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The best ways to motivate employees in 2026 are much the same as they were 50 years ago, but many employers continue to rely on tactics that have "zero" long-term impact, according to a performance specialist.

Effective motivation comes down to five "fundamentals", Human Synergistics ANZ chair Shaun McCarthy tells HR Daily.

He recalls studying organisational behaviour in the early 1970s, and reading the principles espoused by Frederick Herzberg in One more time: How do you motivate employees, which have since been proven many times over.

What perplexes McCarthy is how few organisations put them into practice, and how many rely on perks, spurring motivation that doesn't last – and that decrease motivation when they're taken away...