I heard something very interesting today. I heard that for most people, the three main drivers of satisfaction at work are purpose, mastery, and autonomy. The ratios may change for the individuals, but those three things combined drive satisfaction far more than increases in money beyond “enough” or even pure status.
I find this compelling, though I’d love to see more data. I know that personally, being trusted with autonomy is a huge driver of my own satisfaction – I like a job about a thousand times more with it than without it, even if I was paid more, etc.
Definitely something to investigate further, because the implications of this for improving one’s own work satisfaction are staggering! If you have any data or anecdotes, please share!
The Opportunity Machine 