Ask HN: What does your company do to keep you motivated other than pay?
Personally a lot of my motivation comes from my company's culture and personal alignment with the company's vision and mission.
We work from home 4 days a week, we are more than free to go run errands or something if we need to, we have the freedom to spend some time on learning or on a "side project" which could help the company, some people have even gone over on vacation time with no issues, some people start at 7AM and cut out early, others start at 10 or 11 and leave later.
As long as your shit gets done and you are available for most meetings or calls you have a lot of freedom, and in turn I'm personally more willing to put in the extra time if a project is falling behind, or a product breaks at 7PM and the guy on call could use help. And for a while it was a big reason for me staying.
Yeah, another job offered me more money, but when I needed to go take the car into the shop would I need to take a day off? Will I be able to leave early on Thursdays? Will I be punished for spending 3 hours learning a new tool when I got stuck on my main project and needed to just switch gears for a bit?
It might be useful to put the company name out there, I'd be interested in learning more.
But that only goes so far. The money isn't really where I want to be, the work isn't too interesting anymore, and I don't see much room for advancement, so I'm not sure how much longer I'll stay here.
Company vision and mission statements mean very little to me, since they're almost always meaningless crap to put on a letterhead and not much more.
Oh, also my commute is just over 15 minutes. That's nice too. I can stop by the house for lunch sometimes and see my puppy. So that helps.
I am actually learning new things and working on new projects right now, that might keep me a bit longer, but not too long. I'm not in a hurry to leave, but I'm starting to reboot and refresh my knowledge in the other fields again.
I'm hoping to get my first one or two board game designs signed this year. I have a meeting with a publisher scheduled in June (hopefully more soon) and I'm trying to get everything polished and playtested for that.
I don't actually try to talk about it that much, just in case someone gets it in there head that board games are somehow a conflict of interest with web development (large corporate environment).
But that's alright, there's actually a decent game designer scene in the region with some regular meetups, and a few friends of mine will happily help me tear apart my designs (a couple are designers themselves).
We're a small software SaaS & consulting shop. 15ish employees. The atmosphere is relaxed, and there aren't cheesy corporate posters anywhere.
On the flip side, we also don't have bean bags or an open office.
We work standard 40-45 hours/week. We stay motivated and fresh by working remotely every now and then or by taking a long weekend whenever needed.
I've been offered better paying jobs at fairly large enterprise companies... but the flexibility offered here means to much to me.
Motivation doesn't really take gimmicks. You just need to have a work environment that doesn't encourage burnout or neglecting your life outside of work.
edit
by owner, I don't mean of the company; rather the product. I find developers spend most of their time in the app and know when something works or doesn't. They can have a "hunch" when a feature is off, or the experience is wrong. being empowered to make decisions and tweaks without someone else getting upset is invaluable
I'm an independent contributor, a dev. I don't own my employer's business beyond some token stocks. They give me value in the form of money because I give them more value through my work.
It's ultimately prostitution, and that's OK. They pay me well and respect my time/skills, I give them 100% for 8h day. But I won't go "above and beyond" for someone else's business...
Where as IT/Tech departments miss out on a lot of those.
This is just an observation as well, so I could be completely incorrect in my thinking.
I've also worked at small places. It's the same thing, I'm there for the pay, nothing else.
I'm at a small company (100+ employees) and the Powers That Be talk a good talk but don't walk the walk.
free Thanksgiving lunch (where we have to listen to executives talk)
free Christmas lunch (where we have to listen to executives talk)
free Years of Service Lunch (where we have to listen to executives talk)
free Company Picnic (where we have to listen to executives talk)
free ice cream at I.T. All Hands Meetings (where we have to listen to the VP of I.T. talk)
free "Skip Over Your Boss" lunches with VP of I.T. where he gives the same answer to any question asked
free "Start, Stop, Continue" lunches with VP of I.T. where no suggestions are implemented
free "Value Stream Mapping" lunches where we plan big processes that will never be implemented
free "Operational Excellence" lunches where we plan little processes that will never be implemented
free breakfast at every layoff (where the VP of I.T. tries to explain why he laid off the best programmers)
free breakfast where Big 5 consultants explain what they will try to implement that can't possibly work
free week at Caribbean resort (but for executives only)
The thing I really hate is all the meaningless catchphrases. My SO did an interview for a job paying less than market rate because of the "perks" mentioned in the ad, which they could list none of at the interview.
They also espoused "work-life balance", while simultaneously expecting her to do unpaid overtime at their whim.
