Motivation

So what is motivation? It is defined as a driving force; a psychological one that compels or reinforces an action toward a desired goal.

So what motivates one in the work place? It was a very interesting to see the forces or the elements that usually motivate people, it was even more interesting to know that money is not on top of them.

I'll share a little story here. I once applied for an insurance company. During the interview I was asked about what motivates me, and being me I answered honestly, recognition, promotion, and of course financial rewards. She jumped at me saying: WRONG. Your only motivation in any job should be MONEY. We had a little discussion, her being a senior manager and me being a fresh graduate I thought she was actually right, but at the end of the day, I still rejected the offer because I didn't want to work for someone like her.

Another story I read was about a high achieving Indian employee, she was rewarded with a personalized gold watch. She was not happy with the reward and when asked later she said that she comes from a very poor neighborhood and having such a watch is a liability, as she was always too scared the watch might get stolen. (I heard the story a long time ago so this is the conclusion of the story ;))

So what motivates you, and how do you know what motivates your subordinates? That's the ultimate question. My boss once gave a bonus to a colleague in the form of a holiday package instead of cash. It's because this colleague never had the chance to fly outside of jordan as she was staying there illegally, and as soon as she got her residency permit going on holiday was the on,y thing she was talking about. My boss knew if the bonus was of a monetary form she will just spend it and not go on holidays, so she rewarded her with a holiday. That kept my colleague from joining another company even when the pay was higher.

When you know what your employees want and reward them with it, you not only "buy" their loyalty, but you also ensure their high level of motivation at work.