“Idleness, indifference and irresponsibility are healthy responses to absurd work… If you want people motivated to do a good job, give them a good job to do.”

— Frederick Herzberg

Frederick Herzberg in: Alfie Kohn (1999), Punished by Rewards: The Trouble with Gold Stars, Incentive Plans, ... p. 205

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Frederick Herzberg 21

American psychologist 1923–2000

Frederick Herzberg (1923–2000) American psychologist

Frederick Herzberg in: Randall B. Dunham (1984), Organizational Behavior: People and Processes in Management. p. 118

“[W]ork is good. Work is virtuous and inculcates virtue. Work gives people a sense of meaning and of being needed. Obviously, not everyone feels such satisfaction in the job they have now, but that dissatisfaction is precisely the motivation people need to find the job that might provide it. That motivation inspires virtue, too.”

Jonah Goldberg (1969) American political writer and pundit

2010s, 2018, A Free People Must Be Virtuous (2018)

“The job satisfiers deal with the factors involved in doing the job, whereas the job dissatisfiers deal with the factors that define the job context. Poor working conditions, bad company policies and administration, and bad supervision will lead to job dissatisfaction. Good company policies, good administration, good supervision, and good working conditions will not lead to positive job attitudes.”

Frederick Herzberg (1923–2000) American psychologist

Source: The motivation to work, 1959, p. 82

“We do have to do more infrastructure spending. That will put many Americans to work. It’s a good job that gets you on the ladder to the middle class. We need to improve the conditions for manufacturing in our country and punish those companies that want to export jobs. We need them to be incentivized to create jobs right here in America.”

Hillary Clinton (1947) American politician, senator, Secretary of State, First Lady

Presidential campaign (April 12, 2015 – 2016), Democratic Presidential Debate in Miami (March 9, 2016)

“In order to do a good job a person must like what he or she is doing… If you do things just because you have to, then you will never enjoy work. Nor will you do a good job if you do it simply out of a sense of duty. Stress is often a by-product of such passive or negative attitudes toward work. Paradoxically as it may sound, love of work can be the best medicine for workaholism.”

Matsushita Konosuke (1894–1989) Japanese businessman

Kōnosuke Matsushita in: The Mirror, (1989), Vol. 25, p. 18

“When you get rid of a turd, you do a good job.”

Edward I of England (1239–1307) King of England

Remark upon appointing John de Warenne, 6th Earl of Surrey as Guardian of Scotland (1296), attributed to Edward in the Scalacronica, quoted in Michael Prestwich, Edward I (Yale University Press, 1997), p. 477

“Any job I do—if it doesn’t work, somebody pays. Possibly hundreds or thousands of somebodies. That’s the price of good engineering; nobody notices you did your job right.”

Charles Stross book Singularity Sky

Source: Singularity Sky (2003), Chapter 5, “Wolf Depository Incident” (p. 127)

“You don’t have to always fight. Be a girl. Show him that he’s a man, and it’s a good thing energetically to do. … [Their insecurity] depends on how many blow jobs you give them.”

Gwyneth Paltrow (1972) American actress, singer, and food writer

In an interview with Howard Stern. http://www.thesuperficial.com/gwyneth-paltrow-brad-pitt-jay-z-beyonce-ben-affleck-blowjobs-howard-stern-interview-01-2015 (January 15, 2015)

“If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives. Do good anyway!”

Matka Tereza (1910–1997) Roman Catholic saint of Albanian origin

This is a variant or paraphrase of The Paradoxical Commandments, by Kent M. Keith, student activist, first composed in 1968 as part of a booklet for student leaders, which had hung on the wall of Mother Teresa's children's home in Calcutta, India, and have sometimes become misattributed to her. The version posted at his site http://www.paradoxicalcommandments.com begins:
Misattributed
Context: People are often unreasonable and self-centered. Forgive them anyway. If you are kind, people may accuse you of ulterior motives. Be kind anyway. If you are honest, people may cheat you. Be honest anyway. If you find happiness, people may be jealous. Be happy anyway. The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway. Give the world the best you have and it may never be enough. Give your best anyway. For you see, in the end, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway.

“Do a good job. You don't have to worry about the money; it will take care of itself. Just do your best work — then try to trump it.”

Walt Disney (1901–1966) American film producer and businessman

Source: How to Be Like Walt : Capturing the Magic Every Day of Your Life (2004), Ch. 6 : Triumph to Tragedy

“Idleness, indifference and irresponsibility are healthy responses to absurd work… If you want people motivated to do a good job, give them a good job to do.”

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