What is motivation? What motivates us while at work? According to Cherry (2016), motivation is “the process that initiates, guides, and maintains goal-oriented behaviors” (para. 1). In Lehman’s terms motivation is the reason behind the way we act or things we do. Whetten and Cameron (2016) described motivation as the combination of desire and commitment. So, what motivates us to work? According to Ariely (2012), the motivation or drive that pushes us to work is a purpose. Does the outcome of this particular task mean anything to me? Will there be a sense of achievement or accomplishment after I finish the job? These are the questions most individuals contemplate before beginning working on a task.
In describing one of his experiments to determine motivation Ariely (2009), discussed the Sisyphic condition based on the story of Sisyphus who was punished to roll a rock up a hill only for the gods to send the rock rolling back down the hill when he reached the top. I am sure Sisyphus never felt a sense of purpose from his work because he was never allowed to complete his given task. In my line of work as an accountant, I sometimes feel like Sisyphus. We are on a never-ending monthly schedule that starts with bank reconciliations the first week, investment reconciliations the second week, accounts receivable reconciliation and billing the last two weeks. At times this cyclical work does not offer much motivation as it is a never-ending process of doing the same thing over and over again each month. But, there are some aspects of my job that intrinsically motivate me greatly and give me a sense of purpose.
One area of my job that gives purpose is my involvement in the awarding of scholarships. Higher education is a big passion of mine. I believe everyone should have the chance to pursue higher education and with rising tuition costs, more individuals are losing that ability. When I entered community college, I was given a small scholarship for my ACT score which helped burden the costs. When I transferred to a state college, I was awarded a scholarship for my GPA at the community college. Both scholarships were much needed and appreciated, so I understand how the individuals who receive the scholarships feel.
I put a significant amount of work into the scholarship process. As the accountant for the college’s Foundation, I process about $900K annually in scholarship expenses. As the treasurer for the Professional Council, I am on the committee to select scholarship applicants for the Professional Council’s scholarship. I also participate in ranking scholarship participants for all scholarships. The process involves combing through the application and looking at their qualifications, essays, and references. Scholarships awards and review take up a portion of my work schedule at the beginning of each semester, but I would not have it any other way. My motivation and purpose are met when a student speaks at a Foundation Board meeting or Professional Council meeting to thank the members for the scholarship and explain how much it means to them and the plans they have after finishing school. I feel pride in the helping hand I provided in allowing the student the opportunity to learn.
Every April the Foundation must be audited by an external auditor. When I took over as the Foundation accountant, the word audit was a four letter word. I was terrified and wanted nothing to do with it. I saw how much work the previous accountant put into the audit. The process involves running reports, reconciling various accounts, verifying all the balances are correct, making sure all journal entries follow the accounting and state guidelines, etc. And after all of the work is done the auditors come in and grade your work to make sure you are in compliance? No thank you! But, I describe the process to say that I now find purpose in the annual audit. I am glad I am not a gambler because I would have never bet that I would enjoy the audit process. I was terrified of all aspects of the audit, and now I find the outcome motivates me.
Every year I spend the majority of January, February, and March (sometimes working overtime) to neatly put together an audit binder containing our prior year activity. The auditors usually come on site for about three days and have me perform the flight of the bumblebee where I am constantly pulling journal entries or checks for their review. All of this work is validated by receiving a clean audit with no remarks or recommendations. If I know we will receive the letter stating that we had a clean audit, I will put in the work and make sure everything is entered correctly, and that is the driving and motivating force behind my effort. Whetten and Cameron (2016) described the need for achievement as a “competition with a standard of excellence” (p. 281). I know I have a need for achievement regarding the yearly audit, but it also brings me a sense of purpose.
Another motivating and purpose filled task at work is the yearly budget. The budget is another grueling and time-consuming task but when it is presented to the Board and approved, I feel a huge sense of accomplishment and validation. The Foundation is the fundraising arm of the college, so presenting a budget represents the bigger picture to me. Earlier this year the college received Foundation funds for EMS and fire safety training equipment. I know I just created the budget for the Foundation, but the fact that part of the funds were used to train future firefighters and paramedics brings me purpose. I recall another instance where Foundation funds were used to buy “dummies” for the respiratory health and nursing departments. Knowing that these “dummies” will be used to train nurses that may, at some point, save a life is very rewarding to me. Ariely (2009) argued that meaning was very important in working tasks. I agree. When I see the bigger picture of my work and understand the meaning; I am more motivated to do the job.
Whetton and Cameron (2016) described autonomy as having the freedom of how and when an individual does their job functions. I have never been a big proponent of autonomy as I see myself there just to do what I am asked. But I began to think how I would feel if I were forced to follow and exact order and process for each task. What would happen if I had to do the exact processes at the same time every single day including the time I was allowed to take lunch? I think I would go a little crazy if I did not have a choice as to when my job duties were completed. After this week’s readings, I have come to the conclusion that autonomy is a motivating factor to me.
In my department, it is common place to shuffle employees around and give them different job duties. One of my fears is that I will one day be asked to be the accountant for another area of the college, and the factors that motivate me will no longer be present. I fear that without the driving and purpose-filled tasks, my effort may decline.
References
Ariely, D. (2012). What makes us feel good about work? [TEDGlobal]. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/dan_ariely_what_makes_us_feel_good_about_our_work
Cherry, K. (2016). Motivation: The psychological factors that guide behavior. Retrieved from https://www.verywell.com/what-is-motivation-2795378
Whetten, D. & Cameron, K. (2016). Developing management skills (9th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall/Pearson
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