What motivates employees?

[Thorin]

A co-worker mentioned that our workplace has very patriarchal management.  Not knowing what exactly was meant, I googled the term and came across this article:

http://www.workplaceissues.com/ardiversity.htm

It describes the different management techniques that have been needed in the last 70 years, and how employees have moved from the GI Generation where they were happy to have a job and the boss was always right, to the Boomer Generation where what one did was tied to one's self-esteem, to the Generation X, where employees were much less tied to a job and much more willing to walk to find better (or even just different) opportunities.

And man, I fit that Gen-X description perfectly!

[Bixby]

This is very well done in my opinion and worth a watch...

RSA Animate - Drive

[Thorin]

This is very well done in my opinion and worth a watch...

RSA Animate - Drive

The best 11 minutes I have wasted at work in a long long time.

For the record, the linked video is nearly eleven minutes discussing what motivates people, and how financial incentives actually have a negative effect on motivation (once a plateau has been reached).

[Lazybones]

The way I read that is that the motivations are the same, but employees have learned that some bosses are idiots and unless your in a bad recession you can just go find a better job instead of slugging it out unhappy.

[Mr. Analog]

People in my family have always been highly motivated, hard workers and exemplify the article to perfection. My Grandmother still thinks things work the way they did in the depression and war years, the fallout of which lasted much longer in Newfoundland (not to mention being a widow with two sons). Her job was as a radio/telegraph operator until the mid-60s when she remarried and let me tell you, you didn't get paid much in telecom in the 40s/50s even if you were a man.

My dad on the other hand is the classic boomer, went through the military, excelled in his chosen profession until he became the role, a trait that followed him into his later career as millwright which once attained was something to be perfected and invested heavily in. Now he's following the same pattern with golf.

I fall on the outside edge of Gen X and I have a much more pragmatic view than either of them (though not as liberal as some of my peers). My job certainly defines part of me and has a big impact on my life, that said I express myself in art and music. I feel no gratitude for my job (I earned it after all) and I feel no safety in it (there are no long term benefits). I'm finding it difficult to interact with other people now more than ever as the longest I seem to work with any group of people is 2 years, I am fed up emotionally investing in relationships as I fail to see the point any more. People keep moving on.

That said, if something better came along that met my needs I would move to it, that's something that neither my dad nor my grandmother would do, let alone understand.

I guess if I had "job safety" like they did I would think differently, but I don't. All I know is that two or three layers above me are assholes who don't know that I make money for them. I owe them nothing and they won't care if I go. The only ones I help or hurt are my immediate peers.

[Thorin]

The way I read that is that the motivations are the same, but employees have learned that some bosses are idiots and unless your in a bad recession you can just go find a better job instead of slugging it out unhappy.

That's how you read the article?  Look at it from a different point of view - what will make the employee unhappy?  The worst thing you can do to the GI Generation (depression and war era) is make them lose their job.  The worst thing you can do to a Boomer is tell them their career is meaningless.  The worst thing you can do to a Gen-Xer is make them stay at a job they don't like.

This means your approach to how you keep them happy and working hard has to be different.  The GI Generation responds well to pressure, and will do as the manager asks generally without question.  The Boomer responds well to increases in apparent stature and importance, and will work diligently for managers who help them attain upward mobility.  The Gen-Xer responds well to feeling like they make a difference, and will work hard for managers who help them feel like they're an important part of the puzzle.

As for the apparent revolving door in interpersonal relationships, Mr. Analog, all I can suggest is that you might find yourself in a position five or ten years down the line to work with those people again.  This is why career coaches nowadays tell us to focus so heavily on networking - not just because it could get us a job in the short term, but also because our constant movement means we may well end up working with people in our network again soon.

I'm a leave-the-unpleasant-situation-early guy, and because of that I've fairly quickly identified what kind of work I would like and what would motivate me.  Given that I'm an outspoken person, any manager who's willing to listen to their workers will know what makes me happy and what makes me want to work somewhere.  I agree with you that there are always people up high that don't seem to know who's really making their company tick - I've worked at places, though, where those people sat in the next office over and were willing to listen to my input.

Too bad that's not how it is where I work now.  My current work's management seems firmly set in the GI Generation mindset.