Why Do We Work?

I always wanted to catch the rain…

I always wanted to go for a year long trip… around the world…

I always wanted to quit on Monday Mornings….

One by one, stretched and tired faces express themselves... And Vroooom!! comes the Tata Safari Dicor with the punch line “Reclaim Your Life” and a strong and energizing score playing in the background. Apart from a great way to advertise, what strike me most are the persons shown. They, somewhere, resemble to the faces we get to see around us… Faces tired of working for long hours, frustrated by the kind of work they are doing…

Well, I know, the thought above in Bold, does come to our minds on the Monday Mornings. Most of us, at times me included, drag ourselves to workplaces on Mondays… Call it the effect of Monday morning blues, today’s Gyan is about:

For ages, there has been a hierarchy – a pyramid rather. The one sitting on the top commands the thousands below him and they work. Be it construction of Egyptian Pyramids or the wars or today’s corporations, the hierarchy is strictly maintained. The people at the top have to MAKE people at the bottom work, by hook or crook. Motivating people has always been a headache for the management.

It was Fredrick Taylor who first proposed Management as Science. He pioneered the “Scientific Management.” People like Frank Gailbreth contributed to the scientific management by using “Work Motion Study” to measure and optimize the time and efforts spent in any activity. (There is a beautiful book named “Cheaper by the Dozen” penned by Frank Gailbreth’s children. A movie with the same title was also made starring Dean Martin)

Now that, we have called Management as Science, there are bound to be theories about Management…

It was Elton Mayo who first pondered upon the Management – Workers relationship and why people work. Then Abraham Maslow proposed “Maslow’s Hierarchy” which described the pyramid of Human needs that drive him to work.


Till then, Ford had implemented the “Assembly Line” that asked a worker to do the same work repeatedly. The work was, thus, becoming more and more mechanical – monotonous. Ford was even accused of putting thugs to supervise the workers. Workers working in shifts in factories all across the globe had the same tragic story to share.

In late 60’s, Douglas McGregor proposed two theories – Theory X and Theory Y that stated in depth 2 approaches to why people work. I know, somewhere in engineering we have come across these theories.

The Theory X says:
Work is inherently distasteful to most people, and they will attempt to avoid work whenever possible.
Most people are not ambitious, have little desire for responsibility, and prefer to be directed.
Most people have little aptitude for creativity in solving organizational problems.
Motivation occurs only at the physiological and security levels of Maslow's Needs Hierarchy
Most people are self-centered. As a result, they must be closely controlled and often coerced to achieve organizational objectives
Most people resist change.
Most people are gullible and unintelligent.
In a nutshell, this theory assumes that the primary source of most employee motivation is monetary, with security as a strong second.

The theory Y says:
Work can be as natural as play if the conditions are favorable.
People will be self-directed and creative to meet their work and organizational objectives if they are committed to them.
People will be committed to their quality and productivity objectives if rewards are in place that addresses higher needs such as self-fulfillment.
The capacity for creativity spreads throughout organizations.
Most people can handle responsibility because creativity and ingenuity are common in the population.
Under these conditions, people will seek responsibility

Somewhere in 80’s, William Ouchi picked up the good points from both these theories and proposed his own Theory Z.

Just to compare these theories:

Theory X orders the employee - Do this job by X days and Have it done or you are fired. We are watching your every move!

Theory Y says - You're a senior person, go, think about it and tell me when you can get this done. Management permits them to work at their own pace and awaits feedback to accommodate schedules.

Theory Z states - you're a senior person, go, figure it out but our schedules require a solution by X date.

With all these theories implemented in business (that’s what they say!), it’s surprising to see why so many people grumble about the job they devote their most time to! The question still remains why most of us drag ourselves to work which, in fact, should have been fun/interesting to spend time at… Why is it that we still can’t balance our work lives with the personal ones? How can we not be happy with our job for which we had aspired and worked hard all through our young age…? Why do we get to see most sarcastic, nasty jokes on Work!? If all had been well, there wouldn’t have been problems like depression due to work and attrition and things like that.

Well, all I can say is “Theoretically, there is no difference between theory and practice. In practice, there is.”