Building empathy by understanding motivation

During this dynamic and challenging time, we have been thinking about what motivates people — not just on the surface but at the core. For the sake of building a positive work environment and — more importantly — showing human kindness, it is crucial to understand motivation.

At the highest level, motivation is the intersection of skills, experiences, financial needs, and opportunities. These factors intersect into three areas that motivators can tangibly influence: work, vocation, and purpose.

Work

People are motivated by money which they obtain by working. Work is how people support themselves and their loved ones. It is the intersection of what the world needs and financial opportunities. Truly motivating work goes beyond just a paycheck; it also offers flexibility, security, and a positive environment.

When choosing work, people make decisions based on their personal preferences. For example, Kaylynn, is a Jyver and single mother from Colorado who is passionate about the grocery industry. With that said, she also values time at home with her kids. For Kaylynn, the flexibility and structure of her work is just as important as the income. That is why she uses Jyve.

Providing work is the first step towards motivating people. With that said, people have options when it comes to how they make money. If they are only motivated by paychecks and benefits, they will quickly jump ship when a new, more attractive opportunity arrives.

The retail industry has struggled with this problem. Despite the crucial role that front-line workers play in supply chains, the annual turnover is 65% among hourly employees – 50 percentage points higher than the cross-industry average. This turnover is expensive: on average it costs a firm $4,000 to replace an employee. Not to mention, every time a worker leaves, quality and execution suffers as their replacement is trained. 

Vocation

Providing work that considers people's needs is a necessary step towards motivation, but it is not sufficient. The next key motivator is a vocation. A vocation is what separates earning a paycheck from pursuing a career. It is the difference between making ends meet and carving a better future. A vocation is the combination of skills and experiences with financial needs. People want to feel that they are growing professionally and that the work they are doing is an investment in their future – not just a means of paying the bills today. Companies can provide people with mentors, resources for growth, rewards for accomplishments, and clear expectations for performance.

At Jyve, some of our best employees began as Jyvers, working as independent contractors in grocery stores. In 2016, Fanny Rosas was experiencing a career transition, so she signed up to be a Jyver. Today, she is a full-time employee and manages Jyve Support. Fanny thought she was using Jyve temporarily. Instead, she found that Jyve was her next career opportunity. In her words, “Jyve has set me up to become a very successful person in the future, and I’m extremely grateful for that. These values have given me the ability to learn and grow in various aspects of the company.”

Fanny is one of several Jyve employees who began as independent contractors. Jyve considers it important to invest in people because it is beneficial to both the individual and the company. When people see others advancing in their careers, they recognize that that could be them too. This is contagious and motivating.

Work that is both a paycheck and a career can go a long way towards motivating people, but it is not enough. During life's challenges, people lose motivation when their life is solely defined by their occupation. After all, at some point – either by our choice or by someone else’s – our jobs and careers will come to an end. What then? While a vocation can inspire us to persevere through work with the hope of a better tomorrow, our motivation will be incomplete without purpose.

Purpose

The final key motivator – the most difficult and crucial to achieve – is purpose. To paraphrase Hubert Joly, purpose is the intersection of what the world needs, what people enjoy doing, and what they are good at. When people have purpose, they will sacrifice their time and energy for something greater than themselves – and they will enjoy doing it. People want to feel that they are making a difference in the world, whether it is for their families, communities, or more broadly. As people seek purpose, they ask themselves – either intentionally or subconsciously – a few questions: How can I help my world? What matters to me? What am I uniquely positioned to do? Is the problem I am solving big enough to challenge me? (For more, see David Brooks' The Second Mountain).

One bright spot in this pandemic is that the greater community has recognized what we have always known at Jyve: front-line grocery workers are essential, everyday heroes that ensure that we can all put food on our plates. As they have seen their communities recognize them, our Jyvers have felt a greater sense of purpose. Vera, a Southern California Jyver, explains, “I feel very proud that I am an essential worker. I’m happy that I get to come out here and help people stock the grocery stores and provide the vital nourishment and nutrients that people need because we all need to eat.”

Workers that are motivated have a greater loyalty than their paycheck. They show up to work not because they must but because they want to. When people feel that their actions matters – both to their own future and to their greater community – they elevate their expectations and do their best work.

The benefit of motivated employees goes beyond the impact that increased efficiency has on the bottom line. When businesses consider what motivates people and tailor their programs accordingly, the world is filled with more kindness – which frankly we can all use a bit more of right now.

Co-authored by Jake Stuebner and Anu Gupta