“When we think about labor, we usually think about motivation and payment as the same thing, but the reality is that we should probably add all kinds of things to it: meaning, creation, challenges, ownership, identity, pride, etc.,”
Good Morning Folks,
On a previous Ted Tuesday, Behavioral economist Dan Ariely presents two eye-opening experiments that reveal our unexpected and nuanced attitudes toward meaning in our work.
The Takeaway: "So when we think about labor, we usually think about motivation and payment as the same thing, but the reality is that we should probably add all kinds of things to it -- meaning, creation, challenges, ownership, identity, pride, etc. The good news is that if we added all of those components and thought about them -- how do we create our own meaning, pride, motivation, and how do we do it in our workplace, and for the employees -- I think we could get people to be both more productive and happier."
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| "What motivates us to work? Contrary to conventional wisdom, it isn't just money. But it's not exactly joy either. It seems that most of us thrive by making constant progress and feeling a sense of purpose." |
==> WHAT MOTIVATES US AT WORK? MORE THAN MONEY
“When we think about how people work, the naïve intuition we have is that people are like rats in a maze,” says behavioral economist Dan Ariely (TED Talk: What makes us feel good about our work?) “We really have this incredibly simplistic view of why people work and what the labor market looks like.”
Instead, when you look carefully at the way people work, he says, you find out there’s a lot more at play — and at stake — than money. Ariely provides evidence that we are also driven by the meaningfulness of our work, by others’ acknowledgement — and by the amount of effort we’ve put in: the harder the task is, the prouder we are.
“When we think about labor, we usually think about motivation and payment as the same thing, but the reality is that we should probably add all kinds of things to it: meaning, creation, challenges, ownership, identity, pride, etc.,” Ariely says.
Below, take a look at the conclusions of Ariely’s other studies, as well as a few from other researchers, with interesting implications for what makes us feel good about our work, then click on the conclusion and follow the links to all the details and the supporting studies.
==> Seeing the fruits of our labor may make us more productive
==> The less appreciated we feel our work is, the more money we want to do it
==> The harder a project is, the prouder we feel of it
==> Knowing that our work helps others may increase our unconscious motivation
==> The promise of helping others makes us more likely to follow rules
==> Positive reinforcement about our abilities may increase performance
==> Images that trigger positive emotions may actually help us focus
This post was originally published on the TED Blog in April 2013. Featured image via iStock.
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Have a GREAT Day,
Mitchell D. Weiner
Chief Happiness Officer
Ideas are not set in stone. When exposed to thoughtful people, they morph and adapt into their most potent form. TED Tuesdays on MitchWeiner.com highlights some of today's most intriguing ideas. Look for more talks on Technology, Entertainment and Design -- plus science, business, global issues, the arts and much more— HERE.
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