By Varsha P
Varsha P is a seasoned HR and Talent Management professional with a Master’s in Human Resource Management from the University of Sheffield and Executive Alumni credentials from IIM Indore. She is based out of Pune with a keen interest in exploring the intersection of behavioral psychology, organizational development and people strategy.
I recently had an eye-opening exchange with my best friend, a die-hard Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson fan and an avid collector of Project Rock merchandise. My go-to gift was invariably a pair of Project Rock trainers or some active-wear apparel, which he would proudly flaunt both inside and outside the gym! This time, however, his response was, “Got that already. Let me see what else is out there, something better!”
It struck a chord with my regular retention conversations at work, where employees, barely six months into a promotion, resigned all excited to jump ship. What once felt like the ultimate prize soon became yesterday’s news, as the inclination for the next big thing took over.
There my grey cells got jolted out of slumber, is this simply human nature at play or as the positive psychologists talk about the Hedonic Treadmill in action?
Behavioural psychology offers an interesting explanation: the Hedonic Treadmill, or hedonic adaptation when something that was looked upon as exemplary eventually becomes the new normal after achievement.
The concept suggests that individuals tend to adapt to positive changes in their circumstances, gradually returning towards their earlier base level of subjective well-being. At work, salary increases, promotions, incentives and recognition can generate temporary spikes in satisfaction. Eventually, employees re-calibrate their expectations and begin pursuing the next milestone.
Brickman and Campbell introduced the metaphor of the Hedonic Treadmill in their 1971 phenomenal work where they argued that people generally experience short-term spikes in happiness following positive events (such as promotion, salary hike, etc) but then the subjective wellness comes into picture and then these people return to our pre-event state baseline.
As an HR practioner, the challenge is not simply to achieve employee satisfaction but to sustain motivation, engagement and productivity without perpetually escalating rewards or using the carrot and stick approach.
With the advent of AI and its infiltration into HR space, leveraging the same to improve employee contentment is non-negotiable. AI-powered employee listening can identify emerging patterns across pulse surveys, feedback and engagement data. HR can use these insights to segment employee needs and design more relevant interventions.
For instance, Coca-Cola introduced an AI-powered HR assistant, Andi, using Microsoft Copilot Studio. It provides employees with personalized HR information based on their location, role and employment circumstances.
A one-size fits all Employee Value Proposition may overlook the fact that employees derive satisfaction from different things. Hence AI needs to be incorporated to value flexibility and reduce the friction employees experience in accessing organizational support.
Departure from transactional rewards to psychological fulfilment
While Diener, Lucas and Scollon (2006), in Beyond the Hedonic Treadmill, challenged the notion that people invariably return to a fixed happiness baseline, the study highlighted that 3 psychological needs identified by Self-Determination Theory: autonomy, competence and relatedness played a pivotal role. Now with AI this theory is being put into practice by analyzing employee feedback, career aspirations and learning patterns to recommend and charter personalized learning journeys, while leaving important career decisions to managers and employees.
Make career progression a continuous experience
AI can help organizations identify transferable skills, map adjacent career opportunities and match internal talent with emerging vacancies so that the excitement of promotion does not wear off easily.
Give employees time back, not merely more targets
AI should not become another mechanism for extracting additional output from an already stretched workforce. Its real value lies in eliminating repetitive work and creating space for profound, higher-value activities.
SACE, an Italian financial and insurance group, adopted Microsoft Copilot and Viva to reduce administrative friction thus reducing time spent on managing emails by 50% and this productive gain created space for learning, collaboration & wellness time-off.
The way forward is to combine AI-driven insights with empathetic leadership, meaningful work and psychological safety so to be a part of the so-called inevitable Hedonic Treadmill.
The ultimate HR lesson: We cannot eliminate the hedonic treadmill, but we can change what keeps employees moving. While AI can help personalize that journey; leadership must make it human.Achieving Sustainable productivity by keeping employees perpetually excited is utopian, but by giving them compelling reasons to grow, contribute and stay.
