What is motivation? Well it is the same general question as what is happiness and other similar questions meaning that there is no clear universal answer. Inspite motivation is so personal and so variable from one person to another that it is hard to define motivators and hygene factors.
Generally, people in developing world cater for every job they have because it provides them with some stability and financial security. Such people do not carry much about boringness, lack of promotion and recognition. On the opposite side, people from developed world are struggling to find a better balance between work and career opportunities on one side, and home and leasure on the other.
From my perspectives there are only two general motivation factors - money and balance between work and family. If a person wants money he will seek more responsibilities, challenges and promotional oppurtunities. Money will also add up to his reoutation and social status. On the other side such people have to sacrifice their personal lifes. I believe that most of CEO on Wall street are the perfect examples - they work long hours, they make a lot of money but in the end in my opinion they are not happy in family life.
People who choose balanced life can be satisfied by normal salary and gradual promotion. I have a friend of mine who rejected the promotion to manager position just because he had so much activities outside the work. For him salary increase was not an issue as compared to normal life.
Well my point is that the theory of hygenic factors and motivators are good at universal levels but when it comes to personal level the situation can be very different - when some motivating factors become hygenic nd vise verca.
Generally, people in developing world cater for every job they have because it provides them with some stability and financial security. Such people do not carry much about boringness, lack of promotion and recognition. On the opposite side, people from developed world are struggling to find a better balance between work and career opportunities on one side, and home and leasure on the other.
From my perspectives there are only two general motivation factors - money and balance between work and family. If a person wants money he will seek more responsibilities, challenges and promotional oppurtunities. Money will also add up to his reoutation and social status. On the other side such people have to sacrifice their personal lifes. I believe that most of CEO on Wall street are the perfect examples - they work long hours, they make a lot of money but in the end in my opinion they are not happy in family life.
People who choose balanced life can be satisfied by normal salary and gradual promotion. I have a friend of mine who rejected the promotion to manager position just because he had so much activities outside the work. For him salary increase was not an issue as compared to normal life.
Well my point is that the theory of hygenic factors and motivators are good at universal levels but when it comes to personal level the situation can be very different - when some motivating factors become hygenic nd vise verca.
interesting ... i actually once rejected a job coz all they wanted to offer me was "money". As you said, motivation is a very personal aspect and is different from one person to another, but just because you mentioned money I wanted to remind you about the video that was showed in class about the research that was made about motivation .. and as far as i remember, the research was done in a developing country.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that people work to get their basic needs met by financial means, but again, it is very personal .. as long as you have your basic needs covered you need something more than that, and in a lot of cases, it is not money.
It actually surprises me when our classmates argue that the only reason people get an MBA is for money alone. I don't deny that in my next job I will ask for more money just for having an MBA, but again, this cannot be the only reason, otherwise I am sure the CEU wouldn't have accepted their motivation in the first place. Some of our classmates quit their 100k+ jobs to come to this MBA program. After graduating I am sure a salary increase will not motivate them as much as it would to someone who was making average wages before the MBA.
ANYWAY ... it is very personal, and as you said it is challenging once you are leading or managing a team ... but it needs to be done otherwise your job as a manager will be on the stake as well.