Is Money Really Not a Motivator?

by Ciara Conlon Head of Operations at EQuita Consulting

Many years ago the CEO of the company I worked for came to speak to the employees. It was an attempt to have open communication, to perhaps inspire and motivate the staff to work together towards the organisational goals. The only thing my colleagues and I heard that day was the line “money is not a motivator”
Of course none of us believed it. At that time money very much motivated me, I was a single parent with a mortgage, money was high on my priority list.

What we didn’t realise back then is that the amount of money we got wouldn’t determine our level of engagement or motivation, that money is more important in attracting and retaining talent rather than actually motivating it. Gallup’s engagement research backs up this theory as it reports no significant difference in employee engagement by pay level. So it appears that what motivates people is more intrinsic, elements that speak to our other human needs and not to our monetary ones.

So what do we do about the money?

“Pay people enough to take the issue of money off the table” Dan Pink author of Drive, the Surprising truth about what Motivates people” By doing this you ensure that money is not absorbing the thoughts of your employees, that it is not the root of stress for your employees and they can focus on doing a good job.

Pink believes human beings need three elements to stay motivated, “Autonomy, Mastery and Purpose”. The old carrot and stick philosophy does not work.

Autonomy is our human need to believe we have choices. Human beings like to self direct, few people like to be told what to do, We need to feel in control. Organisations that give people autonomy over their work tend to get the required results. Giving all employees more autonomy is also telling the employee you have faith in them. Motivation is more likely to come when you choose to do something as opposed to having to do it.

The second element for motivation is the drive for mastery. Human beings like to get better at stuff, we spend hours daily or weekly practicing our instruments, our sports and our hobbies. We like to master what we do. When it comes to work, give someone the opportunity to better themselves and nine times out of ten they will choose to get better. We get a great sense of satisfaction when we are growing

Thirdly we all yearn for a sense of purpose, we want to make a difference. Most of us would like to know that what we spend our time each day in some way contributes to the greater good. If you can link profit to purpose you are onto a winner. Motivation is more likely to come when you are connected with your values and purpose.

Another great motivator is the need to belong. Maslow said it many years ago in his hierarchy of needs and more recently Susan Fowler in her book “Why Motivating People doesn’t Work” that there is a social need to belong and be part of something. Human beings are social animals with a need to interact. Social interaction and belonging are part of what makes us human. We are drawn to form social bonds, even the least sociable has a drive to form important and intimate connections. Work gives people the environment in which to be able to do this. Many people will admit they go to work for the social aspect and not for a financial need.

So if its your job to motivate people do yourself a favour and think about how you can ensure that your employees have their basic needs covered. Do they have autonomy, mastery and purpose in the job that they do? By getting a better understanding of each one of your team members and what their individual motivators are you will find it easier to cater for their needs while reaching the company goals.

About the author
Ciara Conlon is a Leadership expert and the author of Productivity for Dummies and Chaos to Control.
She is an international keynote speaker and coach.

Ciara is Head of Operations at EQuita Consulting, a leading consultancy in the areas of Executive Development, Negotiation, Mediation and Personal Productivity. EQuita provide popular Leadership and Management development programmes for many organisations in Ireland and Europe. Speak to us if you would like us to customize a programme for your organisation. equita.ie

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