Money is not the only motivation for work, because there are

people who spend countless hours working in fields like teachers,

who are not paid nearly what they are worth. When you choose a
profession, the first criteria for the selection is that one must love
what they do, or else, you will be unhappy.

Money has a part in the decision, but it is not the only motivation.
Another factor is location, how long a commute is you willing to
put up with twice a day? If your answer is that you want to work
closer to home, then perhaps money cannot be the initial motivator
for the decision.

Some people want to work in certain professions and will accept

less money in order to gain entry into a certain field.

Money as the only motivation can be proven only in the extreme

circumstances where individuals will do anything for money, such
as commit crimes, willingly injure people by engaging in immoral
activities, or knowingly breaking the law.

Studies continue to show that salary is not the #1 motivation for

work and that employees are motivated (and stay with their
companies) for the following reasons:

1. Their work and contributions are recognied and valued.

They feel appreciated and part of a community.
2. They receive on-going feedback from their
manager/supervisor, thus they feel "in" on things. This
creates trust in the workplace.
 3. There are on-going opportunties for learning and
professional development

Any proof that money is the only motivation at work, has to be a

flawed proof, because money is not the only motivation at work.
Sure people are motivated by money and other things that Morey
can buy, but we cannot obtain full support and motivation of
employees by offering money alone. Even other worldly
inducements like a fancy job title or a big office is not enough to
get the best out of people.
All these types of motivators are external to the job - something
they receive in exchange for their time and effort. There are other
motivators intrinsic to the job. People do a job well when they
enjoy the process of doing the job.People also derive satisfaction
from the feeling of having done a job well. We can motivate
people best when we combine monetary rewards with appropriate
organization system and culture, including supervisory behavior
that enables people to enjoy their work and are able to see the
worth of the results they produce.

Do you often smile during the day-to-day routine of making money?

Or, would you ever bet that a person earning $60,000 a year is much
happier than someone who’s making a mere $30,000 in comparison?
Indeed, most of us erroneously share the most conventional view that
money is on top of those ultimate motivators making us work, and
more than that, bringing everyone happiness. Though, contrary to
popular belief, researches in various social areas evidence that
money, as a trivial form of reward, is placed on the plane with main
de-motivators for workforce.

Despite the fact that most of the world works for the sake of financial
reward, the need for money only obliges us to undertake certain sort
of work, but doesn’t motivate in actual fact. For example, one of the
theories of human motivation - ‘Money as a motivator theory’ is
grounded on the belief that the need for money primarily motivates all
workers (“Theories of Human,” 2004).

Nonetheless, such a statement is true just to a limited extent, to say

the least. Although the very word “money” (which in final outcome
aims to ensure greater happiness) would be the most common reply
to the question of whatever causes us to work, in its own right it lags
behind the variety of other human values. “A simple pay raise,
naturally not identified as part of the corporate culture, would be
defined as an external motivator. Pay is expected, needed, and
required - it is not necessarily an identifier of either corporate or
personal identity” (Grossman, n.d., A brief pause section, para. 2).
“Psychologists have been finding that rewards can lower performance
levels, especially when the performance involves creativity” (Kohn,
n.d., Introduction section, para. 2).

Furthermore, “if a reward - money, awards, praise, or winning a

contest - comes to be seen as the reason one is engaging in an
activity, that activity will be viewed as less enjoyable in its own right”
(Kohn, n.d., Introduction section, para. 3).

Fortunately, there are factors that motivate people more than money.
Money’s just a tool to increase purchase capability and standards of
living, eliminate the burden of deficiency and avoid poverty.
According to Grossman (2005) “Psychologists call money a
‘deficiency need’. Money motivates people only when they feel
deficient in it - when they feel they do not have enough” (The Payoff
section, para. 1). There are many categories of people that manage
their lives well without money (e.g. volunteers, tribe people, monks
etc) and are often much happier than those who like machines (in
essential conversation widely known as ‘workaholics’) go through set
routines on daily basis. Right, with money you feel OK in the
supermarket, pub, or restaurant. However in the church, for example,
you realize that something has to be changed before it’s too late, of
course, to make your life different and your family’s future bright.

According to Frederick Hertzberg's ‘Dual Factor theory’, the so-called

group of ‘hygiene factors’, including working conditions, pay, and job
security, don’t motivate employees as such (“Theories of Human,”
2004). On the contrary, he puts achievement, career progression and
learning in the ‘motivation factors’ category, which apparently shows
that the reply provided by the average employee is false in light of
genuine motivation. Another proof of this is Frederick Hertzberg’s
division of work issues into two categories: dissatisfiers - including
salaries, interpersonal relationships, work conditions, company policy,
supervision and security; and motivators - including achievement,
recognition, interesting work, challenging work, responsibility and
growth (Bradney, n.d.).

