Drives

Imagine working in a very competitive environment. You and your colleagues are rewarded based on customer reviews. The atmosphere is upbeat in the department because your team scores well. Customers are highly satisfied and the team is regularly rewarded with perks. Does this appeal to you? Then you may score high on such drives as: achievement, prestige and success.

The right work environment

A client whom I had the pleasure of accompanying in an outplacement process last year functioned in such a team but, despite the success, he was not happy. In fact, something gnawed at him and he slowly became more and more gloomy. During a career assessment we discovered where this could be due to. My client had completely different motives. An almost visible burden fell off him when he was able to name what would be motivating for him. Having fun and being cheerful, helping others, but also variety and task challenges suited him much better and unfortunately these drives were hardly ever present in his work environment.

Changing your motives

When you are looking for other work, as well as when you find that you are no longer as motivated in your current job, it can be good to examine your motivations. We sometimes make choices based on beliefs that are not our own. Perhaps you have been taught to think that good pay or prestige are important but you yourself are actually quite different. Your motivations can change over the course of your life. This is another reason why it can't hurt to regularly check whether your job or work environment still suits you.

Guidance

Knowing your motivations makes making choices easier. If you know what motivates you and what matters less to you, you can then look at which jobs, tasks and companies fit in with that. Perhaps your current job can be adjusted by discussing your job content. Or maybe a job change within your current work environment is possible. But of course, it may also be that it is time to change employers in order to enjoy going to work again. The client about whom I wrote decided to do the latter.

Never unlearned

I myself have frequently left employers or jobs in the past because I lost my motivation. Understanding my main drive made it clear to me what this was because of: I was no longer learning. 'A day without learning is a day not lived' could be my motto. When I got to know my main drive, I could make the well-considered choice to work as a consultant at Puls (where you don't have to stop learning) and to start studying again. Is development also your strongest motivation? Or do you seek physical challenge, adventure or influence? Check it out and see if you're still in the right place.

Are you also searching for your motivations? Then engage one of the career and reintegration consultants at Puls. Feel free to contact us for more information