Motivation on the Run

What role does “pride in a job well done” play in motivating employees these days? Is it even a consideration with those around you in the workplace today?

Growing up, pride in one’s work was drilled into me by my dad. “If you were going to take a man’s money,” he would say, “you needed to give him a full days work.” And a full days work meant that the boss got more than he was paying for. Always a little extra … a pride in one’s work. That was it, and I learned it well. I’m not sure where my dad got it, but probably from his dad, and he from his. It was likely passed down from father to son, as an inheritance along with other principles like honor in a handshake and a raw honesty that cut across corporate titles. It was OK to tell the boss your honest opinion, and in fact, it was appreciated.

The Redhead, years ago, cut out a cartoon that sums up my life fairly well. Two guys are walking into an office building and one says to the other, “I tried not going to work once, and it just didn’t feel right.” That’s me to a tee and many others in my age range, I would presume.

I don’t know where this philosophy started, but it would not surprise me to learn that it started with the generation that was a part of WWI and on into WWII. The Great Depression (1929-1941) was such a terrible time for work, that if you got a job, you worked hard in gratitude. As we moved out of WWII, the sons of those men, entered the workplace and began to create wealth with hard work.

Of course, Louis L’Amour always had several cowboys that “rode for the brand” in his books, and that too meant they put it on the line, everyday, for the man they worked for. It was honorable, it was natural. It was done without thinking, it’s just what you did.

I’m not usually nostalgic, but this is one trait I would like to see return. I miss it … a lot.