The purpose of this study was to identify and rank positive and negative motivating factors affecting professional staff of the State Department of Education and to compare the factors with those found affecting other professional educators at the elementary and secondary levels and also industrial employees. Results obtained by use of a critical incident instrument indicated that the major motivating factors were recognition, achievement, and responsibility. The major dissatisfying factors were department policy and administration, supervision, and interpersonal relations. Implications for participative management techniques and collective bargaining are discussed. An extensive bibliography is included. (Author)