I actually love my job and make decent money too...

Being able to keep and feed their pet dogs.

My job success insured that I would be able to care for my parents.

I have other motivation to work beyond money. Socialization is one that comes to mind for me. Some people work to achieve some greater good in their work.

I like making my boss rich. It's nice to be juvenated to know that my efforts allow him and his family go to Italy or to their summer home. Yes it's a real thrill to know each time I clock in....his mortgage gets lesser and lesser while I try to keep my meager abode heated in winter time. I chose these shackles of modern day convenience. ..and in return ...I live to smile another day.

My motivation is blind work ethic, that my parents (questionably) instilled me with. Even though I'm the person at my job who probably hates it the most, I stay the latest. Where the logic is in that fails me day after day, yet day after I continue to do it...

I worked in my chosen profession out of dedication to wild land conservation.

I want to feel some sense of meaning and productivity in my life, but I wouldn't be in this office for eight hours a day if it didn't pay reasonably well.

Family and Honor/Gratitude

Family/honor/work ethic.......lol. I work for the benefits and compensation, period. I would not do what I do for free, if that's what this post is getting at. At this point in my life, my main goal is to retire as early as possible, comfortably, so that I actually do NOT have to ever work again.

Unless it was for pure survival or slavery, I wouldn't do jobs where I was not learning something, getting ahead or enjoying myself. I learned the "no assembly lines" lesson when I was 18 - a week on such a job felt like a year. I'm 64 now and have never since worked for anyone but myself. I was motivated by both family (security) and creating things and giving the best service, prices, etc - as well as interactions with my employees and customers and vendors. It was a whole society in itself. It beat not working. At least for a couple decades.

I need motivation from both sufficient compensation and sense of accomplishment in meeting multiple challenges. I have managed to do that for 17, 16, and now 9 years in my 3 careers. When either the job satisfaction or compensation no longer met my needs, I moved on, but only 3 in 42 years is not bad and this is my last.

The financial crisis in 2008/2009 prompted me to go back to school and start to work in investment management. I want to be a decent, honest person in that indistry. There's a lot of good to be done and change to be had, and it's most effectively done by working in the industry, not lobbying or protesting it from the outside.

Work life balance, Opportunities to acquire new skills, Coworkers.

Money, money, and nothing but money. There was no other factor when I was still working for a living.