Or is it?
Yesterday's post was all about how bad income inequality has gotten in the United States and the emerging support in high places for raising the minimum wage. Today I want to share another video that I think further solidifies the case for paying people well enough to survive without unnecessary stress.
What motivates us to work hard and do a good job? The talk by Dan Pink (embedded below) explores how people are motivated to produce good work. I urge you to watch the video for yourself, but here's a quick summary:
At 2:10 he points out that we commonly think that if we reward people for good behavior they will do more of that behavior, and if we punish them for bad behavior they will do less of it. A Federal Reserve Bank study showed that for mechanical tests of skill this common "carrot and stick" motivation works well and the promise of more money does produce better performance. For jobs requiring cognitive skill carrot and stick doesn't work. This has been replicated over and over by studies around the world. In fact, the workers offered the highest reward performed worse than the low and medium pay workers in these studies.
Around 4:50 he points out that people who receive low pay have low motivation. To get the best out of people you have to pay them enough to take money off the table. To get the best results from people you need to give them Autonomy, Mastery, and Purpose.
At about 8:40 he talks about the importance of Purpose Motive for companies. When the profit motive comes unhinged from the profit motive you not only get ethical lapses, but you get crappy products and services too. Sound familiar?
In conclusion, when money is taken off the table, and people have purpose and the ability to direct themselves we, and the world, are better off.
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