the question of bias: are the data sets we’re using to train our AI applications a fair representation of our increasingly diverse societies or are they merely a reflection of our current biases?
Financial Needs is about much more than money
On first glance, Financial Needs may seem to be an extrinsically motivated value, but dig a little deeper and its characteristics as an Intrinsic Motivator become clear. From working with financial indicators, calculations, and planning, to the satisfaction that comes from helping a company generate more revenue, Financial Needs is about much more than the number in your bank account.
Why upstream thinking is the key to corporate happiness
The key to creating a happy company is to solve upstream issues instead of fighting fires. You have to prevent problems before they happen. From proper hiring to creating psychological safety, here are 4 ways Attuned can help your company to work upstream.
Competition isn’t just winners and losers
What does it mean to be intrinsically motivated by competition? Competition is not just about winning or losing, it also includes setting personal challenges and measuring your achievements against your own expectations, not that of others. In order to become a better manager you have to understand what competition means to you and your team members.
Redesigning the employee experience with digital tools
What workplace challenges are best addressed with digital tools? And how can these tools be most effectively deployed? These were the topics discussed by our Head of Product and a panel of industry heavyweights in a discussion titled ‘Using Digital Tools to Redesign the Employee Experience’ at From Day One's recent virtual conference ‘Tools for Building an Engaged, Productive Team’.
Why the philosophy of management should be the pursuit of happiness
The workplace plays a central role in our lives, so it’s important that companies take action to make people happier. To do this effectively requires a rethink of the philosophy of management in terms of working styles, leadership and employee wellbeing—as well as the tools we use to track and measure these key elements.
How Attuned can help you become a more effective coach
Every coaching partnership begins with self-knowledge and the assessment tool you choose will influence further discussions. Attuned will help you take the conversation to a deeper level with its focus on intrinsic motivation. Here are 22 powerful questions to discuss Attuned results.
How can Japan solve its gender inequality problem?
To solve Japan’s gender inequality problem we have to look at the economic and business arguments. Having more women in the work force means new talent, higher salaries and fresh innovations. But for companies to truly change, they have to establish psychological safety first.
The future’s bright, the future’s… global?
Attuned got accepted into Orange Fab Asia, a global-expansion-focused accelerator program for startups in Japan, Korea and Taiwan run by French multinational telco Orange. There was always the mission to create a global product and although we have found some success in overseas markets, this will immensely help our international growth efforts.
Enhanced emotional intelligence? There’s an app for that...
Emotional intelligence (EQ) is a key attribute of effective leaders. It is the ability to objectively perceive emotions of your self and those you manage. Leaders with a high EQ are better equipped to overcome business challenges and create a positive culture. But how can you learn emotional intelligence?
Culture Add on the Millennium Falcon
Whether you are hiring a new sales rep or forming a team to destroy the Death Star, recognizing opportunities for culture add is just as important as culture fit, since diversity should be a strength for any business.
#ChooseToChallenge your assumptions about motivation
Asking some additional questions will help you to challenge your assumptions about the motivation of your colleagues. If we want to do better for women at work, we need to remain open and curious. And when we ask better questions—and listen to the answers—we empower ourselves to act more equitably.
Finding a culture of purpose in a universe of uncertainty
What is more important than purpose? For my fellow panelists who joined me at From Day One’s virtual conference Creating a Culture of Purpose Amid Uncertainty last week, the answer is “pretty much nothing”.
Managing people who think differently to you without the drama
Managing people with different values can be a real challenge. How do you go about trying to understand them? What’s the best way to find common ground between your different perspectives? Wouldn’t it be nice to have a map to guide you through these conversations? There is: Attuned’s Interpersonal Motivator Gap display.
How to become an emotionally intelligent leader during a crisis
Both company driven events like a promotion and major external events like a global pandemic can affect changes in employees’ intrinsic motivation. These are very hard to notice, but may lead to active disengagement. Are you in a position to handle the consequences?
How to motivate employees – tips that actually work!
Are you overloaded with tips on how to motivate employees? Do one thing consistently over time to keep your company motivated! Focus on individual needs and ensure those are taken care of. For emergencies, get big data and software to help you.
What makes a good manager?
“How to Be a Good Manager?” is an elusive question to answer. Here are the top 10 behaviors managers should practice to be a Good Manager. It’s a sophisticated guide. Management is Art. From tips such as “Understand the Individual” to “Fast Feedback Loops,” hard won knowledge is shared to make you a better manager.
Meaningful work – the power of Intrinsic Motivation
Meaningful work is not only important for the employee’s well-being but also has significant economic impacts on organizations. To create a meaningful work environment, companies have to understand their employees’ intrinsic motivations and tailor a personalized management approach.
