Struggling with motivation at work

Sometimes I just don't want to work. Yet it is assumed that I have to work five days a week. Yes, I get money for that. But my employer also assumes that I am motivated five times a week. That I am productive five times a week. Even if I would do a hobby for that much time every day, it would burn me out. With real work, that burnout arrives even faster. Money can't make work more pleasant; it only changes how much we are willing to put up with.

Maybe my employer knows that already. We are humans after all. To admit that it is impossible for your employee to be motivated constantly is seen as a sin in the workplace. People would lean into that sentiment and would grant themselves more "lazy" days because it is expected that they can't work like a robot. So we have to pretend that we are motivated during that time even if it is unrealistic.

I thought about that because I sometimes have to motivate myself to do the work I am paid to do. I use phrases like "but they pay you for your time, so I should do my best" or "Do you really wanna waste that time at work procrastinating? Do something productive! Don't be a lazy person, you will fall behind". It is okay to have high standards of yourself. But we should not beat ourselves down for something that is only natural. This motivation talk only works to some extent. We can push through that discomfort and that is the only way to get things done. That doesn't change the fact that we don't want to do it. There is often no intrinsic drive to put in the work.

While writing these words I think I am whining about First World problems. Everyone has to do things daily that we don't want to do. That's life. What is different about work is the high frequency of this duty and the huge amount of time it occupies in our daily life. Caring about relatives or household chores can also take up a lot of time but I immediately see the results and have more of an inner drive to do these things. My main motivation for work is money (and I know that people can have more than that motivation, for example socializing, skill development etc.). During work, my activities are mentally disconnected from the money I receive at the end of the month. So that just leaves me with ... my work. If you have to force yourself to work that means that you do something for most of your life that you don't enjoy.

Personally I mostly enjoy my work, but there are also droughts where I have to push myself to do something. I don't want to punish myself for sometimes not feeling it.