Free Essay Sample: Money as a Motivator

"Money is the reason we keep going," That is what a former co-worker once told me. He was passionate and driven at work, something which is admired and replicated by most employees. Now, he runs his own company which is very successful, but one cannot help but think about those specific words and the weight it holds in our world. According to (Pinder, 2014) the workplace environment is very competitive and profit-oriented. The employer wants to make the most out of their employees. The employees too want to make the most money out of the time they spend at work.

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At work, there are instances of rivalries, collaborations, hatred, and other complex relationships. Salaries, allowances, and benefits such as vacations and promotions form of the basis of these relationships. Promotions, which come with a salary increment, are an excellent motivator for employees to work hard. Employers' motivation comes from profits which can be passed down through bonuses. Generally, a well-paid workforce is a very motivated workforce. Money affects people's behavior a lot in the workplace and even their relationships outside the workplace (Pinder, 2014).

According to Keynes (2018), the majorly capitalist economy we live in today encourages the life of the filthy rich and pursuing more money than we need. Keynes observes that money is at the center of everything we do. We go to school to acquire knowledge and skills which will get us employment opportunities to earn money. Governments and economies are motivated to pursue development because progress money determines progress. The government needs productive people in the society to generate revenue. Hence, the government offers scholarship deals and free education programs so that people can get employment and pay taxes.

The government is the first institution in a country which realized long ago that money is a big motivator. An economy which has a high Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is considered successful. Unlike cash, it is difficult to establish a measure of happiness. Also, studies have shown a higher employment rate in an economy translates to higher levels of satisfaction in an economy, but as Mogilner et al., (2018) describes, comfort does not always reflect happiness. People believe in the power of money to generate happiness and that is enough motivation to make the pursuit of money a priority.

On the personal level, money determines people's lifestyle. O'Reilly and Benson (2016) note that most people crave for an expensive lifestyle. Generally, people have different beliefs but when it comes to money everybody agrees on the importance of currency. Hence, people regard money as an avenue to live a better quality of life and to rise through the social ranks. A person's level of wealth determines how people perceive them.

Gibbs Jr. (2018) explores the commonly believed "facts" concerning money. He uses some metaphors among which is "Money Talks" to mean that money breeds influence and power in society not because of anything else but because people believe it to be true. When it comes to money, the consensus is that there is no harm with having more.

References

Keynes, J. M. (2018). The general theory of employment, interest, and money. Springer.

Mogilner, C., Whillans, A., & Norton, M. I. (2018). Time, money, and subjective well-being. Handbook of Well-Being. Noba Scholar Handbook series: Subjective well-being. Salt Lake City, UT: DEF publishers. DOI: nobascholar. com.

O'Reilly, K., & Benson, M. (2016). Lifestyle migration: Escaping to the good life?. In Lifestyle Migration (pp. 11-24). Routledge.

Pinder, C. C. (2014). Work motivation in organizational behavior. Psychology Press.