

"Pay For Performance" Doesn't Work For Generation Y - bond
http://www.fastcompany.com/1783489/pay-for-performance-generation-y-pay-compensation-asking-for-a-raise

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wccrawford
The problem is not 'pay for performance'. In fact, that's not what they're
doing!

The problem is that no matter how good you are, the most you can get is 6%
more than what you're currently making. Some people improve far more than that
in a year, and provide far more value to the company than that.

In my dad's time, he quit jobs that refused to pay him what he was worth. If
that meant a 10% raise, when the cutoff was 5%, he quit. He didn't argue with
them. He just told them how it was and that he would leave unless they paid
him what he was worth.

Guess what I did this year? Yup, same thing. When I started with the company,
they were really, really good about paying me what I was worth. But after a
few years, management changed a lot and they started the 'it's a recession and
we're capping raises at 5%' stuff. I knew I was worth a lot more, and
complained. They refused to do anything, and gave a vague promise about
looking at the situation in a year. I quit and went elsewhere to get what I'm
worth. Instant 40% raise.

I started there as a junior dev, and actually suffered with that situation for
2 years before I demanded compensation, and that's how I got 40% out of whack.

So no, it's not about 1% being beer-money each week. It's about getting paid
what you're worth.

Oh, and btw, that's not $6.40 per week for a year. That's $6.40 per week for
the rest of your life. Future jobs will be based on your current pay, and if
you let them take it from you now, someone will be taking it from you later,
too. Unless you demand it.

~~~
pasbesoin
Your future is based on your status (pay being a part of that, but not all).
Not only do you get behind, pay-wise, you can also end up being pigeon-holed
as a... "grunt", for lack of a better word.

Users/abusers prey on the weak, and once you demonstrate willingness to take
such behavior, they'll keep returning for more.

Look at it in the context of what is, these days, seen as a corporation's main
mission: To maximize returns for owners. And in today's management
environment, returns are measured across a quite short timespan (that often
does not accomodate the timeframe required to foster employee growth and
development).

If they demonstrate the ability to get your services for less, they will
continue to try to do so.

I've had exactly one boss who was different. He brought me in, internally,
from an underpaid, overburdend position (with a classic and widely
acknowledged "user/abuser"), and he pushed for and gained 10% plus increases
-- multiple, within a year -- for me in spite of a rather draconian pay
freeze. He did this according to the original schedule he promised, and even
surprised me with some additional increases I had not expected at those
specific times.

Concurrently, my "status" in the company went from... "line worker" to multi-
divisional talent, directly consulting (outside of my original, direct
responsibilities) with the senior management of two divisions responsible for
about $1 billion in aggregate revenue.

I worked my ass off in that position. And, senior management hijinks and HR BS
aside, I enjoyed it. Working with this manager was a pleasure, because he
would really challenge what you were doing, but once you demonstrated that it
was correct, he'd simply trust you and let you get on with it -- also, despite
being a manager, pitching in directly to confirm and cross-check results,
supportively rather than suspiciously.

My point is that, in the end -- and the sooner the better -- you can basically
ignore everything that management is _saying_ and simply look at their
_actions_. If they treat you poorly, expect more of the same. It's up to _you_
to treat _yourself_ better, because they sure aren't going to do it.

Secondly, good management _does_ exist. Keep looking, or, as they say, "become
the change you seek" (start your own business).

------
sp332
_If you are making what the average worker makes ($47,569.60 per year, a 1
percent difference in your pay is... about $12.81 net per pay period....
That's about $6.40 per week. And according to our research, that's what you'd
pay for a six-pack of beer... You can't really believe that this nominal
differentiation in pay is motivational and drives performance results. It
doesn't._

So, "Gen-Y" doesn't realize that $500/year is worth something, or that _not_
buying a 6-pack of beer every week is worth $500/year. In other words, they
don't have a good appreciation for how much money is worth.

~~~
Hyena
Pay for performance only works if the marginal value of pay is greater than
the marginal cost of performance. A performance bonus of $6.40 per week is
less than a third of that pay at 40 hours, so why would someone work more than
an additional 20-40 minutes (depending on time usually spent at work) to
obtain it? Evidence is that the value of their time is around $20 an hour,
after all.

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tomjen3
It does. You just have to start your own company to prove (and get) what you
are really worth.

