Ethics: Would you work as hard for $8 per hour (wage, money, best)
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In other words, when it comes to the amount of effort you put out on your job, would you say that your employer...."gets what they pay for", or would you give 100 percent effort regardless of whether you were making $12,000 a year or $30,000 per year?
Just wondering, y'all
20yrsinBranson
It depends on the position.
If it was a retail job, then yes I would work as hard because that's about the most you can make. And there would be potential to move up.
If it was an office job. I wouldn't take it to begin with. So I can't answer this question in that case.
In other words, when it comes to the amount of effort you put out on your job, would you say that your employer...."gets what they pay for", or would you give 100 percent effort regardless of whether you were making $12,000 a year or $30,000 per year?
Just wondering, y'all
20yrsinBranson
Yes. I would and have. I work hard regardless of the pay because that is my work ethic. It gets frustrating at times when I bust my butt and it doesn't seem to reward me at all, no raise, no thank you, no appreciation, co-workers slacking and receiving exactly what I'm getting...but, no matter how many times I have told myself I was going to stop caring and be a slacker, too, I couldn't. It's not who I am.
If I have a job like that, one that pays that low, it's because I really need a job and you bet your ass I'm going to do whatever it takes to keep that job until I find something better.
Finally, even if it was low paying, if I work my tail off and give the boss MORE than he's paying for, (which I DO), that will be a reference for the future. I may not get a raise, I may not get appreciation at the time but it will, someday, benefit me.
Companies get what they pay for - if they pay crap wages, they should expect crap work, which is the level of performance one often sees in minimum wage jobs. A willingness to do anything for even the lowest pay will only drive salaries lower, which is not really what we need as a dying nation.
Now, that being said, I *personally* would still do a good job. Minimum wage still means you provide a minimum level of service - in other words, you do whatever you were hired to do, which is reasonable. However, I probably wouldn't go above and beyond unless I was actually going to get something for it (money, a promotion, job security, etc.) I've wasted too much time over the years doing more than what was expected, only to have the very people I've helped spit in my face in the end, and those jobs paid a lot better than this theoretical one. So, no - if you want more, you pay more... no more doing extra out of the "goodness of my heart."
Finally, note that one can find lousy worth ethic in jobs at any pay scale... I've worked with "engineers" and "managers" who wouldn't even meet the requirements for an $8 an hour job, much less the jobs they actually had.
Pay level generally does not affect my work ethic but greatly affects my loyalty. My first job out of college paid way below market rate and demanded long hours. I was gone in a year. I worked my butt off but the pay was not high enough to justify working my life away.
When I'm making salary and employers keep squeezing and squeezing to pad their profits, you can bet I'll be out of there pretty quick. I do high quality work and I know it. I give 100%. There is absolutely no reason that if I'm working at 200% capacity (2 people) and putting in 150% of hours (60/week) that I should be paid 80% of market rate and have benefits constantly rolled back. I'm still going to work hard for you Mr. Employer, but keep squeezing and I'll find one who fairly compensates based on what they ask and what I provide.
Pay level generally does not affect my work ethic but greatly affects my loyalty. My first job out of college paid way below market rate and demanded long hours. I was gone in a year. I worked my butt off but the pay was not high enough to justify working my life away.
When I'm making salary and employers keep squeezing and squeezing to pad their profits, you can bet I'll be out of there pretty quick. I do high quality work and I know it. I give 100%. There is absolutely no reason that if I'm working at 200% capacity (2 people) and putting in 150% of hours (60/week) that I should be paid 80% of market rate and have benefits constantly rolled back. I'm still going to work hard for you Mr. Employer, but keep squeezing and I'll find one who fairly compensates based on what they ask and what I provide.
I was going to say the exact same thing!!! If my employer choses to low ball me and I have not other options, they better believe that when I get home, I'm spending my time looking for another job. I have skills that I think are worth paying for.
On the other hand, as someone has already mentioned, if it was retail, I would do what is expected. I will not say that retail is a low skill job, but it is lower skill than some other jobs. In these jobs, they don't pay on your skills, they pay you to do what they ask. You can have a PhD and still Target won't give you more than $8/hr because they don't need to, your PhD is not required for the job.
Personally, wow hard I work, or how much I care about the quality of work I do -- has nothing to do with the amount I'm paid. It has everything to do with MY own motivation, and whether I care about the work -- period.
Early in my career, I LOVED what I did -- of course I was also young, hungry and eager to climb the ladder -- and therefore climb in pay scale as well.
For the last 15 years, I've sort of achieved the top of my career, I've made more than enough to pay my bills and save -- and do many other things I enjoy.
I've changed -- and the atmosphere of where I work has changed. I'm in my 50s -- not my 20's, or even 30s. I've got 25 years experience -- I'm not just starting out and green.
Now that I'm making more money than I need (not over 100-thou or anything like that -- but more than I need) -- AND I've matured -- and gotten burned out -- I don't care about putting out any more effort than I need to.
I do just enough work to stay employed -- that's it, and no more.
If I got a job making more money now, I'd care about my work product and work to prove myself because it would be a new position and new employer -- that's only smart. But as long as I stay with my current job -- which is no longer a challenge, and I can do blind-folded for an employer that could care not even two wits about me -- I'll do as little work as I can get away with.
I too lalweays work the same way regardless in my lifetime. But those lower paying jobs where not as valuable to employer and most coud do them with little trainign.But fro waht I have seen the most damage is to the perosn and his immaged of oneself and ahtig to be at work with teh drag it creates.Its a road to no where really.
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