Motivation at Workplace

“When [Dan] Pink talks about ‘what science knows,’ he’s referring, for the most part, to a forty-year-old theoretical framework known as Self-Determination Theory (SDT), which is arguably the best understanding science currently has for why some pursuits get our engines running while others leave us cold.

SDT tells us that motivation, in the workplace or elsewhere, requires that you fulfill three basic psychological needs—factors described as the ‘nutriments’ required to feel intrinsically motivated for your work:

• Autonomy: the feeling that you have control over your day, and that your actions are important

• Competence: the feeling that you are good at what you do

• Relatedness: the feeling of connection to other people”

- Cal Newport from So Good They Can't Ignore You