We have heard a great deal recently about the Equal pay issue, as the government considers whether employers should be prepared to reveal their ‘gender pay gaps’. With women being paid on average about 20% less than men, fairness demands equal pay for equal work - but pay is only one element of the ‘calculation’ that employees do when they put a value on their jobs.
The subject of pay is an interesting one though, because it is the most explicit and obvious way for employees to measure how their contribution is valued by their employer. Salary is such a big part of our language and culture that many employees will see the amount they get paid as the key, maybe only, indicator that matters.
However, research shows that this is only one aspect of the work arena that determines an individual’s overall job satisfaction, motivation and general well-being. Many happiness surveys and well-being audits have shown that having good work relationships, a good work-life balance, being trusted and having a manageable workload are all considered higher up the scale than cold, hard cash in the bank. So it seems that money really isn’t everything when it comes to work.
A company can pay an employee thousands of pounds per month, but if he/she is unsupported, works 7am – 8pm every day and has an overwhelming workload no amount of pay is going to make him/her engaged, productive and happy at work. I’m sure the majority of employees and employers simply wouldn’t be willing to work this way, but my point is that it’s important to think about the benefits that aren’t in our contracts. Not everything needs to have a pound sign next to it to be valuable and softer benefits like working somewhere fun where you can control your hours and workload carries real value. Try working somewhere with these benefits and then moving to a new job where they are absent – you’ll soon be reminded of the value!
I’d be interested to know what you think, is pay the most important factor, especially during a recession or is enjoying your job and not dreading Monday morning your driver? Think really carefully before you answer that!!
Hi Cary.
I am so lucky that I do not need to care for my pay. I get enough, and that is important, besides that everything else matters. I see so many people chasing money, and it will not make you happy. I have fun at work, I learn, I can practice my skills, I grow and I have a challenging job. That is important to me. I wrote about it here: http://www.nevermindthemanager.com/2008/09/step-6-detach-yourself-from-your-pay-check/
You should make more than the expences, but first try to cut down on your spendings, and if you still can’t make it balance, get a pay rise or find a new job. But as soon as you make more than you spend, you need to find happiness in your job somehow.
It’s an old question, isn’t it? I remember a 2nd yr student saying to me, any psychologist worth her salt knows that money is a secondary reinforcer. Another wit said 90% of job satisfication is in the paycheck.
We also know that money turns intrinsic motivation into extrinsic. So if you want to get someone to stop doing something, pay them, then reduce the payrate. They will irrationally part with the money rather than continue working at a lower rate.
To some extent, I think the muddle of money in psycholgy comes from a straw-man set up by economists trying to explain market transactions through one mechanism – price.
Price varies with relationship. Generally we want more for our money or more money for what we have when there is no other relationship between the parties. And the ‘curves’ describing the relationships aren’t smooth.
The simply fact is that companies who get ‘clever’ and try to recruit from the market pay a lot more – as we have seen recently. Companies that train from within and offer security pay less. The total HR bill (including HR managers) over sales will vary by a small fraction of a % from company to company within a sector but that small fraction translates into profit.
From an employees point of view, some like the cash now ethos – though they might not like it when they are hung out to dry. Others prefer balance.
Doesn’t this come down to specifics of time and place? What we can afford now? How people are used to doing business?
But treating people simply as price without understanding the social connotations of what we are doing . . . well there is a word for that!