Do your Intrinsic Motivations affect the way you cut costs?
COVID-19 is pushing companies to make furloughs, layoffs and pay cuts. I wondered how people with different intrinsic motivational profiles would reduce costs to help the company survive the uncertainties of COVID-19. Here are 10 professionals and their answers to above question.
HR Technology Market – free report
HR technology market developments are determined by a number of underlying drivers, primarily technological, economic, demographic, labor market and HR trends. Read Attuned's in-depth analysis of the HR technology market and gain insights about trends, opportunities, market drivers and customer needs.
5 Ways to Cultivate Intrinsic Motivation on Your Team
We all know that intrinsically motivated employees are happy employees. But a lot of managers are still struggling to really motivate their team members. That’s why we came up with 5 actions you can take right now to increase your employees intrinsic motivation.
The State of Meaningful Work
I was privileged to join From Day One’s panel on “How Employees Can Embrace the Meaning in Their Work”. The discussion was at the forefront of the ongoing conversation about meaningful work and employee engagement. Here are some of the highlights.
What Motivates People at Work?
We analyzed motivational profiles of thousands of Attuned survey respondents to find out what really motivates people at work. Did you know that over 40% of employees don’t care about social relationships at work? Check out our infographic to learn more about workplace motivation.
How do Intrinsic Motivation and Extrinsic Incentives affect Workplace Performance?
We analyzed a meta-study about intrinsic and extrinsic motivation covering over 40 years of research. Here are our main findings and, more importantly, how you can apply them in your business. Leave those extrinsic incentives for tree-planting.
How Covid-19 changes Employees' Intrinsic Motivation
How Covid-19 will change our working environments is still up in the air. But here at Attuned we are starting to see some real changes in people’s motivation data from pre-Covid to these with-Covid times. Here is the data.
Don't be a Police Officer! Confessions of a former Micromanager
Autonomy has long been posited as a basic, innate psychological need, an important protector against stress, and a key basis for intrinsic motivation. Alas, it is also in conflict with many traditional, command-and-control-based notions of management. I would know; I was one of these bosses.
How Attuned Affects Employee Motivation: Ongoing Research from Goethe University
Original research is important to us here at Attuned and that’s why we have been working with a team of researchers at Goethe University. We want to start sharing some of the initial findings from this collaboration.
How to Train Your Brain for Productive Work From Home: 5 Tips
Remote work challenges aside, there was a bigger challenge which would shortly hit the morale of nearly every team: the challenge of learning how to work from home and maintain a productivity level similar to that of the office. So how do you increase productivity and boost your morale when working from home?
Intrinsic Motivation vs. Extrinsic Motivation
We are going to break down the concept of intrinsic vs extrinsic motivation. We want every manager to understand the difference between the two and to know when each is most useful. This will make work a more meaningful part of life.
How we remember our Intrinsic Motivators using Slack
We started using our Attuned Motivator icons on Slack. Everyone displays their Top Motivator as an icon in the status field and now we never forget what motivates someone. Contact us to get the icons!
How to keep everyone motivated when working remotely
Here is some internal data about our biggest challenges regarding remote work and some of the measures to tackle them. How are we managing to keep everyone’s motivation high in these difficult times?
This is a Time for Books
Some Book Recommendations by Attuned CEO Casey. With commutes down to mere seconds, and only capable of watching so much Netfiix, it is the perfect time to hold a physical book. These are some of the books I’ve been reading, and I’ve curated it down to the most compelling. You won’t be disappointed.
5 Tips for Suddenly and Successfully Shifting Your Team to Remote Work
Unpredictable situations (such as COVID-19) can turn you into the manager of a remote team overnight. Many managers are staring down the barrel of remote work for the very first time.How can you keep your team successful with little to no practice as a remote manager? We’ve got some tips.
Choosing to Manage Your Time
I wish I could say that there's an easy answer or one magical trick, but how you manage your time is the result of hundreds of choices and habits throughout the day. Feeling more in control of your time will mean changing your patterns and establishing new routines.
Attuned Founder Pain Story
Over years of painful experiences I’d come to learn that motivation was all the difference. It was motivation that separated those who performed well from those that dropped out. So how could we solve the problem of understanding intrinsic motivations?
The Power of Attention: What Employee Engagement Really Means
Attuned was proud to be a 2nd-time sponsor of the HCI Employee Engagement conference. There we found the secret sauce of employee engagement: attention.
Ask the data: Are Japanese motivational values different from others?
We wanted to understand the impact of culture on the motivational values of Japanese vs. "Western" employees. So, we compared 3,000 respondents.
