The new world of work: Why commitment needs to be rethought
Technological innovations, remote work, agile teams, and a focus on well-being have fundamentally changed the world of work. Studies—including those conducted by the Fraunhofer Institute—clearly show that traditional incentives such as salary and benefits are no longer enough to retain employees in the long term.
Instead, a deeper understanding of individual drivers and needs is required.
Commitment arises when people:
can take on responsibility,
contribute their strengths,
and find conditions that suit them.
Gallup proves that highly committed teams achieve 21% higher profitability, have significantly less absenteeism, and ensure satisfied customers. But commitment cannot be imposed—it arises from a good fit.
Sariio MAPS Motivations and Preferences Analysis.
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Why motivations and preferences are crucial
Motivations are internal drivers—the things that are important to people: e.g., autonomy, recognition, personal growth, or clear structure.
Preferences describe how people prefer to work: e.g., whether they are more productive when focused alone or when interacting in a team.
These two factors are dynamic. Unlike personality traits, they change with experience, roles, or team structures. This is precisely what makes them so valuable in practice.
Daniel Pink sums it up in Drive: People are particularly motivated by autonomy, mastery, and purpose—factors that are more important than ever in hybrid work environments.
Metaprograms: How people process information and make decisions
Metaprograms are mental filters from the field of neurolinguistic programming (NLP). They influence how people perceive information, make decisions, and approach tasks. For example, they explain why some employees prefer structured processes, while others work better with more freedom and creativity.
The most common metaprograms that shape work preferences include:
Toward vs. Away From: Whether a person is motivated more by achieving a goal (toward) or by avoiding mistakes or problems (away from).
Options vs. Procedures: Whether someone likes to have many choices (options) or prefers clear step-by-step instructions (procedures).
Global vs. detail-oriented: Whether the focus is more on the big picture (global) or on an intensive examination of details (detail-oriented).
When companies understand these metaprograms, they can better tailor tasks, feedback, and communication to individual employees—and thus specifically promote engagement and performance.
Commitment and loyalty: What really works
In hybrid working models, it is more difficult to build closeness and loyalty. At the same time, studies show that committed employees remain loyal to their company for significantly longer.
The reality is that when employees are disengaged, they are more likely to leave—and replacing them costs companies around a third of the annual salary for that position on average.
However, when tasks, collaboration, and working conditions match individual drivers, the result is:
higher loyalty
lower turnover
better morale
greater motivation
Productivity and collaboration: Why individual preferences make all the difference
Teams work more efficiently when they know how others tick.
Understanding how colleagues make decisions or process information reduces misunderstandings and conflicts.
Examples:
People with a strong desire for autonomy work more productively when they have freedom.
Team-oriented individuals perform best in collaborative settings.
This knowledge makes collaboration easier, faster, and more successful—especially in dynamic projects.
Personalization instead of standard solutions
Standardized engagement measures rarely work because they do not address people's actual motives.
The key lies in personalization.
Tools such as Sariio MAPS do just that:
They reveal the preferences and motivations at work within the team – and how managers can better tailor work content, communication, and tasks to these.
The result:
More tailored team structures
Higher engagement
Noticeably better performance
Conclusion: Stop guessing – start understanding
Commitment does not arise by chance.
It arises when organizations recognize what drives people and how they work successfully.
Traditional personality tests give an initial impression—but they do not explain the dynamics of modern working environments.
On the other hand, knowing motivations and preferences allows teams to be set up in such a way that they can truly develop their potential.
Tools such as Sariio MAPS help to make these individual factors visible.
In this way, companies create a working environment in which motivation does not have to be enforced, but can arise naturally.
Sources:
- The Feuenhofer Institute “New Work Creates Attractive Working Conditions”, Freuenhofer Institute, 2025
Gallup. „State of the Global Workplace: 2021 Report“. Gallup, 2021.
Pink, Daniel H. Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us. Riverhead Books, 2009
- McKinsey & Company. “The Hybrid Workplace: Making It Work”. McKinsey & Company, July 2020.
