My husband is nearly finished with his doctorate and currently wading through the muddy waters of searching for an academic job or post-doc and so, understandably, I found this video about what motivates humans quite interesting. It isn’t earth shattering news or anything. In fact, I’d bet that most of you will nod along and by the end of the video will want to join me in saying, “Well, duh! I didn’t exactly need ‘science’ to tell me that!” But it did get me thinking; In the publish or perish world of academics, where young professors often make enormous sacrifices to secure tenure in order to provide for their families, what would it look like for higher education institutions to motivate academics (like my husband) with these ideas? And it made me wonder what university would look like if we could motivate students with these ideas. Food for thought this Monday.
What do you think? What is the strongest motivator in your work and/or personal life? What about your spouse?
-Deanna
the graduate wife 