What motivates us to work?

“It seems that most of us thrive by feeling a sense of purpose. ”

– Dan Ariely

What motivates us at work? What is it that drives us? Many people believe it is how much money you make. But that didn’t make sense to me, there are too many other factors involved. Then I saw this quote by Dan Ariely – It seems that most of us thrive by feeling a sense of purpose. And I thought – yes that’s it.

And an experience last week at my work – Figjam Workshops – illustrated that beautifully. Last week, my business partner Deb and I finished facilitating a 5 week Creative Empowerment Workshop for a group. And during the closing circle, one of the participants said that during the workshop he had an epiphany, and that the workshop had changed his life! Needless to say, Deb and I were in tears, and we looked at each other and both felt it – This is why we do this work!

It’s not for the money! Working for a charitable trust will never make us rich, as a matter of fact, by the end of the year when funding has run out, we usually find ourselves working several weeks for no pay at all. We do the work because we love it. And we love it because we feel an incredible sense of purpose.

Dan Ariely, professor of Psychology and Behavioral Economics at Duke University and a founding member of the Center for Advanced Hindsight, has this to say about motivation at work:

“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. And 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 both be more productive and happier.”

In this stimulating and entertaining talk, Dan Ariely explains What Makes Us Feel Good About Our Work?