movitation at work

Brent ran across this study from the Harvard Business School Working Knowledge site. The article is a bit dated now, from 2006, but the points in it are just wonderful:

Three key goals of people at work
"To maintain the enthusiasm employees bring to their jobs initially, management must understand the three sets of goals that the great majority of workers seek from their work—and then satisfy those goals:

* Equity: To be respected and to be treated fairly in areas such as pay, benefits, and job security.

* Achievement: To be proud of one's job, accomplishments, and employer.

* Camaraderie: To have good, productive relationships with fellow employees.

To maintain an enthusiastic workforce, management must meet all three goals. Indeed, employees who work for companies where just one of these factors is missing are three times less enthusiastic than workers at companies where all elements are present.

One goal cannot be substituted for another. Improved recognition cannot replace better pay, money cannot substitute for taking pride in a job well done, and pride alone will not pay the mortgage."

All of these ideas ring true to me. I want to be treated fairly at work, have a sense of achievement, and get along with my co-workers. It is amazing how quickly your job can go from great to horrible if one of these is lacking.

Take a look at the rest of the article by clicking this sentence.