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Atlantic Experiments

Why We Work

Nov 06, 2015 | 18 videos

Video by The Atlantic

More money will motivate you to do a good job, right? Actually, not quite. The reasons people work hard are more intrinsic than most realize. It turns out that simply feeling like you made progress on a task—progress that wasn't subsequently destroyed by your boss—can give you the boost you need to keep going.

We highlight the work of Dan Ariely, Daniel Pink, and Teresa Amabile to show what you can do when you just can't bring yourself to enter another row into the spreadsheet. Or build another Lego figurine—whatever the case may be.

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