A recent post on Facebook by one of my contacts caught my attention. He had shared his contribution to Wikipedia and proudly mentioned how many people he had served since he started. He also made it a point to mention that all of his contributions were free of cost—and that Google didn’t charge him for it either.
That didn’t surprise me. I had recently read the book Drive, which talks about the same thing—how people love to do certain tasks even if there’s no money involved. Interestingly, the same people may lose interest if they are paid for doing the exact same task.
You might wonder why that happens. In the beginning of your career, your focus is naturally on income. But once you step into the job, you begin to come across new words like job satisfaction, fulfilment, and meaningful work.
So, what really makes people tick? What kind of work environment brings satisfaction, and which ones create dissatisfaction?
To understand that, let us take a look at the three eras of motivation.
In the earliest phase of human civilization, motivation was simple and physical—hunger, thirst, and sex. If these needs were met, a person felt satisfied.
The second stage of motivation began when people started to seek more than just survival. They wanted to earn more, live better, and gain material wealth. In response, organisations began to use incentives—offering bonuses for extra work and punishment for underperformance. This method is widely known as the carrot and stick approach: the carrot represents rewards, and the stick stands for consequences or penalties.
This approach works well for jobs that are repetitive, routine, and rule-based.
But today, we live in the era of knowledge work, where our tasks are no longer mechanical. They demand creativity, problem-solving, and independent thinking. In such a scenario, the carrot and stick method falls short.
Knowledge workers need space, flexibility, and time. Creativity doesn’t work well under pressure or rigid supervision. Unfortunately, many traditional organisations still don’t recognise this shift in psychology—what author Daniel Pink calls Motivation 3.0.
So what motivates people today?
- Autonomy in how they work
- Opportunities for self-growth
- A clear sense of purpose
Very few organisations understand this deeper need and treat their employees accordingly.
Interestingly, some of the biggest breakthroughs in companies have come from giving their employees freedom—a day to work on anything they liked. That’s how innovations like Post-it Notes, Gmail, and Google News came into existence. These weren’t born out of formal job roles, but from the space and time given for creativity.
Why do people happily contribute to Wikipedia for free? Because they feel good doing it. They have freedom, they see progress, and most importantly, they feel a strong sense of purpose. On the other hand, Microsoft tried launching a similar project—with payment—but it failed. Why? Because when people are bound by conditions, the joy disappears.
You are truly lucky if you find an organization that understands and supports this kind of motivation.