Hence, money is just a part of formal inter-relationship between

employers and employees, which has nothing to do with the
motivation at workplace as such. But wait a minute! Opponents would
reasonably argue at this point, having claimed that earning money
and consequential rise in salary naturally satisfy basic socio-
economic needs and ensure wealth. Worse than that, the lack of
money normally leads to poverty, frustration, higher levels of stress,
or even marital breakdowns, to name a few. Such is the conventional
feedback our mind produces in due respect.

But what if we look at the issue from a different angle and quit using
the very word for say a week; would the world become a better
place? Certainly, since constant subconscious ‘money-dependence’
is what results in moral slavery and makes us forget about sharing
genuine values. To this extent, money may be perceived as an
integral part of Abraham Maslow’s ‘hierarchy of needs’ (Gawel, 1997)
on definite level though not major incentive we are living our short
lives for.

What is more, the quest for money often provokes negative feelings
of jealousy, greed and envy among personnel. Constant comparison
between how much you earn and the salary of your workmates
certainly lead to destruction of jointly acquired human qualities of
friendship, mutual support, sympathy and care. Richard Layard, Co-
Director of the Centre for Economic Performance at the London
School of Economics, replies to the psychologists survey, asking
people questions such as "would you rather earn $50,000 in a world
where others earn half of that, or earn $100,000 in a world where
others earn double of that?” stating that “most people would [rather]
prefer higher relative income to higher absolute income” (Kling, n.d.,
The Evidence section, para. 1).

Another reason why money is playing the de-motivating role in the

world of work is that there is subconscious perception that no matter
how much you earn, you’ll never be completely contented, or at least
your internal satisfaction in this respect will last for a fortnight at best.
In this respect, Grossman (2005) states, “in fact, research
demonstrates that after a pay raise, employees' performance only
improves for two weeks before returning to baseline” (A Brief Pause
section, para. 2).

In the late 60s, Elvis sang ‘money-honey’, although money as an

external motivator, is not worth the attention devoted to it; neither can
it ever substitute true values shared by mankind for centuries. To this
end, it is crucial that we reconsider the part played by the financial
factor in our lives, especially at workplaces where we spend most of
the time. And just simply forgetting about money for a while, I’m
certain, could make substantial contribution towards overcoming
inner pragmatism.
Money as a Motivator: Ideas
Ideas

You need at least three or four ideas to support whatever

point of view you come up with.

Money awards are effective;

1. Money motivates people, and extra money motivates

people to work extra
2. Employees compete to raise productivity or standards
3. It is not always possible to promote people, so money
is a simple way to reward workers
4. Money is acceptable for all workers - some may not
appreciate a particular present, or some gifts may be
insulting

Money is only sometimes effective, or sometimes does

not work:

1. If employees are highly paid, money may not be

sufficient. They may prefer other benefits, such as an
award ceremony or dinner, a club membership, a travel
ticket, a car, a window office, etc
2. Money may set employees against each other, leading
to conflict in the office
3. It may be difficult to determine the standard or basis
for the decision to award the employee
4. Employees may feel forced to compete

Money is not effective:

1. Employees work for a salary - they do not want to

perform like circus animals if paid more
2. Money trivializes work, which for many professional
employees should be its own reward
 3. The amount may not bear relation to what the
employee does
4. If the employer finds it motivating to award money,
perhaps the salaries are too low
5. There are many other ways to motivate employees

What do you want to do now?

“Money is everything”. For practical reason, that common saying may contain
some truth that money can be effective motivator at work, but others disagree
with such saying. For others money is the root of all evil, which therefore cannot
be a right motivation at work. Despite of such disagreement, we cannot deny the
fact that money is still an effective motivator at work.

In the first place, we work because we need money. Money is what we use to
buy basic needs- food, clothing and shelter and wants- things people would like
to have (Matusevich). As a human being, we need food to survive, place to live
and cloths to wear. But these things can only be acquired if we have money. That
is why a person has to work.

Money is part of life, so it cannot escape the cyclic nature of life (Avalos). True as
it seems majority of the time spent of every person deals with earning money.
They wake up every morning to work and rest at night to prepare for the next
day. Money becomes necessity to survive.

Second, people work hard for promotion. The Office of Human Resources
defines promotion as a move to a higher salary grade. An employee must meet
the promotional position’s minimum education and experience requirements, or
their equivalent, as appropriate, as established by the State Classification
System. In short, promotion means - more money (Luffy). By this employees are
motivated to work hard to be promoted.

Money is indeed an effective motivator at work. SAWF reported that a new study
by a team of researchers has confirmed what people have always believed –
money may be a powerful motivator, but it also alienates people from others.
Yes, such idea may have a disadvantage effect, but the fact still remains that
money is an effective motivator at work.