In one of my earlier postings, I mentioned that workers tend to take more of the foodstuffs since they are all free for the taking. So on your way to the other side of the building, when you pass the coffee area, you’ll grab (another) latte. I had mused about setting up something for people to (voluntarily) donate a dollar every time they take a free coffee...and the money collected would go to feed people that are *actually* hungry and thirsty. Some of my blog reading friends thought that was a good idea to implement. But here is why I am wary.
First - - I recall an incident when my sons were young, that impressed upon me that “great ideas” for me may not be great for everyone else. I had the clever idea of changing the birthday party paradigm for my son’s nursery school class. I would send out a note to the parents, pointing out that my son, just like all the kids in this nursery school class, had way too many toys. How’s about we do the following: For any kid’s birthday, we will make sure that the kid gets a few highly desirable presents that he really wants. But instead of 15, he will get 5. The other 10 gifts (or the money they would have cost) would go to kids that did not have closets full of toys. Great idea, no? I shared it with one of the (non-working) mommies at one of the birthday parties. She pointed out that her daughter loved shopping with her to buy special gifts targeted for each birthday child. (Unlike our family situation - -where I ran to Toys R Us by myself after work or late at night, never with my kids, and bought anything that seemed age-appropriate.) So I realized that my clever suggestion would end up de-personalizing the birthday party present-buying experience for some families. What I thought was an incontrovertibly good idea would ultimately offend some of the families.
Second, for me, the amenities at Google are beyond what I - or anyone - “deserves.” But for people that have been at Google for awhile, it has become a norm; this is the way things are; the amenities are earned by the productive workforce.
I remember a lesson from my (wonderful) professor for Organizational Behavior, Frances Milliken. We discussed under-paying, right-paying, and over-paying employees. An employer might think that exceeding employees' expectations and over-paying would be a great motivator. In fact, the research showed that you can't really "overpay" your workers. On the day they receive the news about their uber generous raise, they might be very happy. But people don't like to feel that they are getting more than they deserve. So the employees soon move into a mode where they believe that they do in fact deserve it, given all the work they do for the company, their major contributions, etc. etc...
And so instituting a pseudo “paying” system would seem odd, and inappropriate - -as though I put a charity box on my desk and expected contributions when people passed by.
I remember a lesson from my (wonderful) professor for Organizational Behavior, Frances Milliken. We discussed under-paying, right-paying, and over-paying employees. An employer might think that exceeding employees' expectations and over-paying would be a great motivator. In fact, the research showed that you can't really "overpay" your workers. On the day they receive the news about their uber generous raise, they might be very happy. But people don't like to feel that they are getting more than they deserve. So the employees soon move into a mode where they believe that they do in fact deserve it, given all the work they do for the company, their major contributions, etc. etc...
And so instituting a pseudo “paying” system would seem odd, and inappropriate - -as though I put a charity box on my desk and expected contributions when people passed by.
Another good idea that I will allow to marinade for awhile…
