top of page

Is Money The Only Motivator Of People?

  • Writer: John Provost
    John Provost
  • Jul 18, 2024
  • 4 min read
Motivated Man chasing after money

My dad made this observation the other day while we were enjoying breakfast at a local diner: "This place must pay pretty well to keep the staff smiling and moving! I mean look at them- no one is standing around, everyone is covering everyone else's tables, and they're all doing it with a smile-no bad attitudes!" And he wasn't wrong.


We watched what we guessed was a "new-hire" tagging along and shadowing another waitress, asking for peoples orders and learning the shorthand (they both had their notebooks out and were jotting down our orders).


After they had dropped off our coffees, another waitress asked if we needed a refill and yet another was seen cleaning off tables that were not waited on by her. It was like a well-oiled machine in operation. With how busy this place was, operations had to run smoothly. But was it all about pay and income that motivated the staff to offer fast, efficient service AND do it with a positive attitude or was it something else? And I asked him:


"Is everyone just motivated by money?"


The biggest common misconception is that everyone is motivated by money. If an employee has the opportunity to increase their take home pay by working longer hours or selling more products, then they would be motivated to work harder and longer.


Working in commission-based sales, every manager I’ve had the pleasure to work under had this exact train of thought that everyone wants a bigger commission check so I’ll incentivize the employees to sell more. They started offering additional cash incentives to top sellers in hopes it would motivate the bottom sellers to sell more.

It sounds logical and should stand to reason that this IS what motivates people. But I say that financial gain isn't always the motivator, and here's where I'm coming from.


In college courses, I was introduced to an American Psychologist by the name of Abraham Maslow and his concept of the "Hierarchy of Needs". In this concept/theory, he states that everyone has an order of needs that need to be satisfied in order before a person would pursue the higher needs (which include the needs for Esteem and Self-Acutalization).


Basically, a person that lacks food, water, and shelter will look to address those concerns first before worrying about whether or not he or she is the top employee in a company. One might argue that a person would work harder to earn more money so they could afford rent and food.

On the other hand, someone that lacks food, water and shelter would make looking for these items a higher priority than earning more money and this person would be motivated into finding sustenance and shelter that would fit their current budget.


The Physiological needs have to be met first before anything else. Rounding out the hierarchy, Maslow stated the other needs are as follows:

  • Safety - employment, resources, health

  • Love & Belonging - friendship, intimacy, family

  • Esteem - respect, recognition, freedom

  • Self-Actualization - the desire and pursuit to be the absolute best one can be


The new waitress my Dad & I encountered above was a good example of someone not necessarily motivated by money, especially considering the industry she was in. Most people in the food service industry do not make much for a base salary. On top of this, the tips earned are put into a pool then split among the staff equally. What this results in is this: if one employee works harder than another both would still receive the same tip amount equally.


Knowing this, how could an employee be motivated to wait on more tables in order to earn more tips if those tips would be given equally to someone that waited on half as many tables? I can’t imagine how. In this case, money can’t be the motivating factor. In this case, she was more than likely motivated by the needs for esteem and self-actualization. She was driven to be the best she could be, and knew she’d be recognized and respected for her attitude and work ethic by management and customers.


Answering my dads question on whether or not everyone just motivated by money? I’d say no. And if you’re still not convinced take a trip down to Walt Disney World. It is reported that most cast members working for the Walt Disney company aren’t paid a very high wage (payscsle.com reports salaries between $14-$19 hr) and the cost of living is pretty high ($2634 a month for expenses in Orlando, including rent according to livingcost.com).


A Walt Disney world Castmember on the high end of the pay scale making $3040 a month with $2634 in expenses doesn’t leave much left in the bank for much else….So how are Disney World Castmembers always so friendly and put in top notch service day in and day out? What motivates them to perform at their very best? It certainly isn’t money. The base rate of pay isn’t changing anytime soon and if money was the prime motivating factor then a lot of castmembers would be leaving for “greener pastures” and higher paying jobs. But they are not.


Thinking about motivation and what gets me to perform is the pride I get from doing my absolute best in whatever it is I’m doing. Money is secondary for me, and I realize everyone’s motivations are different.


It does appear that the true motivation lies with where people find themselves on Maslows Hierarchy of Needs. Someone that feels safe and respected would not be motivated by the same thing as someone that doesn’t. People are motivated to pursue what they feel they need. Having said that,


what motivates you?



Comments


bottom of page