She did not apply, and the job is still advertised, now two years later.
My second priority is a "seat at the table". I won't work at a large company or one where I'm not visible to the people who decide my pay.
My third priority is whether what I'm learning is relevant in the market. My peace of mind doesn't come from my job - it does come from knowing that I have an in demand skill set that has historically allowed me to get a job in two weeks to a month.
Fourth, is of course freedom and flexible and a results oriented culture that is more concerned about getting things done than whether you work from 8-5. Meaning if I need to work from home occasionally come in late sometimes, leave early, etc it doesn't matter as long as I'm meeting deadlines.
It all creates a sense that my work isn't a temporary thing to solve some business problem of ours - I'm creating more-permanent and broader value, not just to resin, but also to me, and our customers, and the open-source community as a whole.
You're supposed to use the free classes to work on your masters but I use it to take the "fun" classes you can't during a normal college run. And the boss is okay with it :D!
Bayond that, I enjoy quite a lot of autonomy in deciding how I complete my work, and often even what work I perform. Starting a new project that I want to do is obviously more motivating than one I don't care about.
Code reviews help me stay motivated to write code that I'll be proud of rather than cheap hacks. Open Source work is kind of an extension of this.
I know you asked for "other than pay" but unexpected bonuses and raises are also nice motivation boosters in my experience.
[1]: http://www.ibm.com/investor/att/pdf/BCG_C_2016.pdf (PDF)
I also agree with the above board approach! You are spot on there. Transparency through the good, the bad, and the ugly are really important to us. I think that with transparency comes strong trust and more respect in the work place.
We like to see and feel the motivation of each other "Owning it" or taking lead and pushing on a project emotionally and with Grit. If someone becomes a driving force for a project they think is important it creates a great sense of motivation for them and others around them. It is a core value that really pushes us to be better people and better developers.
A lot of people take it as an opportunity to solve annoying problems that we don't have time to solve "on sprint".
Definitely helped my career, because I can focus on building skills that I personally want to develop, in addition to building something ambitious without worrying about failure.
The side benefits and the extra motivations are important, particularly for long term satisfaction and sustainability, but those things alone won't cut it if you're paying 70% of the market rate in the area.
There is also a lot of respect for each other, and genuine listening to what people recommend & action based on feedback.
Treating me like an adult with a life outside of work, basically.
The important thing is that the whole team is WFH the same day so we can depend on other days for meetings and whatnot, and nobody feels left out when they are WFH.
The company culture isn't stuffy - I can essentially come and go as long as I get my stuff done that I need to. I wish it was less bureaucratic and "office like", but I think we're growing away from that.
Tech wise - the .NET stack has grown on me in the time I've been here, but I still worry that I'll only be exposed to languages I'm forced to use at work as opposed to languages and technologies I want to use/learn.
Everyone I work with is great as well, but the one thing I miss about college/small college town is the community/connected feeling. I don't get that feeling at all currently, so I'm trying to pinpoint why I'm not feeling that anymore.
Feeling connected and a sense of supporting community is really important to be happy with the work you are doing. I found that sense of community by making a friend at work, someone that I would hang with outside of work and could relate and support me in decisions. This friend also pushes me and we have some fun competitions sometimes to better our skills that we use for work or to learn new ones. I have since looked to make friends in more co-workers to build my community and network of people that give me this feeling and that I hopefully provide for them too!
I know this part sounds cliche and old but if there is no luck with co-workers or even friends then there is always the community you are talking to here! HN is a great way to improve and become active in community. HN is not the only one too, meetups around your area could be more common than you think. Take the time to get out and meet other people in your field and take it upon yourself to expand your network and community.
Overall I would say keep up drive for new experiences and career building. You might even try to suggest ways to improve and build community within your company! Take it upon yourself to see if you can push the company to implement your ideas! :)
One thing I was able to do recently that gave me a good perspective is attend a conference (CodeMash). I was able to talk to many people and see a few talks which was a great experience.
I'd say out of the building I'm in I'm one of the youngest working here (that I know of).
The ability to work how I want to. Though we aren't ROWE yet, we're pretty much there without trying to. Every meeting has a video link for remote participants, and while we do do SCRUMs, going for a week saying "I'm just trying something out to fix bug XYZ but haven't really gotten anywhere" is not looked down upon. I live with people who have to report to their manager when they have to take half a day off to visit the dentist. I'm glad I don't have to do any of that.
Being made part of the vision. Massive dogfooding happens here. Everyone from the CEO to the newb contribute to vision. It's easy to say vision of a company is bullshit, but when you can see what you want to achieve, and know how you want to do it, it really makes going in to work more fun!
