Money is Not a Motivator

Money is Not A Motivator

Does that surprise you? Well, Fredrick Hertzberg (be sure to Google him) traveled all over the world interviewing workers in a variety of climates. He asked them what factors motivated them most toward high performance.

He named at least four factors: rewards, recognition, feeling responsible, and above all, having interesting work. By rewards, he was not referring to cash bonuses. He meant the informal rewards of happy customers, service to others, recognition of one’s efforts and accomplishments.

Feeling responsible is an important motivator. I had a supervisor once who cared little about our work. I received an assignment to design a conference of our constituents, but I had little interest since my supervisor appeared to care less. But one day HIS boss came into my office and said, “Dwight, you are the person responsible for the success of this conference.” It changed my attitude and I did my best. So when unsure, find out what you are responsible for…and add to it.

But interesting work is the real key. You must do whatever you can to make your work interesting. A friend of mine carried it to extreme. He worked in an auto plant, lifting cutouts of dashboards from a machine and placing them on hooks traveling overhead to the next spot on the assembly line. How boring! But he made it fun by imagining it was a game of horseshoes. He would wait until the hooks passed nearly out or reach and then would pitch the dashboard just in time. Of course, he dropped a few which had to be sent back for reworking. So try to avoid any such sabotage when you try to add interesting wrinkles to your job. Do be careful of adding steps or angles that reduce the excellence of the result. Remember, producing excellent results, whatever the task, is the real key to your future.

What would make your job more interesting? Are there other jobs in the organization that appeal to you? You might even volunteer with other supervisors to take on limited tasks that interest you without reducing your effectiveness in your current assignment.