UNITED STATES—Work, I feel a lot of millennials get the shaft in the work arena. Some like to label us as lazy and lacking drive and motivation. Look, do not place me into that category because I am none of that. However, it got me thinking, is there really a way to motivate someone to wok, who just fails to realize that work is not an option it is something you have to do in order to live, to afford the things that you want to have the things that you need. I am seriously trying to understand the psychology behind people who are not excited to work or not driven to work as much as so many others that I know.
Look, I do not expect people to be superman and to work crazy hours like myself and to dedicate themselves solely to work when scheduled to work. Not everyone thinks or behaves alike, but I do feel some are motivated to work more than others and it drives me bonkers attempting to find a reason. I immediately go back to one’s upbringing: did they have parents who exhibited a strong work ethic? For me, I had that growing up in the household, even though my parents were divorced, I saw the importance of having a strong work ethic at a very early age.
That carried onto me as I obtained my first job as a teenager, and more employment opportunities in college, and eventually transitioning into my career post college. One’s career does not define success in my personal opinion, but it does indeed speak wonders about one’s character compared to how hard they work in their respective field of interest. I always say money motivates people.
I am a firm believer that when a person starts to earn their own cash which they can spend at their discretion, it puts them on this trajectory to keep that motivation moving at rapid speeds. At the same time money not only teaches you responsibility, but the importance of respecting money at the same time. However, how do you motivate someone to work who likes money, but they don’t like the notion of actually having to work for the money? I’ve come to the realization that you can’t; either they’re going to work or they’re not going to work, you really cannot force it to transpire.
For some people, it’s not about having an abundance of money; it’s about having the bare minimum or just enough to have those things that they want. This might go into tune with the notion that some people have that nonchalant attitude in life. They don’t care to have things in excess; they just want to have. What about the work itself? I do believe that is indeed a very important question because some of us work harder or give MORE when we are doing something that we are passionate about. There are plenty of people who have jobs that they absolutely hate; and no matter what they do, they only stay at the job out of firm motivation to earn a check.
I know people who have jobs where they aren’t even required to work to the degree that they should. How in the world can someone get away with that? Your guess is as good as mine, because if I were that employer that employee would be fired on the spot without any questions being asked. The realization has come to me that you cannot motivate someone to work; the motivation comes directly from that individual. If they’re not driven to work, I don’t think you can motivate them no matter WHAT you attempt to do.
