In answering the question of what motivates people to work, Andy Mulholland offered three reasons: to do interesting work, to expand one's skill sets, and to be valued.
The first reason is fairly intuitive, as the average person wants to be engaged in, interested in, or otherwise have some kind of buy in with their work. It is said that one who does what they love for work isn't really working at all, and generally speaking, a person interested in their work is more likely to keep doing the same job. Certainly, I find that when I'm doing a task where I'm interested in the subject or activity, I give a stronger effort in terms of quality and being relentless in the completion, thus overall creating a more satisfactory result for myself and whoever I'm working for.
The second reason may not be quite as obvious, but it makes good sense. Most people also want to expand their skill sets, or in the most general sense, they want to feel like they accomplished something with the work they're doing. To tie in somewhat with having interesting work, a person on an assembly line turning the same set of screws will eventually get bored doing the same thing, and they may eventually feel like they aren't doing anything new or broadening their horizons. To speak from experience, I spent nine months working a new single-manned help desk position, much longer than anyone originally planned. Not too long after the six month mark, I got very bored with waiting for things to happen, and I especially didn't feel like I was making any developments in the leadership and managerial skills essential for my continuing success as an officer.
The third point, to be valued, is a culmination of the previous two points. People want to know that what they're doing matters in some way, and they would like to hear some form of thanks every so often. To not do so increases the likelihood for bitterness, and potentially decreased will to go the extra mile as needed. I can relate in that going for long periods of time without any positive feedback doesn't feel particularly good, and I also recognize it is something that my people want as well. No one enjoys thankless work.
As for what else my motivate me, there are about three I can think of. First and foremost, in my work I feel a measure of duty. Although I don't believe its the single best run organization to exist, I still believe in doing my part in the Air Force as a simple matter of believing that everyone should do some part for the greater good of the nation. Although it doesn't necessarily make me feel a whole lot better on early mornings, it does keep me running. Second, I'm motivated by the sense of obligation I feel towards the people I've worked with in the past and work with now. A lot of good people have helped me to get where I am today by teaching me or by recognizing what I can do, and I feel that not doing my job and not doing it well would be a disservice to them. Finally, I'm motivated by the hope of my own dreams. Although what I'm doing now isn't what I had in mind when I graduated from college, and I don't intend to do it for the rest of my life, I do hope that doing well now will eventually get me to a more enjoyable job in the military, and maybe someday in the future when I have greater financial stability I can pursue my more fantastical dreams of writing a novel or getting to work writing for a major publication. Arguably, my motivators are somewhat "soft" and not easily defined in a managerial text, but for now I think that is what has and for now will continue to work for me.
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