During the past couple of weeks, readers of my blog keep telling me that people aren’t motivated by money. We are motivated by something greater — love, appreciation, or creating a sense of community. Unfortunately, those readers are wrong. We work for money and we are motivated to work harder when we are paid more.
I want to know why is this so hard to admit?
I have some theories.
- I think it’s tough to admit we work for money because we’ve turned Corporate America into a co-dependent nanny-state. We are offered health benefits, emotional fulfillment, and a sense of community instead of paychecks.
- Instead of leaving the nest and becoming full-fledged adults, many of us join the working world and recreate the dysfunctional families we have at home.
- We hate our bosses, we despise the long hours, and we are victimized by stupid team-building exercises; however, we don’t know how to survive without all the drama and activity. We also don’t know how to survive without our allowance/paycheck and the safety and security that our parents/employers provide to us in the form of welfare benefits.
When you admit to yourself that your job is just a job — and when you take accountability for your own emotional needs and mental health — you have power. Be a decent person, foster a sense of community with the people you love, and grow up.
{ 5 trackbacks }
{ 46 comments… read them below or add one }
Ever read something and think “Wish I had said or written that.”?
This blog post was one of those times for me. Nice one Punk Rocker. I think it stems from the developing attitude that we are not responsible for our “stuff” and that it must be someone else’s fault.
Well said.
Great points Laurie. I quote my grandmother, who once told me that everything goes better with a little money gravy on it…
Provocative and, unfortunately, true for most people, Laurie. However, there are those who do what they love; I know, I used to be among them. I suppose you would need to split the population into those whose work is a vocation or, as you say simply a “job.”
Strictly speaking, yes, we work for money. No doubt. But if you’re talking about what motivates people to contribute creativity and energy to tasks, money can’t access those emotional levers; those contributions are not equated with working “harder.” Sure, a company may get longer hours and more output by adding more money to an employee’s paycheck; but that person’s real value, energy — ideas and passions — will lie fallow.
By accessing that inner fire through measured and directed employee development, and hiring smarter, employers will be able to pay more money to those contributing more than another basket of widgets per day.
Certainly, not all people think of work this way, or want to. I simply think there’s a sizable group who don’t want to wait until retirement (whatever that is) to begin pursuing what M. Csikszentmihalyi calls “optimal experience.” And that’s fine. May they be happy with their “jobs.”
I agree. You could not have said it better.
We “go to work” for money. We excel for other reasons.
Hmm. Not true for me. Yes, I need the money, but that’s not the primary reason I work. I do it mostly for the satisfaction and the sense of accomplishment. If I were independently wealthy, I would still work as a journalist. I just wouldn’t clean my own toilets and I’d take much better vacations.
I work not to have to work. Hell yes it’s about the money. I want to earn money so that I can retire while I’m still young and do the things I enjoy 24/7, with no deadlines, accountability, or responsibility to anyone but myself. Right or wrong, moral or immoral, money is the means to an end and is necessary for the goals I have. I come to work, work hard, exceed expecations, but I expected to get paid, and I expect to one day walk away, into a sunset of my choosing.
It is true that most of us hold a job in order to bring home a paycheck and pay the bills. However you are still doing work while not getting paid, you write this blog nearly every day and I don’t think anyone is paying you to do that.
If I didn’t need my paycheck, I would not work at my job, but I would still do work. Granted it would be on my time schedule and would only be the things that I really loved doing, but I would still need to do something so that I felt like I was contributing to society rather than just being a drain.
If we only worked for money, we’d all take the highest paying job we could find regardless of whether or not we liked the work. Although I do know some people like that, I also know a great many people who accept lower paying positions because they like the work better.
I’m kind of wordy, I think Paul Hebert said it pretty well above. You are correct that money is what motivates us to find a job, but money isn’t what motivates us to continually improve and strive to do better.
OMG. Thank you!! I just had this conversation with my boss 2 days ago…she couldn’t understand why “employee’s won’t sacrifice themselves to get the company an A+ rating”. Are you frickin kidding me?? My response “Because employee’s aren’t here to “sacrifice”… they are here to get paid and get their benefits”. Needless to say she was appalled at the employee’s and I was appalled at her lack of touch with reality.
I think it’s possible to work for reasons other than money. I don’t imagine many people go into the creative fields because they anticipate a stable paycheque. And I believe Mary Ellen when she says she’d do her job for free. Mary, thanks for posting that – I hope to be like you some day
However.
Most of us work for money (I was reminded of this when I got my pay stub just now and it made me do a little dance at my desk). But a lot of us feel guilty about it.
I think that in North America we have a little voice in our heads that tells us that if we’re not being productive we’re not useful people. Some people call it the “protestant work ethic.” That’s why North Americans work insane hours and never take their vacation time. A huge part of our sense of being useful, contributing members of society – for one reason or another – comes from being useful, contributing members of our workplace.
