The dark side of motivation: The negative effects of pursuing desired ends

Abstract

To thrive at work, employees strive to attain a variety of ends (e.g. goals, targets, and instrumental objectives). Recent developments have shown, however, that the pursuit of these types of desired ends can promote undesirable outcomes (e.g. unethical behaviors). This research nonetheless remains in a relatively nascent stage. In an effort to more thoroughly understand the dark side of motivation, five presentations explore when and why motivation undermines a variety of valued outcomes, including unethical behavior, job attitudes, and sensemaking. In doing so we surface two provocative insights. First, job attitudes and risk-taking are influenced by whether an end state is focused on prevention or promotion. Second, motivation is negatively impacted by the perceived importance of the end state. Paradoxically, the more employees value a given end, the more likely the pursuit to attain it will trigger negative outcomes. Task importance leads to belief in fate and decreased motivation Presenter: Simone Tang; Duke U. Presenter: Aaron C. Kay; Duke U. The Quandary of Multiple Meanings Presenter: Andrew M. Carton; The Wharton School, U. of Pennsylvania Presenter: Daniele Tussing; The Wharton School, U. of Pennsylvania Presenter: Julianna Pillemer; The Wharton School, U. of Pennsylvania