Poll: What Motivates You at Work?

BNET TalkbackShare your ideas and expertise on this topic

Subscribe to this discussion via Email or RSS

•  
  1

  Jennyjo

  09/22/09 | Report as spam

  RE: Poll: What Motivates You at Work?

  It is actually a combination of all those items listed. Each may be more important depending on the work and situation at the time.

•  
  2

  rawhite1969

  09/22/09 | Report as spam

  RE: Poll: What Motivates You at Work?

  The poll results (after 120 votes) say to me that too many people identify themselves as their jobs. Unless you are working for a non-profit, the only meaningful thing you are probably doing at work is producing profit that you get a small part of. Doing something meaningful happens OUTSIDE the workplace. Sorry to burst anyone's bubble on that one! Balance is the key!

•  
  3

  Dan Erwin

  09/22/09 | Report as spam

  RE: Poll: What Motivates You at Work?

  I hit the same button as 44% of those taking the poll--doing something meaningful. Pffeffer and Sutton's Hard Facts discusses pay for performance in great detail, and shows that the research is really conflicted. I used to have regular arguments with one of my buddies, a CEO, telling him in so many words that he was nuts to think that pay was the primary driver for performance. He never really got it, although he may not have wanted to admit it to me.
  
  Furthermore, in today's world the best opportunities for growth and development often mean a pay cut--something I've done as well as a number of my clients. That's often a smart move. I disagree strongly with the comment that non-profits are the only place for meaningful work--especially since I've worked in both non and profit making firms.
  
  The real issue, which the latest research deals with, is how to get motivated and stay motivated. http://bit.ly/IfJLN

•  
  4

  Carl.James

  09/22/09 | Report as spam

  RE: Poll: What Motivates You at Work?

  What motivates me at work? I love what I do.

•  
  5

  DerekIrvine

  09/22/09 | Report as spam

  RE: Poll: What Motivates You at Work?

  The results are not at all surprising. And "doing something meaningful" doesn't have to mean with rawhite1969 seems to think. For many, especially Gen Y (if you believe all the research), doing something meaningful simply means knowing what their daily tasks are contributing to in the grand scheme of things -- how they fit in the big picture and what value they bring to the table.
  
  That's the goal of STRATEGIC recognition -- tie every employee recognition to a company value demonstrated in achievement of a strategic objective and you automatically show meaning -- show employees how their valued efforts also deliver value. More on tenets of strategic recognition here: http://globoforce.blogspot.com/2009/02/applying-5-tenets-of-strategic-employee.html
  

•  
  6

  valarie granger

  09/22/09 | Report as spam

  RE: Poll: What Motivates You at Work?

  challenge, results, solutions

•  
  7

  Tim Hoelle

  09/22/09 | Report as spam

  RE: Poll: What Motivates You at Work?

  Sorry if the attitude is negative, but i would like to see the results of this survey posted with the average salary of the voters in each category. I bet the ones that love what they do have the highest wage range.

•  
  8

  lkrofchick

  09/22/09 | Report as spam

  RE: Poll: What Motivates You at Work?

  I answered based on starting to work again after an over six months layoff in southern California.Unemployment did not sustain us after the 3 months I have been told to have on hand in case of this.After raiding my depleted 401k (never say never) to support my family of 4 and few management prospects in a depressed market, I took a lower paying job at an hourly rate. The overtime is helping,but the work is harder after 50.My answer is still cold hard cash,I am fulfilled in my life outside of work!

•  
  9

  Qaiss

  09/22/09 | Report as spam

  RE: Poll: What Motivates You at Work?

  Honestly speaking its all about cash that really motivates you to work hard, but at the same time the other factors also play vital role in that like recognition, helping others, learning, trying to achieve your goal and etc.
  
  i asked some one in the interview "Why are you intersted to come here and join" and he answered as "because of more money" yes he is right..........i think.
  
  Qaiss/Afghanistan

•  
  10

  zandorado

  09/23/09 | Report as spam

  RE: Poll: What Motivates You at Work?

  Personal growth. Can't believe you didn't put that on the list.

•  
  11

  Lori Campbell

  09/23/09 | Report as spam

  RE: Poll: What Motivates You at Work?

  I disagree with rawhite1969 inasmuch as "meaningful" is defined by the individual. I definitely do not define myself by my job but find meaning in many different ways, MOST of which have nothing to do with profit!

•  
  12

  bvogel7475@...

  09/23/09 | Report as spam

  Mostly Cash

  I got to work because I need money to support myself and my family. I am able to stay motivated at work by how I am treated at my workplace. An understanding boss, reasonable hours, a short commute and friendly co-workers all contribute to achieving my objectives on a daily basis. I had been a consultant from 2002-2008 and was much more fulfilled in the work I performed because I was fulfilling a client's need. I took a permanent accounting management job in February and it's much more of a grind. Even though I believe my efforts have dramatically improved the way tasks are completed, the improvements are quickly forgotten once they become habit. So, right now it's mainly just the money. Outside of work I have a very fulfilling life, so my work does not define who I am.