If we reduce that relationship to one where we’re basically using our employers for something as superficial as Money, then it’s like we’re rejecting one of the major underpinnings of society. In NA, you don’t work for Money, you work to Work because that’s what makes the world go ’round. If you don’t buy into that, then you’re some kind of antisocial crazy person. Companies love to exploit this by fostering “community” at work and referring to the employer/employee relationship as a “commitment” and using words like “values” in all their orientation materials (I wish I could remember which PRHR post I’m getting this information from, but I can’t so I’m not going to cite it).
Of course, it’s all bullhookey and PRHR is 100% correct that the best thing to do is grow up, admit you’re in it for the money, and take some control over your life. Right on.
@Ian I love what I do, but I’ve never left a single hour of vacation time on the table. Ever.
Let’s be honest: some or most the reason we work is money. Money will be involved in nearly every situation you walk into. If you’re willing to take a paycut…fine. If you want a bonus…fine.
There’s another word for people really need to grow up: SAVE!!!
Then comes the day when you say “You can’t pay me enough to work here.”
And you mean it.
Sometimes it’s not just about the money.
You are spot on! I especially like your comment about our employers being the ‘co-dependent nanny’…of course this is perpetuated by both employee and employer when we refer to each other as ‘family’ in the work place… um, no. My employer/boss/supervisor/co-workers are not my family, never will be. I work for my company, they pay me–employee/employer relationship–anything outside of that is blurring the lines.
@Mary Ellen – Ha – fair enough
I love what I do. Having said that, if I didn’t need to make my house/car payment, put gas in the car to get around, have $$ to go to dinner and a show once in awhile with my honey, I wouldn’t spend 55-60 hours (for which I’m paid for 40 of) banging away at trying to help others learn to at least show up for work on time, and maybe know how to turn on their computers.
If money wasn’t an issue, I’d spend my day writing, reading, hiking mountain trails, working on my guitar playing, etc.
I work for money, plain and simple!
I agree with Ian’s comments about American work ethic playing into this. Personally, since my husband makes much more in his field than I ever can in mine, and we don’t have children and can get by on one or both of our salaries, I am free to take a job that pays x amount (say, the job I was offered a few years back doing low-level editing at an online database company… which in retrospect I probably should have taken) or a job that pays twice that (like something in my field). If it were 100% about the money, we would all be investment bankers or at the very least I would have gone into chemical engineering like my husband. If I had kids or was the sole income for my family, I’d probably feel differently.
I work (well, when I am working) to feel like I have some worth and contribution to make as a person, to attempt to convince myself that I am intelligent, and also to silence my mother’s voice in my head telling me in various ways that I was lazy, spoiled, had no work ethic, and would probably end up on the streets. Looking at it from this standpoint, it’s no wonder my job wasn’t able to fulfill what I was asking of it. Next time I need to try to remember that work really is just a transaction of money for services… not a way to atone for everything I feel is wrong with me as a human being.
This points as much to the deficiencies of our consumerist, hyper-comfortable but stunningly lonely lifestyles as it does to the companies that exploit people’s need to feel like a part of a larger community/family. SO many people go from work to the drycleaner/gym to their homes and get up and do it all again the next day, totally isolated from any meaningful interactions outside work. If you’re already close to your family or have a rich life outside work, you don’t fall for that “work is your family” trap as easily as those who really don’t have anything going on outside work other than their mastery of X-Box games.
@spacedcowgirl– I get where you are coming from. My defining moment in my adult working life? When a well respected colleague said to me: “my job does not define me”. That comment changed me. From that day forward, I viewed my employer/employee relationship very differently.
I am a fan of Abe Maslow and specifically, Chip Conley CEO of Joie D’Vivre Hotels http://www.jdvhotels.com Chip wrote a book called PEAK describing how applying Maslow’s “Hierarchy of Needs” runs his company.
If you don’t satisfy an employee’s basic needs, they won’t ever get to that “I love my work” PEAK experience.
So yes, Laurie, you nailed it. Money, security, safety, knowing you can eat another day is why we work.
Sense of community, love of people, appreciation etc., this what we as individuals and hopefully as organizations we aspire to, a PEAK experience.
However, you can not get to the PEAK without taking care of those basic needs. Common sense stuff I think.
I work for both love and money. I worked very hard to get paid to do something I love. There are some things that you could not pay me enough to do. There are also a few things I would do without anyone paying for it. And this distinction is the key to understanding the difference between an OK workplace and a great one.
I know there are people out there that will contribute only so much. I also know of people who will knock themselves out to work for the good of the company. If it was your company, which people would you pick?
