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The Art of Demotivation
Motivation has become a multi-billion dollar industry, courtesy of the patronage of corporations and the noble intentions of executives who lead them. At the heart of this colossal confederation of inspirational speakers, platitudinous posters, parable-filled management books, and increasingly complicated incentive programs lies an alluring promise: that with enough encouragement, empowerment, and esteem, employees will become productive and loyal, to the benefit of both their employers and themselves.
Yet, in spite of the staggering expenditures on packaged esteem, polls show that worker morale has reached critical lows, with a majority of employees even claiming to hate their jobs. How is this possible? And more importantly, what can executives do about this crisis of employee dissatisfaction?
In this revolutionary new management book, Despair, Inc. founder Dr. E.L. Kersten plumbs the depths of employee discontent and identifies its root cause. Though most employees live lacklustre lives full of wasted opportunities and trivial accomplishments, they grow ever more certain of their enormous worth and glorious destinies. This is because they are the products of a narcissistic age, the results of a grand social experiment that has gone terribly awry. As a result, they are afflicted with an irrational sense of entitlement that simultaneously increases their dissatisfaction with their jobs and prevents them from accepting responsibility for their lives. Thus, in a terrible irony, managers who attempt to motivate employees by bolstering their self-esteem have only compounded the problem. By reinforcing the delusions of grandeur that imprison and torture the average worker, management has only further reinforced their sense of entitlement to the wealth, statue and privilege that justice dictates be reserved for the truly accomplished and inarguably worthy: namely, executives.
The The Art of Demotivation, former professor and current executive Kersten offers not only a comprehensive analysis of the problem but a prescriptive solution; one grounded not in the humanistic fantasies of infinite human potential so often embraced by the motivation industry, but in the grim realities of a broken world. Managers who seek a productive, loyal workforce must first seek to liberate their employees from their prisons of narcissism by forcing them to confront that which they expend enormous energy to avoid: their true selves.
Yet, in spite of the staggering expenditures on packaged esteem, polls show that worker morale has reached critical lows, with a majority of employees even claiming to hate their jobs. How is this possible? And more importantly, what can executives do about this crisis of employee dissatisfaction?
In this revolutionary new management book, Despair, Inc. founder Dr. E.L. Kersten plumbs the depths of employee discontent and identifies its root cause. Though most employees live lacklustre lives full of wasted opportunities and trivial accomplishments, they grow ever more certain of their enormous worth and glorious destinies. This is because they are the products of a narcissistic age, the results of a grand social experiment that has gone terribly awry. As a result, they are afflicted with an irrational sense of entitlement that simultaneously increases their dissatisfaction with their jobs and prevents them from accepting responsibility for their lives. Thus, in a terrible irony, managers who attempt to motivate employees by bolstering their self-esteem have only compounded the problem. By reinforcing the delusions of grandeur that imprison and torture the average worker, management has only further reinforced their sense of entitlement to the wealth, statue and privilege that justice dictates be reserved for the truly accomplished and inarguably worthy: namely, executives.
The The Art of Demotivation, former professor and current executive Kersten offers not only a comprehensive analysis of the problem but a prescriptive solution; one grounded not in the humanistic fantasies of infinite human potential so often embraced by the motivation industry, but in the grim realities of a broken world. Managers who seek a productive, loyal workforce must first seek to liberate their employees from their prisons of narcissism by forcing them to confront that which they expend enormous energy to avoid: their true selves.
232 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2003
27 people are currently reading
138 people want to read
About the author
E.L. Kersten
1 book5 followersE.L. Kersten is the co-founder of Despair Inc., a publishing and media enterprise dedicated to the dissemination of contrarian wisdom. He holds a Ph.D in Organizational Communication from the University of Southern California and is the author of several of the company's popular Demotivators products. He has been quoted by, appeared in on, or written about Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, NPR's Marketplace, Harvard Business Review, Washington Post, Business Week, Time and many other outlets. He is married and lives in Texas.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
October 6, 2011
A gift from a team member to 'celebrate' my promotion, she was less impressed when I took some of the book's suggestions to heart and tried to actually implement them...
The books is a slightly-less-than-serious guide for people managers. The key underlying theme is that demotivated staff are less likely to leave the company, cause trouble or challenge for your position in the hierarchy.
My favourite suggestion was to always carry a bottle of anti-bac with you and use it to wash your hands immediately after shaking hands with anybody lower than yourself in the organisation.
The book even comes with a second cover to make it look like a proper management guide book so your employees don't realise where you're getting all your good management skills from!
The books is a slightly-less-than-serious guide for people managers. The key underlying theme is that demotivated staff are less likely to leave the company, cause trouble or challenge for your position in the hierarchy.
My favourite suggestion was to always carry a bottle of anti-bac with you and use it to wash your hands immediately after shaking hands with anybody lower than yourself in the organisation.
The book even comes with a second cover to make it look like a proper management guide book so your employees don't realise where you're getting all your good management skills from!
September 14, 2009
This is a tongue-in-cheek book for EXECUTIVES. It is very, very funny....I thought, until I realized it is the same management style of my corporate master.....which then depressed me terribly....but, it's STILL an incredibly funny book despite the dry, deadpan style. It even comes with TWO covers....one is a "cloaking devise" depicting a fake book....so employees do not see the 'real' cover and revolt.... The author is a Ph.D. and has left the halls of academe to run his own business www.despair.com which you have to check out!!!
October 25, 2022
If you like satirical writing - this book is great. I do recommend that managers and supervisors read this book as it does a great job of pointing out practices that we do in the workplace everyday that can actually demotivate and devalue employees. I also like the book’s critique of the motivational industry. Definitely going to purchase a calendar of fake inspirational posters from Despair Inc. biggest thing to remember from this book is that it’s SATIRE - don’t read the book seriously or else you’ll just be really sad.
December 25, 2017
i want to read this book
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 20, 2018
Very entertaining and sometimes too accurate!!
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June 12, 2020I've had the misfortune of encountering a number of these sure-fire demotivational techniques at one time or another and this is the ultimate how-to guide if you want to make your employees feel devalued, sap their creativity, make every day feel like a wet and grey Monday, and generally foster a complete disregard for their wellbeing.
In all seriousness, though, this book makes the point very effectively: it's not that hard to demotivate someone but it can be much harder to turn it around. The parody style of the book makes it entertaining and funny but also slams home, in no uncertain terms, the things every good manager must avoid and the repercussions if they don't.
Incredibly effective.
In all seriousness, though, this book makes the point very effectively: it's not that hard to demotivate someone but it can be much harder to turn it around. The parody style of the book makes it entertaining and funny but also slams home, in no uncertain terms, the things every good manager must avoid and the repercussions if they don't.
Incredibly effective.
October 11, 2014
This book is just too much fun! (This is a reread, by the way.) It takes the basic premise of demotivation and runs with it, explaining just how one can go about converting one's workforce into mindless drones who understand their place in the world all too well. And it does so in the form of an academic treatise, complete with excellent APA style. In my last management position I used to keep this book and a biography of Vlad the Impaler on my desk, claiming to use both as "management style references." My team loved it!
Want to read
June 6, 2008From those wonderful folks at "Despair.com"
abandoned
July 12, 2017Allegedly written by despair.com CEO. Satire is not captivating enough to thoroughly stick with it through 225 pages.
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June 30, 2025Facetious but also true in some places. Had me really excited.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews