New requirements for the psychosocial work environment: Why dialogue matters more than ever
Eirin Eriksen Horvei
October 14, 2026
“Hi Cecilie – and thanks for the other day. Do you remember we met and you told me a little about your method for the employee appraisal? I commented that, at its core, there has to be an understanding of what the intention behind such a conversation is. This was confirmed in no uncertain terms when my own manager invited me to an employee appraisal. He set aside 30 minutes (!) and in reality it was not an employee appraisal at all, but a review of what we could do better in the project I'm working on. Perfectly legitimate to discuss, but it was not an employee appraisal.”
There may be several reasons why the manager chooses this format. He may lack knowledge of what the purpose of the conversations is. He has nothing to prepare from that points to topics that are important for Knut to perform well and thrive. Perhaps he simply finds it uncomfortable to talk about matters other than those directly related to the tasks?
For some, employee appraisals become downright unpleasant and demotivating. This typically happens if the conversations are mainly a one-way evaluation in which a collection of constructive feedback on operational matters is delivered. It is reinforced further if the feedback is linked to a quantitative measurement system that takes little account of individual circumstances that may have affected goal achievement. I usually call this an attempt to “mechanise leadership”, and it is poorly suited to today's labour market, where we often work on complex issues that require collaboration.
Read: The evaluation trap in the employee appraisal
Many people say they see little point in spending time on employee appraisals because they feel like a box-ticking exercise and are not very relevant to their own work situation. That is not surprising when many conversations are based on general issues that have emerged, for example, in various anonymous surveys of the working environment. Often, the manager's own interpretation of what matters most for each employee to thrive and succeed also determines the content of the conversation. Then it can easily end up as it did for Pia, who, without asking for it, was given a pay rise as a “plaster on the wound” when she flagged that it was the relationships with colleagues and the collaboration in the department that she found problematic. It did not take long before she was actively looking for a new job.
It is actually odd that we so readily resort to higher pay as a remedy for something that isn't working, when so much research shows that pay is not the most important factor in whether we stay in a job. We could save a lot of payroll costs if we simply showed genuine curiosity and a willingness to listen to each employee.
Read: Pay. An easy way out?
Another example of this is a phone call I received from a manager who asked my advice before a conversation with his most important employee. The preparation showed that there was a large gap between the responsibility the employee wanted and the responsibility he felt he had. The manager was reluctant to move him into a new leadership position, because the company would then lose its most important adviser and source of revenue. The first thing the manager thought of was to raise his pay, which was already at a very high level, but he was in doubt. My recommendation was to ask the employee what responsibility he felt was missing, and what could meet his expectations. He did. It turned out that the employee found it embarrassing to be marketed simply as an “adviser” on a par with the others, when he was clearly an expert. The solution was that together they found a new title that matched his responsibility and competence. Pay never came up.
There has been a significant change in what we lead. In the past, we had far more assembly-line jobs, tasks carried out according to a recipe, and large differences in competence between management and employees. Instructive work management was well suited to this. Results could largely be measured quantitatively, and for many, the motivation lay simply in having an income.
Now the situation is different. We are far more dependent on each individual's motivation and engagement, because what we deliver comes from “heads” and less from the “number of hands”. In addition, there are plenty of job opportunities in many parts of the labour market.
Here are some characteristics of today's situation:
In this landscape, the role of facilitator becomes more important than instructing and controlling.
Read: Can I prevent my employees from leaving?
As a manager, you have a great deal of influence on how your employees feel at work, how they perform, and therefore also on the bottom line. So what is good leadership? It depends on who you ask, and who you lead. What do your employees want and think? What kind of leadership motivates them most? Good leadership is about building good relationships with your employees, and about facilitating good working conditions so that each person can succeed in their role and with their tasks.
When employees feel that you as their immediate manager want to look after their work situation, it creates engagement, motivation and a sense of belonging, which in turn creates a greater desire to keep working for the organisation.
Read: Prevent sickness absence with supportive leadership
Dialogue is without doubt the most important tool we have for building relationships. It can take place in formal conversations such as the employee appraisal, or in more informal settings during the working day. It is natural for a manager to communicate and interact more with some employees than with others. That is why it is so important to define fixed meeting points between manager and employee throughout the year, ensuring that everyone gets the opportunity to be seen and heard. When the dialogue is planned, both also get the chance to prepare. Many people depend on this to be able to contribute to the conversation.
Read: Is everyone seen and recognised in the workplace?
“You never really know other people as well as you think” is a good starting point for understanding the value of a good employee appraisal. You cannot guess what the other person is thinking, nor can you order them to be open or motivated. This means you depend on the employee giving you insight into and understanding of how they perceive their work situation, so that it becomes easier for you to create the conditions for motivation and good performance in line with the organisation's goals and purpose.
Dialogue is not the easiest tool, since it can be hampered by discomfort, a lack of trust or a good friendship that is challenged by open feedback. How willing the employee is to share their point of view with you will depend on the trust and relationship you have.
Read: Tips for the employee appraisal – from the employee's point of view
Read: Psychological safety in the workplace
The main purpose of holding employee appraisals is to align expectations in order to create safe and clear frameworks for the tasks to be carried out. The manager must have good knowledge of the company's strategy and objectives, so that the frameworks support them. You should discuss how the necessary competence can be developed and, not least, the conversation should promote motivation, self-leadership and loyalty.
Read: Privacy and employee appraisals?
There are many reasons why employee appraisals are experienced as unhelpful and sometimes downright unpleasant. Here are some of them:
Read: Sceptical about the employee appraisal?
Through many years of working to improve the value of employee appraisals, I have become more and more convinced that this must be “the employee's conversation” for it to have a good effect. This is the conversation where each employee gets the opportunity to be seen and heard, where they get the chance to bring their own perception of their work situation to the table. Your task as a manager is to reconcile the employee's and the organisation's wishes and needs as well as possible through clarifying expectations.
In summary, the aim is to create an arena that
It is also important that you follow up on what you agree after the conversation, so that it makes a real contribution to the development of the employee and your own leadership. The employee appraisal is also a good way to meet the requirements for follow-up and development of employees set out in Section 4 of the Norwegian Working Environment Act and in the Internal Control Regulations.
Read: Is the employee appraisal required by law?
There is no definitive answer to how often the conversations should be held, but once a year should be a minimum to ensure continuity in follow-up and development. In organisations characterised by change and growth, it may be wise to hold them twice a year in order to work towards a good working environment. There may also be different needs in different parts of the organisation. The sales department, for example, may need more frequent follow-up than the accounts department.
Quite a few companies have replaced the employee appraisal with more frequent, shorter conversations. My experience is that short conversations are very likely to focus mainly on operational matters. There is too little time to find out whether anything about the work situation is hampering the employee's productivity and ability to deliver. Over time, this can become frustrating and demotivating. Our recommendation is to combine the employee appraisal with shorter and more frequent follow-up conversations.
Read: Are we tempted by anonymous surveys – and are they always the best solution?
Read: Surveys that map the working environment and well-being
There are countless different employee appraisal templates that have been used over the years. Some are brief. Others are extensive, with many questions to prepare for. Some managers choose to go into the conversations without any material at all.
There is no single right answer, but it is certainly an advantage to think through what you believe is the best approach in your own organisation. How can you most easily provide enough support for the conversations to be valuable and contribute to development? A template can contribute to a shared understanding of the purpose, ensure that everyone comes prepared, provide greater equal treatment and give support in carrying out the conversations, so that nothing important is forgotten. It is also worth noting that not everyone is comfortable improvising, and some depend on having something to prepare from in order to contribute to the conversation.
We have found that dividing the content of the conversation into three parts works well.
We have put motivation first because it is so fundamental to a good and productive work situation. All change, development and task delivery, including the desire to stay, rests on motivation. Imagine a frustrated employee who dreads going to work because she lacks training in the new system. Or the employee who no longer feels comfortable with your leadership style and is mostly focused on looking for a new job. That does not lead to good performance. That is why we must first talk about motivation and how the work situation is experienced.
At the same time, motivation is a challenging area to look after, because we depend on the employee being able and willing to share their perception of their work situation in order for us to help create the right conditions. That doesn't always happen by itself. That is why we at Motivati have spent time developing the Motivation Analysis™. It gives manager and employee a concrete starting point for the conversation, so that they can talk about what is relevant to the employee.
As managers, we must remember that this is “the employee's conversation”, and an important task is to inspire the employee to take an active part in the conversation through open and well-meaningly curious questions. This is a good way to involve employees, give them responsibility and promote self-leadership. But it will not succeed unless you also take the time to listen actively.
Read: Curious dialogue: Simple and good enough in the employee appraisal?
In an ever-changing working landscape, the employee appraisal is still an important tool for building relationships, clarifying expectations and promoting motivation. To succeed with employee appraisals, we must remember that the employee should be in the driving seat, and that the dialogue should create value for both parties. With the right approach and follow-up, the employee appraisal can become a powerful tool for developing employees and strengthening the organisation as a whole.
