Identification with Work

Apr 27

Work Meaningfulness • Job Satisfaction • Intrinsic Motivation

Although the role of money in motivating workers is taken-for-granted, particularly when thinking about low-income workers, financial incentives may not be the only determinants of their choices. In fact, I have found that non-monetary motivators are fundamental to both white- and blue-collar occupations in the United States as well as the developing world. Workers in diverse contexts identify deeply with their jobs, enjoy becoming immersed in them, and may make pricing and productivity decisions based on these feelings. For example, I found that nearly destitute artisans in rural India do not seek to charge the highest possible price for their goods, nor do they increase their prices based on the likelihood that a buyer is able to pay more. Rather, artisans charge buyers less if they appear to value the work as much as the artisan does. While this finding may be dismissed as specific to careers in the arts, I also found that the specific tasks performed by tea pickers on a plantation increased their identification with their work and subsequently boosted their productivity.