What (Really) Motivates Employees

Employees, contrary to myth, seldom work because they believe in the cause. Yes, some might believe in the founder’s cause or the CEO’s vision, but that’s not what makes them want to work in that company. People don’t want to work in Meta, Amazon, Google or Microsoft because they believe in eroding privacy of and shoving AI slop down their users throats, or because they believe that any of these companies market caps needs to double in the next financial year.

If we take the example of the same companies mentioned above, ask yourself a hypothetical question, why do you want to work there?

The first answer that comes to your mind might be money. With the crazy amounts and perks these companies are throwing at their prospective employees, it is obvious — who wouldn’t want a few extra zeros in their paycheck.

But let’s keep that out the equation for now by leveling the salary and perks’ playing field. Let’s say there is a regular company that is willing to pay as much as one of these companies are. What then?

Well, the next question you would ask, and even though it took you a while, is, “What work will I do?”

Let’s say you are a full-stack developer and the regular company wants you to maintain and manage their websites and internal web apps. While one of the earlier ones are hiring for a new secret project aiming to create a new JavaScript framework.

Which one are you going to choose?

If you are young, or ambitious, or both, you will still choose the latter. Why?

The answer lies in the word, “challenge”.

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The second role, you know, is going to be challenging. It’s going to push you to the limits and give you more opportunity to learn and grow. It’s going to make you bite your nails, pull your hair, make you stay late at work and keep you up at night. It is going to be thrilling and fulfilling few months or years.

While people say they want money, the ones that are most happy with their jobs agree that it’s not the money, but the challenge at work that makes them happy. I know a lot of people who have taken jobs with lesser pay (I am one of them) just because they knew that the work is going to be exciting for them.

Yes, one may join a company bouncing a big paycheck, but if the work is mundane, that money will become sour pretty soon. Unless…

Apart from a challenge, there’s another thing that keep people happy with their jobs. And it is appreciation. Appreciation may come in the form of some formal recognition — like an award, or a letter or a certificate or a bonus, but most times that’s not the mode that matters most. We usually don’t work to make our overlords happy and appreciative.

What we seek is that our work is acknowledged and appreciated by the people who directly surround us. I, for one, never cared if the CEO of the company I worked for knew my work or my name, but I cared, a lot, about what my peers and team lead thought of my work.

I was fortunate, in the early 2000s, to work in a team where our manager created an environment of micro-appreciations. He encouraged people to talk about their challenges and solutions freely. And it always felt nice when someone said, “Don’t worry, I face the same problem,” or, “That’s an awesome way of doing things.”

What most companies follow today are remnants of the early days of the industrial revolution of the 20th century. With management frameworks treating people like robots and mindless hordes that needed to be monitored, controlled and strongly-encouraged to be productive, we started believing that all people either need a carrot or a stick to work better.

But we forgot to listen to our own minds. We ignored the voices within us that said, “That’s not how I would like to be treated and that’s not how I like to work.” We believed what the world told us about our own motivations and that of others that we work with.

We like to do work that has meaning. Work that challenges us, and if not that, at least is appreciated and acknowledged by others. It doesn’t have to be someone rungs above us. It doesn’t have to be a customer. It just has to be someone who knows us and what doing that job feels like.

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If you’re interested in how ancient strategy can help founders survive and thrive, you might enjoy my books, **A Startup Founder’s Guide to the Art of War and [Design a Better Business](https://www.amazon.in/dp/B0FTS4C5VZ)**. They are full of candid stories, field-tested advice, and practical lessons for anyone building something from scratch.

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