Is economic motivation and need really enough by itself to keep us in our current careers? It would ostensibly seem so, as employers continue to have the upper hand in the labour market. The scales are tipped heavily in favour of employers who have used economic reward as the primary lever for ensuring employee retention.
The international economic situation remains bleak in many developed economies and employment opportunities are limited for many workers. Wages look like remaining static and the labour situation, for many, is uncertain. The current macroeconomic
environment means that many individuals are even more reliant on their employer.
The need to retain one’s current employment and the lack of alternate opportunities has never been greater. The need for a regular wage, an extrinsic need, becomes crucial. Individuals rely on this in order to maintain their identity and a lifestyle to which they feel entitled.
For example, this type of need can be the need to re-pay student debt, the need to relieve family pressure or the need to secure employment quickly, to reinforce a successful image. Decisions are typically made based on a ‘need’ rather than a ‘want’.
This money-orientated approach, though, is at odds with the basic human needs of many. Research has proven time and again that human needs are not based solely on economic motivation. Instead research shows that intrinsic needs are based around:
- the need to control as much of our life, including our working environment, as possible
- the need for us to work in our areas of strength and, as-a-result, to be better tomorrow at what we are doing than we are today
- the idea that the work that we are undertaking is bigger than just us and, as-a- result, has a sustaining element to it.
So don’t use money alone as a justification for staying within your present career; you weren’t designed to be motivated only by it and you wouldn’t be the first, or only, worker to eventually fulfil your intrinsic needs by successfully effecting a career change.
Author
Simon North -Founder of Position Ignition, a modern day careers advisory firm for professionals offering help around careers, transition and personal & professional development
W: www.positionignition.com
Blog: www.positionignition.com/blog
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