Drive to acquire

In the interviews, all participants were asked the following questions related to the drive to acquire, which then on lead to further discussion:

1. How important do you find things such as monetary benefits in relation to your motivation?

2. How important do you find the possibility of advance at your work in relation to your motivation?

Figure 7. The drive to acquire importance

None of the participants rated the drive to acquire to be the most important for them in

regards of work motivation when asked to put the drives in order. Seven rated the drive as the second most important drive, twelve participants as the third important and three participants said that the drive was the least important for them in relation to their work motivation.

4.3.1.1 Monetary pay

“I don’t think my motivation would increase if my compensation increased.”

“If I would get paid more, it would be nice, but I don’t think it would really motivate more. It would just mean that I am doing things right and that I

should keep doing things the way I have been doing them”

0 %

35 %

59 % 6 %

Importance to acquire

1st 2nd 3rd 4th

“First I wanted to say that money and getting paid well is very important when it comes to my motivation, but now when I think about it, there are a

lot of things I would rather have when it comes to work than good pay”

Eighteen out of the twenty-two participants strongly believed that their work motivation would not directly increase if their compensation increased, but all twenty-two participants believed that their motivation would most likely decrease if their compensation decreased. Most of the participants admitted that their motivation might get a temporary boost, but no one thought it would last for a long time because they would soon take it for granted. This shows the importance of fair pay, but also suggests that Generation Y individuals do not view monetary benefits to be their main motivator.

“Getting paid less than I feel I’m worth would lower my motivation. I would think that oh well if you don’t appreciate me, I won’t appreciate you

either.”

“If all of a sudden I would get paid much less than I get now it would definitely show in my motivation, because I would feel like I am not being

appreciated and valued like I should be, because I value myself and my work so much and I know I do it well”

“Good compensation, whether it is monetary or not is important for motivation as it makes and employee feel worthy and appreciated which

then improves motivation, which leads to better work results”

Fifteen participants brought forth the idea that monetary salary should be a reflection of ones work and that fair compensation was very important in terms of work motivation. The participants expected their education, experience, amount of work, duties and performance to be important factors to be considered when their compensation is decided, and they were just expecting to get what they “deserve” with the qualifications they possess. Although monetary pay was not viewed to be one of the most important things affecting motivation, it was seen to be connected with self-worth and respect. Several participants made connections between monetary pay and feeling valued, and it was

“I would love to say that I do not care about the money, but if not having any money starts weighing you down and it makes your life less rich and

eventful, then yeah it won’t work for me.”

“When work is more unpleasant you think about the money much more”

Nearly all participants thought that the importance of monetary compensation increases when the actual compensation decreases. Many explained this, that in the case that your life is restricted due to poor salary, it has a big effect on work motivation. Several participants said they only wanted to be paid enough to life comfortably, but when asked what it meant to life comfortably it was noticed that individuals has very different views on what living a comfortable life entailed. Even though people had different views of what kind of compensation is enough, it was clear, that as long as one’s personal thoughts on what is was and enough were met, compensation did not seem to play a major role in their work motivation.

“I would not give up my freedom as a freelancer even if I got paid a lot more doing something else”

“I don’t see money being a big motivator for me. If it had been, I probably would be doing something completely different”

“I have never really had to think about money, which makes me blessed. In some ways, it has come to me very easy. I might view it differently if at some point I would have struggled with it. But I would not change what I do, even

if it meant I would not be paid well”

Most of the participants were very aware of their potential earning in the future, and that their chosen field would play a part in what their monetary compensation would look like. As few participants mentioned it, their chosen field was a clear indicator that monetary pay was not the key player in their work motivation. It was also made clear by many participants that they would not give up their chosen career path for better monetary compensation. This came especially apparent with individuals whom felt their chosen field was their passion.

4.3.1.2 Other extrinsic benefits

“I always look forward to our end-of-the-year bonuses to come. I am sure it plays a small part on my motivation, but as we get it every year it no longer

feel like an accomplishment, but it’s just a given. It used to motivate me more”

“I want to say that I would swap all of my other work benefits over if I would get more salary, but the reality of it might be different at the end. For

example if work conditions would go down significantly, it would definitely decrease my motivation”

“All benefits on top of a nice salary are always a plus and do motivate we, but not as significantly as an actual paycheck does”

Discussion regarding extrinsic benefits other than basic monetary pay was limited, but participants did mostly recognize the effect these had on their motivation. Most of them though felt like actual salary, or monetary bonuses were much more motivating than good working condition or other possible benefits such as a company car.

4.3.1.3 Advancing at work

“Knowing you can get ahead and advance at work is much more motivating than just getting paid a lot, because with advancement also comes more

compensation”

“Having the possibility of advancement at work is vital to my motivation.

Knowing that I would never be able to get ahead would be so demotivating”

“I’ve always been highly motivated when it comes to work, and it has been noticed by others, which is why I have been promoted, which has made me

even more motivated”

“More important than getting paid well is knowing that if you keep working hard one day you will. And that only you hold the key to your own success.

That is really motivating to know”

More than half of the participants felt that having the possibility to advance at ones work was very motivating, similarly, with knowing that advancing would not be an option was a demotivating factor. Many participants said that the possibility of a promotion made them work harder and having advancement possibilities were seen as more important than just good salary, because good salary is expected to come with advancements. Despite viewing advancement at work to be highly important in regards of motivation, it was not viewed to be as important as fair and good compensation. Just purely advancing at ones job and “climbing the latter” was not enough to spark true work motivation, and advancement was seen to be connected to pay.

“I have never found getting a head that important, but rather I just want to be comfortable and enjoy my work”

“I have not really thought about the whole getting ahead thing when it comes to work. I don’t think that actual climbing the latter thing motivates

me, but being able to learn and advance is what motivates me”

Although nearly all participants had a joint view on the importance of having the possibility to advance at one’s job, three participants said that they had very little desire to get ahead at their job, and only wanted to feel comfortable. One said even the idea felt stressful, which then would eventually lead to demotivation. After discussing the matter, all three admitted to having low self-esteem and being fearful of failure. These individuals said, that in most cases, if they were offered a promotion they would take it, but would not believe it would motivate them, and could even decrease heir motivation with the added stress with taking the new position.