Module 5 What Makes Us Feel Good About Work

    In the TED talk, Dan Ariely outlines the importance of meaningful work, the secrets to work motivation, and what makes us feel good about our work (2013). He discusses a few scenarios to get us to think more deeply on the subject. For example, climbing mountains is an experience full of misery, yet people do it for the challenge and gratification upon completion of a difficult task. Ariely elaborates that this can be translated to work environments as well. His example was an employee developing a presentation for a merger that did not end up going through which resulted in a sense of wasted effort. He claims that sense of progress is critical to work motivation. In order to make his point he focuses on the opposite where he talks about a common prison punishment of digging a hole, having it filled, and digging the same hole over and over again which causes lack of motivation. Ariely claims that making people feel valued means that a leader must also acknowledge their employee’s work and the value it provides. When people feel their effort is wasted then they will not be motivated to continue producing quality work. Moreover, Whetton & Cameron state, “motivation is manifested as work effort and effort consists of desire and commitment. This means that motivated employees have the desire to initiate a task and the commitment to do their best” (2016, p. 286). Ariely refers to something called the Ikea effect where the more work the creator puts into something then the harder they work, the more dedication and focus they put in, and the more valuable and meaningful they find their work. In this respect, Ariely argues that ownership, pride, identity, creation, meaning, and challenge are all key ingredients in the motivation of employees in the modern work environment. Yeoman supports this by claiming that for meaningfulness, we must also find work to be subjectively attractive as well as judged objectively worthwhile against the values we have incorporated into our practical identities (2013, p. 249). As leaders, we can make efforts to acknowledge the work of our employees and do our best to find value in it. Furthermore, we must try to assign work that has meaning and to delegate ownership so that employees feel more integral to the overall organization and the organization’s vision.

    I am personally motivated by extrinsic factors such as money, however, I work hardest based on intrinsic factors. Someone could pay me a large sum of money, but, if I do not like my work life on a regular basis then I would probably walk away from the job. Rather, I am motivated by purpose and job satisfaction. For example, I had a very busy job at an Air Force assignment in South Carolina where I worked at the headquarters in charge of the Middle Eastern region of the world. Our work directly impacted the safety and security of Americans in harm’s way. Having the sense of saving lives and trying to make the world a better place gave me the motivation to work harder and feel a desire to go to work every day. Today, I have a job where I am teaching new cyber security officers, however, I do not feel the same sense of purpose. While I enjoy mentoring, I do not like developing curriculum and I do not feel as connected to the overall military effort. I can connect the dots and remind myself that I am teaching those who will go perform important missions worldwide, however, I would rather be in that position. I was told to move to Mississippi for this job (I specifically stated my lack of desire to Air Force Personnel Command) which is away from my spouse and family which makes life even less satisfying. I have found that factors like family, work-life balance, and a sense of purpose in my overall motivation. At this job, I am less likely to give 80-100%, however, our current commander is a great leader and manager.  I expressed my concerns and he has fully empathized with me. Due to his willingness to try to understand my situation, rather than negatively harping on my lack of productivity, I actually want to produce and work harder for him. He enabled me to have a flexible schedule due to living alone and having multiple medical appointments caused by recent surgeries and complications. Having a leader like him, who truly cares about my personal life, motivates me. I hope to achieve the purpose of giving others a sense of purpose in their work and daily lives. I want to get to the point where I set the example and work to motivate and better others. I am in a transition point in my life where I am no longer the young man and the student, but rather, a mentor, a role model, and a teacher. Knowing how I am motivated, I will make sure to get to know my subordinates on a personal level. I will not attack unproductive employees without knowing more about the person and attempting to identify a root cause for the behavior. I will do my best to accommodate flexible schedules and manage from a task-oriented standpoint. I will become a more fulfilled person and a better follower in order to set a better example and to help others discover their own personal fulfillment. I will establish an organization that values the work and opinions of all members, and that makes all employees feel a strong sense of ownership and pride in the organization itself.

References:

Ariely, D. (2013, April 10). What makes us feel good about our work? | Dan Ariely [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5aH2Ppjpcho&ab_channel=TED

Whetton, D. A. & Cameron, K. S. (2016). Developing management skills (9th Ed.). Pearson.

Yeoman, R. (2013). Conceptualising meaningful work as a fundamental human need. Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht. DOI 10.1007/s10551-013-1894-9