What would it mean for you if feeling appreciated were the strongest motivator for working hard? What would it mean for you personally? What changes would likely result if this were the strongest motivator for others in your country or around the world?
Feeling appreciated for doing hard work translates into more than just words. If working hard as a volunteer then a sincere thank you is all I need. If for employment, then I want to see a paycheck that reflects the effort I put in as well as respect from coworkers. Working on male dominated jobs most of my working life, had me proving myself when men weren't put under the same scrutiny. Instead of complaining and crying unfair, I worked harder and smarter and in time it paid off. Several years ago I talked with one of the best work partners, whether mining or logging, I had ever worked with. On some jobs I was the shift boss and others he was. He reminded me that when I was the boss, I worked everyone harder and got more done that when he was boss. I asked if he was holding a grudge about that. He said no those jobs I was the boss were the most memorable and rewarding. His favorite story was the evening shift with a crew of three and the project boss announced the company was offering us bonus based on tonnage brought out of the mine and piled up ready for transport to the mill. The two of us experience hands were paid $25 an hour and the helper (nipper) was paid $15. We would all share the bonus money over our wages. At first he argued with me about my crazy new idea of using a 6 hole V cut instead of the old standard 20 hole round. He finally gave in saying I was the shift boss lady, a bit crazy (no wonder I was single), but still the one to make such decisions. The next day coming on shift we were met by the big boss that asked what the hell we thought we were doing since the bonus over our wages was $1500 and that was $500 each just for that one shift. Long story short we were put on the non bonus job of core drilling for two weeks so the bookkeeper could spread out the bonus over 10 days at $50 per day a piece and not raise any concerns at the cooperate headquarters. While the money was long gone, that memory by a former co worker, made me feel appreciated. His wife loved to tell the story how when announced I would be working with him, he told the boss, no he couldn't be held back by a woman that was hired to appease some equal rights agenda. The boss told him, there was no agenda in hiring me other than they needed experienced workers and I was qualified. He also told him, to work with me just one shift and if I didn't pull my weight, 150 lbs, or better yet his muscular weight at 200 lbs, then he would fire me and I would "go down the mountain talking to myself." After that first shift the guy told the boss if he ever fired me, he would go down the mountain with me. The boss smiled and said, yes, he knew that partnering brains with brawn would make an unstoppable team.
Three implied states of being come to mind: 1-Being appreciated 2-Being ignored 3-Being berated I can live (and work) without #1, as long as it does not imply #3. We all want to feel appreciated, and I can be as approval-seeking as the next guy, but having that as my strongest motivator puts my motivation and happiness in the hands of others. I put my enjoyment of what I'm doing and my own standards of having done a good job above feeling appreciated by others. After all, someone can show appreciation for my colluding in corrupt acts.
My only motivation when it came to working hard (career wise) was money. That was my sole purpose for being there. The End. As far as appreciation in general, I like an acknowledgement when I do something for someone, even if it's simply holding a door for them. I was raised that way but simple courtesy seems to have gone the way of the dinosaur.
When I worked for Hoerner-Waldorf, we were a non-union plant. We didn't get paid nearly as much as people doing the same jobs as those in nearby union plants, and some people took jobs at these union plants for more money. I could have, but I didn't. While I could have earned more money elsewhere, I earned more than I needed at Hoerner-Waldorf and I loved my job. Everyone was on salary and our plant manager treated us more like co-workers than like an overlord. On our part, we worked hard because being productive made the shift go by quicker and it was fun to compete with the machine operator on the next machine, or with the shifts before and after us. We did our best to keep the quality up because our names were on the bags we made (on the bottom or, sometimes, beneath the flap). We didn't need pressure in order to be productive, and, when the company did hire someone who wasn't pulling his weight, we wanted him gone as much as the company did. I enjoyed going to work. When Champion acquired Hoerner-Waldorf, a union was voted in, and everything changed. Our wages went up considerably, and we were given more holidays and vacation days, but it wasn't any fun working there anymore. That was alleviated somewhat when I became the senior person in my job position and could choose my own shift. Working the graveyard shift was far less stressful, but I preferred making less money for Hoerner-Waldorf. On the other hand, I wouldn't have wanted that if I were earning minimum wage, so money is important too.
I think it would mean you are in trouble. Feeling appreciated? I live in New Jersey. The squirrels wear leather jackets and ride Harley's. The State bird is the mosquito. The State Song is a road rager screaming at the top of his lungs. Why are all New Yorkers depressed? ---- because the light at the end of the tunnel is New Jersey... bosses take way too much license with their little power base. So often abusive to those under them. And that is only because of horrible talent at managing anything. Good bosses don't just bark orders...they help, they inspire, they make the place a team. We tolerate far too much authoritarian behavior in our lives. Absolutely does not have to be that way. We just default down to the easy familiar. There is always another way, a better way. Lincoln said it..."Better Angels." If we look to the better qualities we have inside us...to lead us...we will do a lot better. And some extreme genius of history like Lincoln? Might have had a clue. You know, more than the current culture of barking, backstabbing and abuse.
To be perfectly serious, at this stage in life, being appreciated is about the only thing left to feed the ego. I’m not in the workforce any longer or at least, not in my secular career so pleasing people with whatever culinary skills I might have is over. No more smiles, no more accolades, no more nothing. Just memories. Nowadays, a simple thank you goes a long way toward motivating me to do good things and keeps me from becoming callused, which I think would be easy to do if not for the occasional feeling that someone is grateful because I was there to help. Granted, the few times when I do genuinely feel appreciated doesn’t fill all the gaps that I would like but still, sometimes even the smallest gesture is enough to keep going.
One of my employers was big on administering different tests. One of them was supposed to reveal your strongest motivations and how it related to your particular job. My motivators were #1 fear and #2 money. I thought that didn’t seem right. I knew, after working in the lab, I was only in sales for the money but the fear thing confused me. A few days later it hit me, and they were absolutely right. Fear of failure is ALWAYS on my mind.
Perhaps I made better decisions than some, but I have almost always felt appreciated in the jobs that I have had, and always in the ones that I remained at for more than a year or so. Feeling wanted is enough of a motivator for me that I have left any jobs where this didn't exist. One exception could be Champion Paper, but then I got my motivation through my positions with the union, and I still enjoyed the work that I was doing. Undoubtedly, the size of a salary is an important consideration when considering a job but I have never considered a high salary to be worth taking and remaining at a job where I didn't feel appreciated. Just as the hours that I spend doing my work are part of my life, my employment has also been a part of my life, and I never wanted to waste it by essentially selling a third of the day in order to pay rent and buy food. It has always been much better to get paid for doing things that I enjoyed during that time. There is also the possibility that I found ways to enjoy what I was doing for a living.
I was a victim of my mother's upbringing... "what will people think??" I am also afraid of failure, or of appearing inept.
Strongest motivator? .. Seems to me it would mean you don't value yourself unless you get validation from others. Or maybe that everything to you is transactional—I'll give only as good as I can get back. In all my (only 3 or 4) jobs, there was at least some component of them, that I wanted to do well, because it was the right thing to do. But I never had a job that didn't involve serving the public in some way, however removed. It might be different for a used car salesman, or an insurance agent. I wouldn't have lasted long.
I think approval (Praise) is an excellent motivator. For me, a word of praise for a job well done means I would try to do even better next time. I believe that is true of everyone. Who doesn't get a warm feeling when they hear, "Well done?"