Do we need incentives to do our jobs?

At work we've got certain incentives that we receive in favor of doing a good job. This is presented to you in front of everyone as motivation to work harder and push yourself farther. I never thought much about it before, nor did the incentive ever really add to my level of motivation. But today, as discussion of work incentives seemed to float about, I had a philosophical awakening. According to Aristotelian telos, one's life task is to be the best at their lives. A tree is to be the best tree it can be. Same with fish, or pets, or even air particles. It is the task of the living being to entertain its full force and put ahead its most expert work into the universe.

This may be too abstract to be implemented into the workforce and motivate employees to put their all into their work, but have we become a culture that needs gratification or praise for the tasks we do correctly? Why can't we just do the right thing because its the right thing to do? Is this need for praise for good work the reason we have what many might call a moral void in the universe?

Teleology is the end cause or purpose of human experience. Aristotelian teleology focuses on a final cause behind our life. At the expense of sounding too pessimistic about human nature, if our final cause or purpose of action has become a need to seek praise or fanfare, to be recognized and spotlighted, maybe we need to reevaluate American work ethic.