Talkin' 'bout your motivation!

For those of you who don't know, NPR is my favorite radio station. I was catching up on my Think Podcasts the other day, and the guest was bestselling author Daniel Pink. He was promoting his new book Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us. Daniel sites three things needed for us to be a better, more productive employee: autonomy, mastery, and purpose.

As I was listening, I was thinking about how monotonous and boring my job is. I work at a credit union as a teller, and it is very repetitious and mindless work. I spend most of my day thinking about all of the other things I could be doing while I sit and wait for a customer to come in. Not motivating to say the least!

Daniel speaks about a few companies who are innovating the way people work. Zappos is one of these companies. Zappos call center, a place where timing and rules are everything, goes against the rules. At Zappos there are no timers, no scripts, and no monitoring. Their goal is to solve the customers problem no matter how long it takes. Simple as that. Daniel gives many other interesting examples of companies and ideas that people want to be a part of because it gives them purpose, they are passionate about, and/or just want to be a part of. Open Source, Wikipedia, and Toms Shoes are just a few examples. Sure people want to make good money, but is that truly the only motivator for us? I would gather to say no. Is money an important factor in my job search? Sure, but I would also love to work at a place where I can come in everyday and love what I do.

So I would like to ask, what motivates you at your job? What do you love or wish you could change?