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Avaz FreeSpeech. What motivates us at work? 7 fascinating studies that give insights. “When we think about how people work, the naïve intuition we have is that people are like rats in a maze,” says behavioral economist Dan Ariely in today’s talk, given at TEDxRiodelaPlata. “We really have this incredibly simplistic view of why people work and what the labor market looks like.” Dan Ariely: What makes us feel good about our work? When you look carefully at the way people work, he says, you find out there’s a lot more at play—and a lot more at stake—than money.

In his talk, Ariely provides evidence that we are also driven by meaningful work, by others’ acknowledgement and by the amount of effort we’ve put in: the harder the task is, the prouder we are. During the Industrial Revolution, Ariely points out, Adam Smith’s efficiency-oriented, assembly-line approach made sense. But it doesn’t work as well in today’s knowledge economy.

To hear more on Ariely’s thoughts about what makes people more productive – and happier – at work, watch this fascinating talk. Dan Pink: The puzzle of motivation. Helen Fisher: Why we love, why we cheat. Larry Smith: Why you will fail to have a great career. Derek Sivers: Keep your goals to yourself. Kathryn Schulz: On being wrong.