How to destroy employee motivation in record time + AI reality check

From motivation killers to AI-generated job apps—the workplace is getting weird, folks.

September 23, 2025

Inside This Issue:

Let's be honest, September's been a reality check month for workplace AI promises. While job seekers are flooding applications with AI-generated cover letters (creating a whole new headache for talent teams), many organizations are quietly discovering that AI implementation isn't the productivity paradise they expected. Instead, it's creating new forms of burnout as employees juggle learning new tools, managing AI outputs, and still doing their actual jobs.

Our long-term contributor Tatjana is back this week with some uncomfortable truths about motivation that hit especially hard when teams are already stretched thin from tech transitions.

Meanwhile, we're seeing patterns emerge around what kills employee drive faster than anything else, and it's probably happening in your organization right now.

Speaking of changes, you might notice our shiny new logo starting to pop up (bear with us as we update it everywhere, brand consistency is apparently harder than employee engagement, who knew?). Also exciting news: we've partnered with Unleash World to bring you even more insights from the global HR community.

Tatjana's back with a piece that's going to make some leaders uncomfortable. She breaks down the single most effective way to destroy employee motivation—and it's happening in organizations everywhere, often without leaders even realizing it. This isn't about engagement surveys or team-building exercises; it's about the fundamental mistakes that make good people stop caring.

Everyone's talking about AI productivity gains, but nobody's measuring the human cost. This investigation reveals how AI implementation is creating new stress patterns, decision fatigue, and workload complications that traditional burnout metrics aren't catching. The technology meant to make work easier might be making it harder in ways we didn't expect.

Fresh off the Press

Stay current with key headlines and announcements from across the industry.

From Our Vault

Disney HR Policies: Walt Disney Human Resources Case Study

Perfect timing to revisit how one of the world's most employee-focused brands thinks about motivation, culture, and the employee experience. Sometimes the classics teach us what we've forgotten about putting people first.

The Extra Point

The Feedback Trap: Your employees aren't asking for more feedback, they're asking for better feedback. The difference? Good feedback changes behavior, great feedback changes perspective. Most managers are still stuck giving performance updates instead of growth conversations.

Try this: next time you give feedback, spend more time on "what this could become" than "what this currently is."

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