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“These experts who say that pay is not a motivator don’t know what they’re talking about. If you don’t pay people enough, they will not be motivated to work hard. In fact they may be motivated to leave.”
There are many leaders in the world who believe pay and benefits are all that’s needed to motivate workers to work harder and produce more. Let’s look at that argument.
Humans have what Abraham Maslow called a survival need. To meet that need, they must receive sufficient compensation to provide food and shelter for them and their families. If they aren’t paid enough to meet this need, then the statement above will probably be correct. It will be difficult for them to realize any other motivation than to meet their survival needs. So, if you’re paying your employees a pittance, don’t expect them to move much beyond their motivation to survive.