Unlocking intrinsic motivation; how can we take money off the table?

What’s the truth about what motivates us? Good question. I wish I knew, but I have been thinking about it a lot recently. Why? People who are not motivated or who are actively disengaged cost the world $8.8 trillion in lost productivity - Gallup's State of the Global Workplace: 2023 Report. That's equal to 9% of global GDP. It’s a whopper of a problem.?

The truth of the matter is that people and their motivations are not all the same. Far from it. People also do not stay the same, so let’s not pretend that they do.

As I get older, I am not the same person I was in my 20s (mercifully). Or even my early 30s. As I move gracefully into my 40s, the things that are important to me now are a very long way away from what was important to me 20 years ago. That does not mean I was wrong 20 years ago, it’s just that my priorities living in my leaky old barn on the edge of a farm in Kent are simply not the same as when I was living in my new build apartment in the middle of Bristol. That’s just life. We are all on a journey.

Anyone who like me has read Daniel Pink’s “Drive” will be familiar with the concepts of “Intrinsic” versus “Extrinsic” motivation. According to Pink, those of us who are extrinsically motivated find our drive from the prospect of financial reward and the delicious excitement of “jam tomorrow” in return for completing our work. He goes on to explain why the science does not back this carrot and stick as a useful tool where there is a higher level of creative thinking for the work being done.? When it becomes cognitively more challenging, those extrinsic incentives wobble and fall over, apparently.

The alternative then? “Intrinsic” motivation where we are driven by autonomy, mastery and purpose and a desire to fulfill a deeper human need. ?

By granting people autonomy they are given a degree of control over their work and decisions. But remember autonomy does not mean anarchy! It means more self-direction, empowerment and flexibility.

Mastery is about meeting people’s desire to get better at something through continuous learning, challenge and feedback.

And purpose, is about working for something in service of something larger than ourselves, by doing work that is meaningful and aligned to our own personal values.

Now, rather than just parroting back to you what you could have read in the book, I want to add something new. Why, you might say? The book has been sold more than 2 million times over 35 languages! Because I think Pink’s work is sometimes misunderstood, oversimplified or consciously interpreted to mean money is unimportant.

Let’s be clear. Money is extremely important. It is the main reason most if not all of us go to work in the first place and at no point does Pink’s book say “money does not matter”. Far from it. It does say:

“The best use of money is to take the issue of money off the table . . . Effective organizations compensate people in amounts and in ways that allow individuals to mostly forget about compensation and instead focus on the work itself.” - Daniel Pink

Or in other words, money is usually a hygiene factor. It won’t motivate people (thanks Maslow) but it will demotivate them. To unlock the motivational wins that Pink identifies through intrinsic motivation, we need to codify how we can truly “take the issue of money off the table”. As readers with remit for compensation and reward can certainly attest to, that it is far harder than it sounds, and is not a one-and-done task. Taking money off the table for me and my leaky roof in my 40s needs very different answers to when I was in my 20s. I do think however, that Pink has already given us the answer. The fulfillment of personal financial autonomy, mastery and purpose as a precursor to professional autonomy, mastery and purpose.

The point here is that we need to be realistic. Simply throwing money at people is almost never going to be feasible or sustainable for most organisaitons. To take money off the table and unlock the benefits that intrinsic motivation brings, financial education has an important role to play in enabling autonomy, mastery and purpose.

Now, a call out here. Financial education is a personal bug bear of mine and a subject matter that is close to my heart. So much so, that it led me to join my current employer, nudge , who partner with our clients to offer, impartial financial education to their people globally. (disclaimer completed).

Notwithstanding that potential conflict of interest, I stand by my point. By understanding and helping employees to realise their personal financial motivations via autonomy, mastery, and purpose we can take a big step forward in taking money off the table and open up the accomplishments that an intrinsically motivated group of people can achieve.

nudge’s own 2024 Global financial wellbeing research investigated how financial education influences the identification, and achievement, of life goals or in other words their financial purpose.

“For employers, this opens a world of opportunity. Employees working towards goals with financial confidence, and employer support, are more engaged, have a better employer relationship and have stronger wellbeing. In fact, a recent report from McKinsey found that , “people who live their purpose at work are more productive than people who don’t. They are also healthier, more resilient, and more likely to stay at the organization”

So what is the call to action? Yes, continue making sure you are doing everything you can to ensure people have autonomy in their roles, mastery over their skills and are aligned to your purpose. But be sure that you also understand and support your people’s own financial autonomy, mastery, and purpose to ensure your efforts are not being hampered by money as a source of de-motivation or distraction first.