•  
  13

  alphadelta2344

  09/24/09 | Report as spam

  RE: Poll: What Motivates You at Work?

  The hot little temp in the copy room.
  
  AD

•  
  14

  SamFed

  09/24/09 | Report as spam

  RE: Poll: What Motivates You at Work?

  It is the money for me... What really sucks though is when you find out that the least experienced co-worker is getting paid way more. Coming work suddenly gets harder and harder, but... and, yes I'm using this, being a single mom is freaking hard enough, so there seems to be no choice. However, life outside this office is what its all about for me...I just wish I had more freedom.

•  
  15

  rawhite1969

  09/25/09 | Report as spam

  RE: Poll: What Motivates You at Work?

  I agree with the posters that eaningful should be determined by the individual. In most every company I've worked for employees felt they were contributing to the common good and getting some sort of worth out of it but in the end all the company cared about was the ability to pay dividends regardless of the economic conditions or impact on employees lives. I was one of those people for a long time, until I came to a realization that the constant benefits and joys in my life were not at all attached to my job, that those benefits and joys would be there regardless of where I worked, and that our jobs are really a means to an end. They fund lives outside of work. I don't work so that I can afford a car to drive to work. I work so that I can provide a good life for my family, to enjoy hobbies, and to someday (hopefully sooner than later) retire and not have to work at all.

•  
  16

  losaltos

  10/07/09 | Report as spam

  RE: Poll: What Motivates You at Work?

  Recognition plain and simple!!!

•  
  17

  juggleclown

  11/10/09 | Report as spam

  RE: Poll: What Motivates You at Work?

  Money. Only money. If there was no perpetual need for money, I'd never work for even a day. There can be no happiness in working, and every minute I spend working fills me with undying rage and feelings of wrath that never subside, and at times sorrow from the wasted time I'll never have back.
  
  Thankfully, I spend most of my time away from society, something I'd recommend to anybody. Until the rich can be killed off and we can all be truly happy with some sense of being equal, I live my life at an extremely minimal level, eating only bread and having strict electricity and water restrictions. I then go out into the middle of nowhere and live happily for as long as I can (usually 2-4 years) until I have to collect another sum of money to pay for things I need and on occasion frivolous things.
  
  I am able to live most of my life without dealing with other human being, able to spend my time training to the best of my abilities my body and mind, eating healthy, performing a myriad of physical exercises, solving puzzles, drawing, writing, reading, and I even play some video games and watch some shows and movies on occasion, thanks to some solar batteries I invested in.
  
  Unfortunately, it isn't easy to find a place in the middle of nowhere where you won't be bothered and can live for free thanks to our ever-expanding ownership of land denying places for people like me, and some people simply can't live without expensive medical care, which rules out this option entirely.
  
  I will say, I could never live like normal people, and I could definitely NEVER consider any sort of official, paperwork-requiring, corporation-feeding employment anything but a form of slavery and oppression, certainly nothing remotely gratifying. Growing up, I saw my parents for maybe one or two hours a day on average until I moved out. It's because fate didn't deal them the greatest of hands, and were forced to work for money. Their time couldn't exactly be spend finding easier ways to make money, much less spending time with me, that's the catch 22 of working.
  
  My way of life brings true satisfaction. Constant improvement in my mental and physical attributes, no concept of time or rushing, as much relaxation as I crave, full, undivided focus on any subject I wish, and I don't have to live in servitude getting some scraps for keeping the rich well-fed, the mere thought sickens me and those returns to society always fill me with feeling of absolute dread. I live in a shack in the middle of nowhere, with no running water, and living on a hefty supply of non-perishable rations, food I grow, and things I know are safe to eat.
  
  Unless I were rich in a mansion or had some other rightful amount of power, I couldn't be happier. The world isn't going to remember me for doing my job, why should I serve the world when I can live the life I want? Society wouldn't die, no matter how much I begged and pleaded that it would. I'm just happy I was able to escape it's grasp with the level of success I have. If my way of life was fully impossible, my existence, and any form of reason to live, would be forfeit. I personally can't see the appeal of willingly living your life the way almost everybody does, and if I can leave any sort of message to the world, it would be that some individuals will crave true freedom, and that there should always be room for them to find it. Living under the rule of ANY government is NOT true freedom, never forget that.
  
  Technically, it's nearly impossible not to live under a government. The only way out of a country is by boat or plane and find an island you can claim, and it's not exactly easy to just build one and slink away, and when you do, you're going to have a hard life if you have to rely entirely on the land, especially if the soil is barren and the climate is hell, and you won't have a city you can go back to until you have what you need again. I don't know how people lived before we had all the conveniences we have, but I'm doing the best I can and I've done well enough. As the world gets more populated and cities get bigger, people like me are going to struggle even more and possibly be unable to thrive, and I can only be glad I'm here now and not then.