I work in a proffesion, in where some people I know who love it so much that still do it partime eventhough they are in their seventees 8)To be honest I tihnk I’ll end up doing the same
Hell I even work as an voltuneer in my field besides going to the gym and working on my mastery of my XBOX games.
That being said, the only reason why I am staying at the shitty project I am currently on is because I need the money & I am way to cowardish to leave in this economic situation.
I have a job because I need the money.
I expend more than the minimal energy required to keep the job because:
- I value working my hardest and need to know that I have left nothing on the table;
- I adore the people I work for and want them to succeed.
I would point you to Herzberg’s work in this field. He described hygiene factors (the basics you described such as adequate pay and benefits that are considered the bare minimum to keep an employee at the desk), and motivation factors (challenging work, recognition, increasing responsibility) that make us want to do more than the minimum.
This is one area where both points of view can be true.
HR Chick–that is a great… well, work mantra, I guess I would think of it as. Thanks for sharing it.
@GL Hey thanks. PS — It’s totally your fault that I haven’t written anything like this before. Not my fault. Nope. Not at all.
@Jeff everything goes better with a little money gravy on it
I wonder what I’d do if I didn’t work. I fantasize about staying at home and playing video games, watching TV, reading. Or, possibly going to the zoo, seeing a movie, or football game.
Wait. If I’m not working, I don’t have money to own a home, a video game counsel, a TV or a large assortment of books. I don’t have money to go to the zoo, see a movie, or pay ungodly prices to see grown men play sports. Hell I don’t have money to buy food.
I hate the “If I were independently wealthy” clich
@Laurie I do realize that I’m pretty lucky to love what I do. But I also loved waiting tables at a late-night diner. In my “downtime,” I like to pull weeds and make cheese, two activities most people would regard as “work.” I think something might be wrong with me.
I think Franny O is spot on.
I think I have previously indicated where I might position myself on this one! Of course everyone has a basic financial need, we need to earn enough to provide us with the things we think we need. But after that this is not why people come to work. How can I state this, because both empirically and intuitively its true.
Research by Gallup, ISR, Towers Perrin, the Jackson Organisation amongst other have shown consistently that factors other than pay are the main motivators for employees. These surveys cover hundreds of thousands of people not a couple of bloggers.
Maslows hierarchy of needs is pretty clear to me. And firstly we must pay people a fair days wage for a fair days work. Bur the sense of cooperating with our fellow human beings to deliver something meaning and purposeful goes way beyond any financial reward.
Lets be honest, thats why we have teachers, nurses, community workers and nor a nation of bankers (cockney rhyming slang not intended)…..
You might want to check the research done by Scott Jeffrey, it will be coming out soon in Human Performance.
The research proves the opposite, people will work harder for thing than they will for money. While the article is basically written about the use of incentive for motivation.
The reality is people work for money but they will work harder for appreciation and even harder for non-cas incentives vs. equal value of cash.
You might also want to check out a book called the “carrot principle” a new edition has just been released and there is a ton of research from around the world to prove that you are wrong on this one.
I work so I can fucking travel to really cool places like Machu Picchu. fuck it otherwise!
Very well said!
I have never had a candidate negotiate for more challenge or motivation in an offer of employment.
What they were looking for was money and/or benefits. The other stuff is highly desirable gravy.
well said laurs. i agree with nelking and am a big believer in maslow
@cols Personal writer’s block. The blog? It flows.
@Corporate Daycare Mmmmm… gravy is so good, isn’t it? It’s hard to give up.
@Michael Can’t wait to see your pix.
@Denz People work hard for appreciation because they aren’t paid enough money and don’t feel good about asking for it. We supplement appreciation for cash.
@HRD Are we talking about why we work or why we feel good? Do we need to feel good to work? Is it a fallacy that we can’t feel good about working unless someone compliments us?
@Jenn When in doubt, follow Franny O’s lead.
Are journalists the only people who say the money doesn’t matter? I think we say that because we have to. At this point in my career I have to say I wish I’d gone into a field that actually pays a decent wage. The perks are pretty awesome though when you’re a journalist. And yeah, I agree with Mary Ellen, even if I had money I’d still be a journalist.
Shelly
http://www.TheseAreTheSaladYears.com
Hey man, I like to help and be a part of a community and have a sense of purpose at work at all that, but I don’t want to pay for the privilege. I think some HR people, social workers, teachers, and nurses sucker themselves into taking less money than their jobs are worth in terms of return on investment because of this “make a difference” mindset.
You can make a difference at work, help people help themselves, and as long as what you’re doing is also making a deep difference in the bottom line, you deserve to get paid. Well. Then you can do even more deeply meaningful things with the extra money!