+ the usual casual leave policy, amazing coworkers (pros of a smaller team), great pay
The ups and downs are there, but I'm in a kickass place that I'm not looking forward ti leaving anytime soon!
(My current hack is to learn something that has no use in the day job after work.)
I think encourage learning and reward learning are a very different things that need to coexists with each other. The company can encourage learning (e.g. buying books), but without giving an opportunity to try out what you learn, the learning part can be demotivating because it has no effect. It's even worse when company has neither.
For example, when you believe what you learn can solve the problem the company is having but you're not allowed to do it. Even when the reason is understandable (e.g. the change does not worth the cost, or need to prioritize something else), it can still be very demotivating.
I had the opportunity to join Facebook a couple of years ago for much better pay and moving to the Bay Area (a long time dream) but decided not to do it for mainly the reason above, as well as alignment with the company mission (which is creating a product that solves problems, not creating free services and running ads like Google/FB).
Edit: "nothing" as stated above is a hyperbole. Actually there are many things that the company does or allows that make it a great place to work. What I like most is to help improving it further.
As for the work, I'm a systems analyst, process engineer, senior dev, dba and data analyst, but yet I'm paid like a junior dev.
What keeps me motivated. My family and my hopes for a bright future.
Also for anyone else, I am just going to leave this here: https://m.signalvnoise.com/employee-benefits-at-basecamp-d2d...
One can dream!
There is not a lot of money to throw around so we can't go crazy, but that is what makes it such a challenge
Some things fail, some things work but don't amount to much but we have enough hits to keep the business ticking over.
Love it!
This would be a win-win, since I can keep my knowledge current and my employer gets someone with skills that our clients want. But instead, all the current management cares about is utilisation figures and overheads.
* Perks and incentives These are things like coffee, having an espresso machine at work, getting access to free snacks. Gym access is another one I have commonly seen. I have also seen things like programs that give you access to free classes or certification programs (when the hell am I supposed to have time to do that?) These little things can make my day better and lighten my mood when things are going well at a company.
* Caring about you as a person (?) I would call this roaming the halls - or when management walks around asking people how they are, what did they do over the weekend, are they okay. This can be a great way to gauge what's going on in a small to medium business. That is until it's the same question day in and day out, or you're explaining your hobby to the same person for the fifth time and they obviously aren't listening, then it feels forced and the illusion fades. That said, I'd rather have the person that makes the effort as a manager to get to know me at a least a bit, than to have a suit treat me like a number on a piece of paper. This is another one where when things are going well at a company, I think that management showing they care is important, and it does make me feel more motivated to do my job.
* Gatherings I call these "Mandatory fun", I have never been one to want to go hang out at a bar with coworkers after work. It feels forced and awkward to me. When you're spending the majority of your week pulling your hair out trying to get a product working, or bugs fixed, or put out fires, or come back from a layoff - it's hard for me to find these to be fun. That said, I know a lot of other people do find them fun, so I understand why they happen. But using a pizza party to try to cheer up employees instead of communicating what is going on at the company is a half measure that just erodes trust over time.
Where this all falls apart for me is when a company starts to have issues. I have personally found that when you don't have transparency in a company, you lose trust. Is my boss being nice to me because they really don't want me to quit? Or because they're a nice person? Staying motivated when you're facing impending failure is what made me want to respond to this. When everything is going well, it's easy to stay motivated, when things get rough, everything changes.
The perks start to vanish as budgets get cut, the lazy conversations about how much fun you had over the weekend are replaced with monosyllabic responses - you don't have time because you have to ship that feature yesterday. You start to realize that you're dreading going to work. You start to realize you don't know what you're doing anymore. You start you realize this isn't what you thought it would be.
How do you stay motivated during that?
The only thing I have found is sheer willpower, fighting through it and just telling yourself to keep going. Carefully managing what you can and can't do so you don't burn out. I have yet to have a company offer anything that really motivated me during those times other than clear and honest explanations of where we are, what we need to do, why we need to do that, and how that will make my life better.
Transparency and honesty has been the only real motivator for me when things are tough - but the coffee is nice too.
Sounds like Transparency is a huge part that motivates you and keeps you clear headed about what you are working towards. It is really important for a company to respect that through the good, the bad, and the ugly.
It also sounds like good friendship and being real with each other goes hand in hand with transparency. Which I would totally agree. I think that employers just being nice to keep you working for them is "minionizing" and not how people should ever treat each other.