Are you Overestimating the Effect of Money on Motivation?

Given that we have all been involved in many different types of tasks throughout our lifetimes, why can’t we accurately understand and predict the effects of money on motivation? Are we that blind to our own experiences?

In a fascinating set of studies, Kaitlin Woolley and Ayelet Fishbach (both at the University of Chicago) measured the importance of intrinsic factors (the degree to which we are engaged in a task for its pure enjoyment) and the importance of extrinsic factors (how much we get paid).

Kaitlin and Ayelet conducted a variety of experiments at a gym to compare two types of motivations: intrinsic motivation linked to the experience itself (such as having a heart-pumping, stress-relieving workout) and extrinsic motivation linked to the outcome of finishing a task (such as improved health from working out).

They found that when people were engaging in an activity (such as exercising), they cared most about intrinsic elements such as having a positive experience running on a treadmill or lifting weights.

On the other hand, the researchers found that when people were planning to go to the gym, they cared most about extrinsic elements such as finishing the activity, getting healthier, and getting paid for their time.

In short, these findings suggest that when we are in the midst of a task, we focus on the inherent joy of the task, but when we think about the same task in advance, we overfocus on the extrinsic motivators, such as payment and bonuses.

This is why we are not good predictors of what will motivate us and what will crush our motivation. This inability to intuit what will make us happy at work is sad.

If you are a new college graduate considering your options, you might go for the high-paying job at a bank instead of pursuing your dream career as a jazz musician.

Certainly, you will be able to afford more stuff and a nicer apartment if you take the bank job, but as you mull over these two options, are you overestimating the extrinsic motivators and underestimating the intrinsic joy of work? 

Meaning is the currency of joy and happiness not Money.