During my freshman year, the challenge of balancing work, school, and leisure pushed me to reevaluate my priorities, particularly regarding compensation. At the time, I was working at a Porsche dealership, a job I genuinely enjoyed. However, despite working around 32 hours a week, the position paid minimum wage, leaving me stretched financially to cover rent, food, school expenses, and my passion for skiing. Meanwhile, my friend worked fewer hours, only 12-16 per week, but earned significantly more due to tips from his job. Observing this disparity, I realized that time efficiency in earning potential was critical for my situation.
Ultimately, I decided to switch jobs and work at a restaurant where I could earn tips, despite enjoying the dealership work more. This decision was driven by the necessity to maximize my income while minimizing the hours spent working, allowing me more time for school and leisure. The compensation structure at the restaurant, with its combination of base pay and tips, directly motivated this change. Tips served as a variable incentive that offered immediate, tangible rewards for my efforts. Knowing that my income could substantially increase during busy shifts created a sense of agency and control over my financial situation.
This experience highlights how compensation systems can influence behavior. While intrinsic factors, such as enjoyment, often guide job satisfaction, extrinsic motivators like pay become dominant when financial responsibilities are at stake. The efficiency of earning money through tips made the restaurant job a practical choice, even if it wasn’t as fulfilling as working at the dealership. In this case, compensation motivated my behavior by offering a solution that aligned with my need to balance financial stability with time management and academic success.
