How to Destroy Motivation in IT

[InfusiveInc]

Not long ago I watched an interesting TEDTalk that explained a behavioral science experiment. The conclusion was that when people see their work has no value, they lose motivation to put their best foot forward.

The presenter then described how a group of engineers expressed feeling this way after a major project was cancelled by their CEO with no rationale.

This inspired me to write an article surrounding motivation for technical professionals, but it would be interesting to see how this idea has materialized in your own lives?

For any engineers, DBAs, developers, admins, architects or otherwise, does a lack of impact hurt your motivation even if the money is right?

[Tezro]

I completely agree with this article. When you notice that your work has no real meaning to the company, it kills your motivation nearly instantly. I just stay because of the money and put my real efforts into some nice open source projects which actually matter.

[InfusiveInc]

Thanks for the reply Tezro. I think it's really unfortunate that leadership doesn't recognize how money might drive retention but that impact drives engagement.

I read a quote somewhere that read like 'passion leads to energy, energy leads to productivity and productivity leads to results.'

What kind of situation were you in/what kind of fruitless work did you find yourself doing?