In a recent survey, only 4% of respondents claimed that their motivation for work was pay. More prevalent factors were their ‘sense of connection with their team, challenge in their work and feeling empowered in their roles’. Emotional Agility, Susan David
This is very insightful regarding people’s motivations and why they do what they do. Get these motivations wrong in a role, and it’s not long before that individual goes searching for something deeper elsewhere.
Money is very important – particularly in the current economic climate and sadly many people have to work to live and don’t necessarily have much choice in what or where they find employment.
Fascinatingly, research on hotel workers measured the effects of suppressing true feelings on the job and how that correlated with marital conflict at home. If the worker found that their work was in line with their values, there was far less conflict at home than those who were surface-acting.
Finding the ‘why’ that motivates what you do for a living is integral to having a fulfilling and meaningful career. When I took my career break, the why of work that I was missing out on was connection with people. I had become very isolated as a stay-at-home mum and dog boarder and as lovely company as the kids and the dogs were, fulfilling adult conversations and interactions were the most missed part.
What is your why of work? What is it that you love about your job?
