We all work for this reason and want to get paid for our diligence. People would prefer to be at the beach all day or in the coffee shops if it wasn't for the money.
But should this be the primary motivation in your professional life? Let's see:
1. Money shifts your focus from the primary goal
Every job aims to manage a specific task or a set of assignments in a predefined period. To do this, your concentration must be on the job itself. If you distract yourself by playing games or watching through the window - your work will be slower.
The same is true when you focus on financial gain. Your attention goes away from the exact assignment and goes to the desired paycheck you receive each month. We achieve the most in areas we give the most priority to.
If you prioritize the tasks you must complete, you will do it in less time and effortlessly. If you prioritize the financial gain from the job, you will become an expert in dreaming and living for the paycheck.
Living in the future will distract you in the present and may impact your behavior and results. In the worst case, you can get fired if you don't do the job as expected.
2. Money-focusing will reduce the quality of your work
The impact on performance is significant, and a good explanation exists. Your accuracy can be compromised if you decide you don't get paid enough or your salary is inadequate for your efforts.
If your boss believes your payment reflects the type of job properly, but you don't, you might end up slacking and compromising your dedication.
A job well done comes from inspiration and value alignment between you and your company. Money is the resource to keep you running, but putting it as the aim will compromise the work process.
3. Less pleasure in working
Work is fun and adorable. You can only feel it if you have no obligations and firm rules. When you do it because you want it, and not because you have to.
Financial gain creates a barrier between you and a high job satisfaction level. It makes work seem like a burden. Something you need to do. Otherwise, you won't get paid.
You want to be working because of the little things that make you happy daily. Do you remember that funny joke a teammate told you?
You would never hear it if you weren't working that day. What about the excellent results you had on the latest job quiz?
You feel so happy and proud! No money can give you this feeling. Can you buy the pleasure of personal achievement with cash?
4. Money can make you pedantic
If you are working only for financial gain, this can lead to you roughly calculating the amount of effort you would put into a task.
And since a precise equation (if possible) will take much time and effort, you will round the number in your favor.
Why? It's because of your primary motivation - your paycheck. You will not be willing to do extra work for free, and it will feel almost like stealing if a colleague asks you for help or your boss keeps you in the office for 15 minutes more.
It is no longer about the work that needs to be done but about the reward you get for doing it. Why do more if it will not increase the compensation?
To avoid this harmful situation, focus on the unique expertise you can bring to the team. Being helpful and showing understanding of the company's goals will give you the reward of appreciation from others.
They will be grateful to you and soon enough you will love going to work. It's about the mindset - which reward is bigger? Having a little bit more money and people disliking you or having a decent wage with smiling faces around you?
5. You can feel underestimated
Imagine the following situation:
You take a salary that you believe is okay. Every year the company decides whether to raise the wages of the employees or not.
This year they raised the wages of some of your colleagues, but not yours. You think:
Auch. That must be a terrible mistake.
You talk with your boss about it, and he patiently explains that your results don't contribute to a higher paycheck.
You feel let down and disappointed because you believe you are worth more than people estimated. You forget about being okay with your salary and ask yourself, "Why do others deserve more than you?"
If you look at the big picture, however, you put less effort during your workdays because you focus on yourself as a human rather than the company as a team.
A job is the collection of tasks we must achieve through collaboration in a structured organization. You are part of the team, and your results are compared to your teammates' success rates. To thrive, you must check where you stand in the company and start improving from there.
6. It's not about the financial gain but about the achievement
If we look at the money-job relation differently: What would you need the money for?
To buy fancy clothes, to have a luxury lifestyle, to invest? When you think about it, in many cases, working is about more than just the financial gain, the resource, and how you will use it.
The value you give to the world and society through your work should be higher than any material items you can buy. Feeling great about spending is a short-term reward, and you must buy again to keep feeling this way.
Spending time serving a purpose more significant than you is long-term satisfaction and can stay for generations after you. Your personal struggles and achievements are only for you, and nobody else loses or benefits from them.
7. You will never earn enough
The bigger your salary, the more you will want. Don't believe me? It's called human nature. We are wired like this, some of us more, others less, but greediness is part of being human.
You start earning little in your first job. Then once you get the confidence, you decide to move on to a better position. After some time, you become good at that, too.
You keep moving and climbing. If you don't set a limit and follow it, this game goes infinite. You can develop an obsession, overachievement, and other unhealthy behaviors.
The way to beat this is to set your limits upfront. Decide on a plan and stick to it. Once you reach a goal, it's time to have a break.
8. Contribute to unhappiness
If your job is not the priority in your professional life, you may be wasting your time and energy.
We spend 40 hours per week in a work environment, and if these hours are miserable, it can influence your mood and health. I've experienced this in a job I disliked, and the company's values contradicted mine.
That almost led me to depression and despair. I know how hard it is to leave a job if you rely on the payment it provides. However, when your job doesn't serve any other purpose, you should consider quitting.
Conclusion
People like to have money, and looking for work is natural because of the salary. The fun you find in your daily experiences will motivate you to keep the job.
If you find that your work gives you negative feelings, you should prioritize health before financial gain. You will earn the most when you are happy and healthy.
Optimize your work space, plan your tasks, and simplify them daily, and you will discover work is enjoyable, too. It's one of the things that can make us feel alive.
