What Makes People Love Their Jobs?
I was at my local Charles Schwab office today making a deposit to an account. I had the opportunity to speak with Solange, the woman who is in charge of this particular Schwab branch. I was complimenting her on the wonderful service I receive from my financial advisor and the other people in the branch. I’ve always felt that quality service is a culture that starts from the top.
Solange made the comment that she looks for people whose primary motivation is not money and I quickly agreed. It’s always been my contention that money is not a motivator. Let’s face it, nobody ever wakes up in the morning and says, “I can’t wait to get to work today because they pay me well!”
Money is not something that makes people love their jobs; it’s just something that might stop you from hating it. Solange always looks for people who are willing to take the time to get involved in the community and develop relationships without the promise of monetary gain. But what’s ironic is: the people that have this kind of attitude are the ones who end up making the money and the people who are only in it for the money always seem to wash out.
There is a big difference between the things that cause people to love their work vs. things that cause them to not hate it. To me, the four biggest motivators in the workplace; the ones that really lead to extreme job satisfaction are as follows:
1. Responsibility – Good workers, high achievers and top producers all love added responsibility. They love challenges. In fact, the worst thing that can happen to them is they run out of challenges. It’s then that they become bored and start losing interest.
2. Recognition – Name me one person you know who doesn’t like to be told they’re doing a good job. It’s far more common to find employers or managers who criticize rather than ones who praise. Again more irony: the only way to get people to take your criticism seriously is if they know they will be praised or recognized for correcting their mistakes.
3. Achievement – Isn’t it a great feeling to bring in that new account; or solve a major problem for a client; or maybe complete that difficult project? Always create an environment that sets people up to succeed. Do this by maximizing their strengths and minimizing their weaknesses. Let everyone find out how it feels to get things done and you’ll be shocked to see how much they’ll be looking forward to showing up every day.
4. The Work Itself – I have a very good friend who has been a public school teacher in the same elementary school for the last 32 years! When I asked him why he didn’t just take his pension, relocate and spend a little time as an adjunct professor at some college or university (he has a PhD in Special Education) he said, “Because after 32 years I find I still love doing this.” There are many people out there who can’t wait to get to work every day simply because they just love doing it.
Did you ever work a job you hated? I’m sure you have; I’m sure we all have. Did you ever get a raise while on that job? For those of you who did get a raise let me ask you this question: When you got to work the day after receiving the raise, did you now love the job or did you still hate it? I’d be very shocked if you told me you now loved the job. Of course you still hated it, because as I said earlier, it’s not about the money.