A relative of mine recently picked up their first full-time job this summer. At first, they didn’t mind the work and even enjoyed learning something new. The work itself was physically demanding and paid minimum wage. Over the course of a few months, my relatives realized that the work they were producing was not being well compensated. This eventually pushed my relative to find a higher-paying job of the same position at another company.
The issue in this scenario was not the pay itself but rather the effort it took to perform the job compared to the pay. Initially, the pay seemed fair for what the job was. But after learning that the wages of his coworkers, who seemed to be performing the same job, were earning more he found himself motivated to find a job somewhere else.
Eventually, my relative started job shopping and quickly found a job that paid a few dollars and more per hour. With this newfound money came a fresh motivation to perform at a higher level. My relative has now been working there for a few months and is already contemplating his next steps to further increase his wages.
The experience I’ve seen him go through made me realize how compensation drives workplace decisions. It’s not necessarily about the pay itself but how fair, consistent, and motivating it feels. Compensation is a way to not only reward but to shape how much effort someone puts into their job.