We Thrive by Making Constant Progress and Feeling a Sense of Purpose
What motivates us to work? Contrary to conventional wisdom, it isn’t just money. But it’s not exactly joy either. It seems that most of us thrive by making constant progress and feeling a sense of purpose. Behavioral economist Dan Ariely presents two eye-opening experiments that reveal our unexpected and nuanced attitudes toward meaning in our work.
What makes us feel good about our work?
Dan Ariely
Key Takeaways
What really motivates people is not relaxation or comfort, but achievement, conquering, pursuing goals or arriving at some peak. Ariely provides evidence that we are driven by the meaningfulness of our work, acknowledgment and by the amount of effort we’ve put in: the harder the task is, the prouder we are.
- IKEA effect is a cognitive bias in which consumers place a disproportionately high value on products they partially created.
- We generally see motivation and payment as the same thing, but the reality is that Motivation = payment + meaning + creation + challenge + ownership + Identity + Pride etc.
- Money can be a substitute for some motivations, but it doesn’t mean it’s inherently about all of those motivations.
What makes us feel good about our work?
1. Seeing the fruits of our labor may make us more productive.
2. The less appreciated we feel our work is, the more money we want to do it.
3. The harder a project is, the prouder we feel for it.
4. Knowing that our work helps others may increase our unconscious motivation.
5. The promise of helping others makes us more likely to follow rules.
6. Positive reinforcement about our abilities may increase performance.
7. Images that trigger positive emotions may actually help us focus.