As the workforce enters a new year, the spotlight on health and happiness in the workplace has never been brighter.

Yet, research encompassing over 5,000 online interviews found only 16% of people are thriving at work.

Despite good intentions and initiatives aimed at a flourishing employee experience, many are missing the mark, causing a wave of negative effects that touch everyone—leaders, employees, and the bottom line.

Here are five strategies to do it.

1. Lead With a Motive Mindset

HR professionals and people leaders are inundated every year with conflicting advice about what matters most to employees.

One research study claims belonging is the ultimate key to engagement and retention, while another insists it’s all about purpose or appreciation. Meanwhile, books and thought leaders champion remote flexibility, while others emphasize the importance of in-person connections.

The result? A tidal wave of well-intentioned but contradictory advice that often leads to more confusion than clarity.

There are 28 foundational motives—the psychological, emotional, and social needs—that drive employees’ ability to be well and perform well at work.

As outlined in the framework below, they fall into 10 overarching domains:

All 28 motives matter, but they don’t matter equally to everyone.

The challenge for leaders is to quiet the noise and embrace a new way of thinking that moves beyond oversimplified solutions in favor of understanding how each person’s wellbeing and performance are shaped by their unique blend of motives: their essentials, secondary priorities, and less critical needs.

The ultimate goal is to create workplaces where each person’s most important human motives are honored, protected, and strengthened.

2. Embrace motive diversity

Inclusivity is a cornerstone of work fulfillment, yet embracing the diversity of human needs is often overlooked.

Subconscious biases, held by both employers and employees, can subtly but significantly harm team cohesion, wellbeing, and the ability to meet everyone’s needs effectively.

Some motives can be treated with favoritism, or be a hot topic of the moment, while others can be judged, dismissed, or forgotten.

For example, the need for purpose may be put on a pedestal while fun may be considered frivolous.

Similarly, calmness or work-life harmony might be frowned upon, whereas growth and achievement are glorified.

Respecting the diversity of motives is vital because the priorities of one person’s motives can naturally create tension with those of others.

For instance, the desire for security may conflict with the drive for innovation, and the pursuit of work-life harmony might challenge ambitious growth goals.

The goal isn’t to try and avoid these tensions—it’s to address them head-on fostering a shared understanding with employees that a thriving culture is something that is co-created jointly by learning to live in the tension of these needs well through communication, compromise, and sometimes tough choices.

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