Did you know:

• The higher the monetary reward you give an employee, the generally worse their performance becomes?
  • That’s not true of manual tasks
  • It is very true of cognitive tasks

The three best motivating factors for individuals are:

• Autonomy – are you in charge of your destiny?
• Mastery – how can you get better at a skill?
• Purpose – what does your work create

Did you notice that money is not listed?

I once left a job where if I would have stayed another 6 months, I would have received a nice bonus that could have easy been in the six figure range and at minimum it would have been middle five figures.

Why?

Money has never been one of my main motivating factors, and that’s not just lip service – I actually walked away from a nice bonus and comfy job. This decision baffled many of my co-workers, who think money is a motivating factor for everyone.

Why did I walk away?

I like to create. I follow my own rules (sometimes this causes conflicts when I work with someone). I have my own set of ethics and standards which are often higher than many businesses (not a reason I left the previously mentioned job; but I have left another one for that reason, and it was an ethical non-profit).

I’m not alone.

Nothing I’ve said makes me unique.

This is fairly common human behavior. Many people do not have the financial means to leave a job; hence why there is less workplace movement that people desire. However, the same motivating factors still apply.

Wikipedia and Linux were created by non-paid people (who had other jobs); and yet are two highly influential creations.

Digg and YouTube did not become large on their own; they became powerhouses based upon people spending their own time sharing content with the community. Those sharers are not paid individuals.

My degree is in Psychology, with an emphasis on personality theory. Understanding people’s motivations, decisions, and interactions fascinates me (and marketing gives me a great outlet to test theories).

I recently watched a video that expressed these concepts more eloquently that I could ever do in an article. This video is almost eleven minutes long. It’s worth your time.

In fact, if your a boss or have employees report to you – you should watch this.

The video starts off a little slow and basic; don’t let the opening minutes fool you into thinking you understand all of these concepts (and even if you do – this is a great refresher); if you stay and watch the entire video (and think about how to implement these ideas into your workplace) these eleven minutes might alter the way you motivate your employees.