I love my job.  Not everyone can say that, but I can.  I mean I really love my job.  I love getting up and going to work.  And if I didn’t have an amazing family at home, I might just be tempted to make my office my home.

But again, not everyone loves their job as much as I do.  It’s tough for them to get motivated in the morning and head out the door to work.  Recently I came across a study in the book Linchpin which talked about why some people get motivated for work, and some don’t, which got me thinking about why I love working at the church so much.

Trying to find out what motivates people at work, Richard Florida did an experiment on 20,000 business professionals.  He asked these professionals to choose what motivates them the most.  From their responses he determined the top 10 factors that motivate people at work.  What is amazing is that my job has all 10 of these….

1. Challenge & Responsibility - Everyday presents new challenges.  One of the things I love most about my job is working with people, but it is also one of the more challenging aspects of working at the church as well.  I am challenged to find new ways to help people grow in their relationship with God, with others, and in their personal lives.

2. Flexibility - There are quite a few things that fall under my job description.  But for everything I am asked to do I am given quite a bit of latitude in how I go about it.  I have never been required to teach a certain curriculum in kid’s church or do things a certain way.  Flexibility allows me to do what I am asked to do, and still be authentically me.

3. A Stable Work Environment - What can I say…I work at a rockin’ church, with an awesome church family, and everyday I go to work with a great team.  Things are good, and growing.

4. Money - Money is not why I chose my career path, but it is nice to be at a church that values the staff and takes care of them.  Even more than for myself, I appreicate it for my family.

5. Professional Development - Every year I get to go to at least one conference.  The church is also good about making sure  have access to new ideas through publications, and other leadership materials.  I never feel like I am under-resourced.

6. Peer Recognition - Again, it is great to be a part of a team.  We all have each others backs and cheer each other on.  We realize that when one of us wins, we all win.   There is never competition to the point where we hope our teammates fail, so that we look good.  I want to see my team succeed, and I know they want to see me succeed as well.

7. Stimulating Colleagues and Bosses - Everyday these guys press me to be better than I already am.

8. Exciting Job Content - It doesn’t get better than seeing people coming to Christ.  Then seeing people turn their lives around.  Then seeing them stay sober, their marriage restored, their relationship with their kids renewed, accomplish things they never thought they could before.

9. Organizational Structure - Calvary has a great leadership team, awesome ministry leaders, clear direction an values, and an unalterable desire to worship God and love people.

10. Location and Community - I love where I am at on the North Shore of Boston (although it is a long way from family and home).  But more than the physical  neighbored community, what I love the most is the church community.

Are you a boss or a leader?  If so, does your team environment get people motivated…or make it hard for them to get out of bed?