We’re often taught that producing more will lead to greater recognition and career progression.
But I think more often we will find that more often than not, when it comes to compensation systems that rely on worker productivity, it’s more likely that the game will be changed under your feet.
When you’re consistently earning bonuses by consistently hitting KPIs or other production figures or otherwise getting a high payment rate through flat-rate payment structures as a productive worker, eventually someone, likely green with jealousy or otherwise indignant that one of the “tall poppy” worker ants is rising above the rest, is going to start asking questions. And as soon as they start asking questions as to why a base-level production worker is raking in the profits, everyone else is going to start wondering why that money isn’t simply going to their own bonuses, and the board will be wondering why it isn’t going toward their company’s bottom line.
So, the productive worker will suddenly find the bonus structure altered, their compensation slashed, all with little explanation outside of some weak excuses about consequential process changes.
And, not only that, but even in a normal role that is paid hourly, being an overachiever who is great in their productive role actually can get you pigeonholed and stuck in a production role permanently, meaning that you will never be promoted to management because of the fear of losing your productive work and hurting your earnings and career progression greatly over time.
So, all of that time you spent grinding, all of those extra hours, all of that extra energy you put into your job, evaporates and reveals the flaws in that linear thinking and that belief that your hard work was getting you somewhere.
It really goes to show how small changes to company productivity reward systems, which basically amount to employee pay cuts, can become completely destabilizing to the organization and demotivate the workforce.
Author: Kayitsi.com
