The Things That We Work For

Yes, we all like to be paid, but money is not among the three most important reason why we work. Andy Mulholland shares his insights as to what those three things are.

Create a blog entry discussing each of the motivators identified in this video and discuss their impact on you; additionally identify 3 additional motivators that have a major impact on you.

            When you look at some of the best professional athletes in the world we constantly see people taking smaller contracts to play on a team where they can be recognized on a larger scale or can compete for a championship. What drives many of these athletes is not a bigger pile of money because to them there is no difference between 120 million or 140 million, there is something much more important than money for many athletes. Many professional players want to be interested in the team and goals they are playing for, the fact that they can learn more from a better team, improve their skills, and to be adored and valued by the fans that cheer their names.

            These are the same goals which Andy Mulholland talks of in his four minute video. Now we are all not professional athletes but everyone looks for these three reasons in life no matter where it is coming from. Whether you are in a relationship, a family, or at your job; these are the three reasons that many people wake up every day. This hits home for me because lately I have not felt this way about my current job and I have the feeling that it is getting close to that time where I will be moving on.

            When I think about interesting work, I think about work that moves me, makes me laugh and smile, and most of all work that motivates me to be better. I want to know that I am making a difference in an organization and not just another busy bee worker. I believe that many people feel that way in this world but unfortunately they are stuck due to many different circumstances.

            Expanding our skill set, this is the second reason which Andy gave us and it is just as important as the other two in my opinion. Expanding our skills is what helps us continue to grow so that one day we can land that dream job. I always dream of a job where I am happy, interested, and feel important but I also recognize that no one in this world will hand this dream job to me. I have to gain valuable experience, work my way to the top, and take that job. We all want certain things in life, the difference in my opinion between achieving these goals and continuing to just dream about it, is that some individuals in this world are willing to work hard for what they want.

            The third motivator which Andy gives us is the fact that we all want to be recognized and valued as individuals. At my job we have a saying which is very discouraging and reflects on the culture of my organization we call workers “just a warm body in the chair”. Sometimes we feel like we are just another number or a warm body in the chair to keep things running. There is no sense of accomplishment, and recognition is just a pat on the back once in a blue moon; a large part is due to the industry that I am working in now but I know this will not last for long. The fact that I think about moving on every day of my life is proof of what Andy spoke of in this video, no matter how big my paycheck is I know that I will never be satisfied.

            For me I have my own three motivators which I also value aside from the three that Andy mentioned. I believe that change, upward mobility, and having a true and lasting bond amongst a team are what I would want from a job. It is funny because I could not wait to get out of the military four years ago but now I credit these three reasons to my eight year stint in the U.S.NAVY.

            These three reasons are fairly simple to understand because I believe that these are almost the basic needs of a human. I need change because I like to keep things exciting, fresh, and new. I value upward mobility because I want to feel like my hard work is taking me somewhere I have never been before, promotions are important even if I get paid the same amount.

 Last but not least there is something which I have been missing over the last four years since exiting the military, and that is a strong bond amongst a team. Now I know that not everyone will always get along in a team but I am definitely missing the strength that a team can have when there is an obvious bond present. When I was in the military we did such good work because we knew how each other worked and could foresee their next move. In our line of work this type of bond was important but I have to admit that it was much more than just work. Our bond made work fun, the weekends that we spent together to the pranks which we would pull on each other makes me constantly think about one of the best work environments I ever had. It did not even feel like a job at times, there was something truly special about the work that I did many years ago when I was out to sea; it was a period when I grew the most, had interesting work, felt recognized, achieved upward mobility, found constant change, and created bonds which I still think about to this day.

If I could find a job where I had all of these different reasons to come to work, maybe I would never retire. Perhaps I would jump out of bed in the morning as if I was a school kid who had a field trip that same day. I am sure that my hard work is guiding me to this dream job, it is a need which I feel that I have to fulfill. When I look at these needs I can see that many of them are related to the “hierarchical needs theories” (Whetton and Cameron pg. 345) which were developed by Maslow and Alderfer. With all of the reasons which were mentioned we tackle the need for self-actualization, esteem, belongingness, growth, and existence. These are all personal needs which cannot be over looked, these are the basic needs which many working individuals crave.

Reference:

Whetten, D. A., & Cameron, K. S. (2011). Developing Self-Awareness. In Developing Managment SkillsEighth ed., pp. 46-55, pp. 97-103). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education Inc