Yes and no. If your autonomy, mastery, purpose is low you are just a wage slave.

There are social pressures around the term "work". Many simply get out of bed for work because it's expected of them. Mastery and purpose seem more fitting during the age of samurais. A materialistic society is almost incapable of distinguishing the difference between money and other types of motivation.

True to a certain degree, but you could also say that money provides greater autonomy. However there are also people who work because they choose to, rather than because they have to, and I doubt they all consider it a hobby. Some people may not need the money, but they need work to give them purpose, which falls in line with the article. It's a good article, though a bit too simplistic, as I feel that motivation is more individualistic and diverse than what's set forth. But I think the purpose was to set forth the authors premise in a straight-forward, scientific manner, so the simplistic nature of the article is likely unavoidable.

I can remember some CEOs who works for a symbolic $1/year (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One-dollar_salary). They certainly do it because they like what they do, not because they have unpaid bills.

I still posit that most people who "go to work" consider monetary or other material reward their work provides very important. Many of them would trade their current place of employment to another comparable place that would pay, say, 30% more. This probably does not matter when you earn $100k+, but most people don't.

What is true from my experience is that paying more does not increase motivation when autonomy, mastery, and purpose are addressed poorly. It just feels like a more fair compensation for the pain of working in such an environment.

The CEOs who get $1/yr have huge equity positions that mean they will receive a serious payout if they and the company succeeds.

I'm pretty sure none of them would work at a job that the total compensation was $1/yr.

A founder of a startup may be _losing_ money at huge pace during the first few years. People working for charity might do it without being paid.

But you're right, they can afford it because their material needs are already addressed.

I agree wholeheartedly with your statement regarding autonomy, mastery and purpose. Paying someone is often not enough to make them feel valued.

I hear this often, but usually from people who have given up trying to find those things in their work. They believe it is simply safer not to wish for things to be better because they may be disappointed.

You can't rely on them being there (as a professional, your job is to be there whether you like it or not), but I've experienced them, and I know others have as well.