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Inspire connected to the work itself in some way, you
Since these three motives are directly
can think of them as direct motives. They will
Academics have studied why people work improve performance to different degrees. In-
for nearly a century, but a major breakthrough direct motives, however, tend to reduce it.
happened in the 1980s when professors Ed- Emotional pressure is when you work be-
ward Deci and Richard Ryan from the Univer- cause some external force threatens your
sity of Rochester distinguished the six main identity. If you’ve ever used guilt to compel a
reasons why people work. The six main rea- loved one to do something, you’ve inflicted
sons people work are: play, purpose, potential, emotional pressure. Fear, peer pressure, and
emotional pressure, economic pressure, and shame are all forms of emotional pressure.
inertia. According to Harvard Business Re- When you do something to avoid disappointing
view, the first three motives tend to increase yourself or others, you’re acting on emotional
performance, while the latter three hurt it. pressure. This motive is completely separate
Today with the help of the Internet and web- from the work itself.
site like Glassdoor it is easy to see, that com- Economic pressure is when an external force
panies most famous for their cultures — from makes you work. You work to gain a reward
Facebook to Nike— maximize the good mo- or avoid a punishment. Now the motive is
tives, while minimizing the bad ones. not only separate from the work itself, it is also
Play is when you are motivated by the work separate from your identity.
itself. You work because you enjoy it. A Finally, inertia is when the motive is so far
teacher at play enjoys the core activities of removed from the work and your identity
teaching — creating lesson plans, grading tests, that you can’t identify why you’re working.
or problem solving how to break through to each When you ask someone why they are doing their
student. Play is our learning instinct, and it’s work, and they say, “I don’t know; I’m doing it
tied to curiosity, experimentation, and explor- because I did it yesterday and the day before,”
ing challenging problems. that signals inertia. It is still a motive because
Purpose is when the direct outcome of the you’re still actually doing the activity, you just
work fits your identity. You work because can’t explain why.
you value the work’s impact. For example, a As we all know, motivation is the key for any
teacher driven by purpose values or identifies activity, including your actual work. Highlighting
with the goal of educating and empowering positive motivation and minimizing pressure
children. might be the best way to go to become successful
Potential is when the outcome of the work as a company and as a community. For this many
benefits your identity. In other words, the companies started creating balanced work & life
work enhances your potential. For example, a cultures, to not let people feel that they work for
teacher with potential may be doing his job be- ‘some other guy’. Simply put, it is always better
cause he eventually wants to become a principal. to inspire people rather than pressure them.

P ASSION L E D US H E RE

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