Welcome to blogs.oregonstate.edu. Let’s be honest, for a lot of people, numbers that have to do with your job pay might be the reason why you work. But if you feel undervalued and are paid less (or do not wage increase like other workers in your organization), you might work “less”.
Declined Effort Is Tempting
My first job, which I stayed for the longest, was a position as a sterilization technician at a dental practice was one instance where pay obviously affected my behavior. Since I had no prior experience, I could understand why my starting hourly wage was a little less than the minimum wage. However, as time went on, my tasks grew far above what my compensation indicated. I was always going between operatories, overseeing instrument cycles, aiding, stock/setting up rooms, and making sure processes ran smoothly. I wasn’t chairside, but my precision and speed were crucial to the clinic as a whole. However, my pay was never matched with the responsibility or physical demands of the position. I became less motivated, not because I didn’t like the job, but rather because the pay didn’t seem to be a representation of the amount of work I needed to do.
Why This Might Occur With Many Employees
It’s important to note how equity theory helps explain my situation and others. People compare their inputs of effort, time, stress to their outcomes, like pay and value relative to coworkers. Understanding that hygienists and assistants earned significantly more, my effort often felt just as essential to keeping the dental office running. Over time, that imbalance led to reduced motivation (until I decided to voice my concern about an increase in hourly wage, but that’s a whole different story).
Even more than actual pay levels, employees’ perceptions of fairness can have a significant impact on motivation (Smith, 2015). In my situation, the idea that my labor was underappreciated was just as important as the actual quantity. Stress that by appreciating their accomplishments, successful managers make employees feel like “heroes” (Buckingham and Coffman, 2020). The low hourly wage and lack of recognition in this position contributed to my perception that my work was unimportant, at times thinking that leaving the position would hardly make a dent in the office. Understanding how pay affected my effort, since it indicated how much the company regarded my role, is what I should learn from this. When pay does not match responsibility, employees readily disconnect and become unmotivated, more than out of disinterest, instead because payment carries performance and value.
Sources
Buckingham, M., & Coffman, C. (2020). First, break all the rules: What the world’s greatest managers do differently. Gallup Press.
Smith, D. (2015). Most people have no idea whether they’re paid fairly. Harvard Business Review, 93(12), 1-3. https://hbr.org/2015/10/most-people-have-no-idea-whether-theyre-paid-fairly
Images: https://www.istockphoto.com/photos/prepping-the-dentist-surgery