Attuned Announces Enterprise Readiness with Release of “Team of Teams” Multilevel Intrinsic Motivation and Employee Engagement Analyses
Attuned brings intrinsic motivation-fueled insights to enterprise as talent market continues to contract
Are Japanese people motivated by different factors than Western people?
What unexpected answers regarding Japanese values did he get from Attuned's data? Also, how can teams and organizations leverage Attuned to improve management?
Updating the Norm
Attuned is updating the norm for its algorithms. This will help to further improve the accuracy of the motivational profiles and engagement levels.
Intrinsic Motivation as Strategy: Attuned on Business Insider!
We are happy to announce that this week, Business Insider ran a feature on Attuned on their strategy page.
US National Kudo Team learns from Attuned on the way to 2020 Olympics
Attuned met James Alexander, head coach of the US National Kudo Team, to talk about motivation and team management.
How a recruiting firm (finally!) learned how to hire for scale
To hire the right people has always been the hardest part to scale my business. Let me explain you how I reduced the mishire ratio by 86%.
2,880 Hours leading 1-on-1’s. The ugly and the beautiful times.
I spent 2880 hours leading 1-on-1's, a lot of that time was wasted. Only after finding out their intrinsic motivators, I could adjust to their needs.
Attuned at HCI Employee Engagement Conference
The View from Both Ends of the Engagement Spectrum: Attuned at HCI Employee Engagement Conference.
Building a team agile enough to bridge between the old world and the new
How employee engagement helps a startup overcome the hurdles of attrition.
Attuned Tackles Japanese Labor Shortage With Localized Employee Engagement Tool
Attuned takes on the challenge of Japan’s worst labor shortage in 40 years with a Japanese language version of its cutting edge employee engagement tool.
The Culture Myth
Bill Boorman, one of the most perceptive and original HR tech industry observers out there, once said company culture is a myth. I disagree, but I can see why he might say that.
Three things even experienced managers often get wrong about giving feedback
Read our three tips about giving effective feedback to create high-performing, motivated teams.
Employee turnover costs a LOT more than you think
Most companies significantly underestimate the employee turnover cost. Let's do the math! How much does employee turnover cost?
FLOW in The Bridge!
With growing talent shortages, HR technology is offering solutions.
Quo vadis, HR tech?
Where is HR tech going, and are we on the right track?
The Right Way To Screen For Culture Fit
If done in the right way, to screen for culture fit can greatly reduce mishires and increase employee engagement. But if done in the wrong way…
Better Conflict
How companies can break the cycle of damaging conflict and facilitate more positive dialogues that produce healthier workplaces and improved business results.
How to Prevent Unwanted Employee Turnover
How to retain your best talent longer, from identifying the early signs of withdrawal to creating a culture that people won’t want to leave.
Psychological Safety and the Hybrid Work Era
How to use Psychological Safety and Intrinsic Motivation to establish a new, hybrid work environment that boosts employee well-being.
The Power of the Nudge
How companies and governments use behavioral science to influence decision-making—and how you can do the same to drive positive change.
What is Intrinsic Motivation?
Go beyond 'carrot-and-stick' management and harness employees' individual values to boost performance, engagement and well-being.
No posts match your filter
Try clearing the search or picking a different category.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is intrinsic motivation?
Intrinsic motivation is the drive to do something because it is inherently interesting, satisfying, or aligned with personal values — rather than for an external reward. Self-Determination Theory identifies autonomy, competence, and relatedness as the three core needs that fuel it. Attuned measures 11 intrinsic motivators per person so managers can align work with what each employee actually cares about.
What is psychological safety?
Psychological safety, defined by Harvard professor Amy Edmondson, is the shared belief that a team is safe for interpersonal risk-taking — speaking up, asking questions, admitting mistakes, or proposing ideas without fear of being punished or humiliated. Google's Project Aristotle identified it as the single biggest predictor of high-performing teams.
How often does Attuned publish new blog posts?
We publish new articles regularly across our five core themes: Intrinsic Motivation, Psychological Safety, Company Culture, Hiring & Retention, and Management & Leadership. Subscribe to our newsletter to get them in your inbox.
Who writes the Attuned blog?
Articles are written by the Attuned team — including CEO Casey Wahl and our HR research staff — alongside guest contributions from psychologists, organizational researchers, and people leaders. Every post is grounded in either peer-reviewed research or first-hand operating experience.
How To Prevent Unwanted Employee Turnover
A step-by-step guide to retaining your best talent, from identifying the early signs of withdrawal and disengagement to creating a culture that people won't want to leave.
Read the white paperReady to unleash your team's true potential?
Create a winning culture that will transform your business. Get a free demo and setup plan today.
Book a demo