@Laurie – I was differentiating between why people work (i.e. put in discretionary effort) and why people have a job. Clearly if the title of the blog post was “People need to have a job to earn money”, there wouldn’t be as many replies….If thats what you meant then you are of course right. Like people need to eat so they don’t starve. Perhaps its me, but I thought you were making a more provocative statement…..go on tell me you were…..
@Laurie – I was differentiating between why people work (i.e. put in discretionary effort) and why people have a job. Clearly if the title of the blog post was “People need to have a job to earn money”, there wouldn’t be as many replies….If thats what you meant then you are of course right. Like people need to eat so they don’t starve. Perhaps its me, but I thought you were making a more provocative statement…..go on tell me you were…..
P.S. – Sorry, forgot to tell you great post!
I work for money. My direct deposit didn’t come in last night and I am on my last drop of gas, my baby is literally on his last diaper, and I have several bills due TODAY. The bank isn’t reporting problems- I am going to pounce on payroll the moment they walk in the door.
@colio2007:
Never heard of Maslow’s hierarchy, but I love it! Very enlightening when you apply it to HR, starting from the bottom, most important needs:
Physiological: MONEY!
Safety: MONEY!
Love/Belonging: PTO and reasonable attendance policy so you can take time out for urgent family and personal issues with hassle
Esteem: Consistent, balanced, performance reviews that provide quality feedback and result in merit increases in pay
Self-actualization: Opportunities to advance and take on new responsibilities and roles.
So… the responsible company will pay their employees generously first and foremost, and give PTO and flexible procedures to take time off. Then, they will conduct periodic, consistent performance reviews to give clear feedback to the employee with merit increases, and managers will endeavor to provide new opportunities for employees to do more challenging work.
My current company pays me enough to get by, but not enough to feel safe and secure. They have a flexible attendance policy, but they never do raises or performance interviews, and there is no opportunity for advancement. So it rates 2/5.
I once worked for a company that rated 4/5- gave me everything except the self-actualization part. I left for greener pastures and found a lot of brown grass. If your company rates 4/5, then stay, it doesn’t get any better. If you are at a company that rates 3/5, think twice before leaving.
Being the cynic that I typically am, I was surprised to find myself at the end of this post saying, “yah…sort of…i guess so” rather than a resounding “AMEN!” But the fact is that these surveys aren’t implying that people would work for free if only they had the right development training or super cool supervisor. They’re saying that judging by where they are right now, all things remaining equal, those things would be more fulfilling for them than a salary increase.
I guess I just feel like sometimes we take a too simplistic view on stuff like this. PRHR-I hear what you’re saying, I just think you’re just looking at it a little too broadly.
@Former HRB-hatch I am looking broadly, but I think we get too subjective and faux-introspective and make assumptions if we eliminate money from the discussion.
@David T You may be the first person to learn ANYTHING on this blog. Awesome. Great comment — and your current company is playing games to keep you insecure.
@TheHRD Well I still think we’re motivated by money, but people do make compelling personal points about being motivated by something greater. I just don’t really buy it.
(Thank you for the compliment, btw!)
@Franny I want to make bank. Then I want to make a difference. In that order.
@Shelly Not just journalists. Franny is right about teachers, nurses, etc. Often times, women.
Oh Laurie, you’re just being provocative aren’t you? This is otherwise “one size fits all” HR-type thinking.
Didn’t you yourself walk away from a very well-paid job once upon a time? If we are all solely motivated by money, then why do so many of us tell our companies to poke their jobs, even if if it means getting a lower salary elsewhere – or none at all.
If money was the only factor, we’d all stay nice and quiet and eat corporate crap, just like HR want us to. Ken Nessing has it right – everyone is different.
Good post though, and some interesting replies.
I don’t think I’ve ever heard a single person say people are not motivated by money. Like you said: Would you still go to work if you weren’t getting paid.
That said, I think the bigger issue is that not all people are as motivated by money as others, and money is not the sole motivating force for most people. And money isn’t an end unto itself. It’s a vehicle for something else. Some people like money because they think it brings them happiness. For others, it’s a way to keep score of how successful they are (which, ultimately, brings them happiness).
Imagine how much more you could get from people if you didn’t just motivate them with a carrot and stick, but instead inspired them because they truly wanted to see your organization succeed.
I would totally disagree, even the top paid people on the planet work harder for appreciation. A simple example would be professional athletes; they get paid a ton of money with their contracts. Often they have perks built in, bonuses for performance but there is nothing more rewarding to them than winning a championship, getting a ring to signify their accomplishment. Something valued long after the money is spent.
You only need to look at the trophies people keep to know what really drives their performance. It is the acknowledgement of something completed, and something done well that creates champions out of workers. That simply isn’t done with just a paycheck.
You really need to read the new pages added to the book