Explaining our disposition to work has two major dimensions. However, neither is widely understood or practiced. Many organizations seem perplexed or even agnostic about employee motivation. For companies genuinely intent on understanding how to make their workplaces better, who are open to questioning the overused and ineffective tropes about employee engagement, there is reason to be optimistic.  What’s particularly puzzling is that companies’ confusion about what drives employee motivation exists despite the growing body of scientific research. The foundational research of psychologists Abraham Maslow and, later, Frederick Herzberg has blossomed over the past 75 years. Today, we have a sophisticated picture of what creates a great workplace.  Absolute and relative motivation A useful way to think about motivation theory is that it is both absolute and relative. Maslow, for example, theorized that we are all motivated by five sets of escalating needs. As we conquer our primordial needs we look toward fellowship, self-esteem, autonomy, and ultimately the elusive self-actualization. Later David McClelland suggested we might think of our work motivation as being driven by just …