Month: February 2026

Compensation Related To Motivation, In My Experience

Compensation is often used to sway a perspective employee’s decision regarding their career. It can be used to try to get an employee to accept a job, increase their effort, convince them to take a new role or move locations, just to name a few. We can hope that someone enjoys their job but in the end cash and benefits are king and they have a large effect on the employee. The best way to for a company to get an employee to make the decision they want is to offer them more money / better benefits.

In my short career so far I have seen this first hand and it has defiantly effected my decision making. The best example was from last spring when I was mulling over what summer internship offer I should take. I had one offer that was to move to a different city where they would pay my rent for the summer (I would still have to pay rent at my current house). Another offer where I could live in my current house, commute to work and they would still pay my rent for the summer. For both companies I thought where actually working environment was pretty much the same so it truly came down to the other aspects of work I held important. As ease of life, financial situation and location (being close to friends) were major factors for me I choose to go with the second offer.

Comparing my thought process to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs is interesting me. In this theory, physical needs are at the bottom and love / belonging is in the middle. I feel like in this situation I was acting with those two ideas at the top of my needs and the reasons I made this decision.

Sources:

• McLeod, Saul. “Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.” Simply Psychology, 6 Feb. 2026, www.simplypsychology.org/maslow.html.
  

Beneficial and Not Beneficial Work Trainings, In My Experience

In my career, I have spent most on my in construction, this has lead to lots and lots of different types of trainings as construction sites come with high risk situations. Many time as you move from job to job you have to do these trainings multiple times. This creates lots of redundant trainings but also good reminders.

Many trainings are high beneficial and necessary to mitigate risk on the job site. A classic that I find beneficial is the training on what the different colored cations tapes mean. Importantly, red means you need a special certification to be in that area so for me that means absolutely not go. An example of this is high voltage electrical work, to be safe in that situations you need lots of knowledge but also special gear that you would not normally have on. If this training did not exist there would be a much higher risk or electrocution or even death on a job site. Some of the reasons this is beneficial also lie in the method it is given. The safety manager on the job site will give this training in person on the site to every new worker, this manager also gives daily reminders of where red tape will be set up. See the tape below for an example!

There is one specific type of training I find not very beneficial in the construction world, and let me explain why. Most construction sites have a online training everyone on site most complete before stepping foot on the site. This covers liability, basic safety, and HR topics. Well yes, it is given so legal reason and to make sure the employees understands the risk and liability. I see online trainings like this to be something many people, including myself, zone out on and just skip through to get it done. I know the information is important but a training like that, given before you even start work is the last thing most people want to do. Overall I see most online trainings as not beneficial, I understand it’s cheaper but there are better ways to give this information. In todays world online trainings do not teach employees all the information that higher ups might think.

Sources:

• Outline – Training and Development
• Chen, Jackie. “Barricade Tape Meaning: 23 Types and OSHA Color Codes.” Jackwinsafety.Com, 3 Dec. 2025, jackwinsafety.com/barricade-tape-meaning/.
• Image from https://www.chhanson.com/barricade-tape-danger-1000-x3-x1-5mil-red.html
  

Implicit Attitude Test – My Results and Bias

This week I took the Implicit Attitude Test with the subject of age. This test made up mostly of matching words and pictures of people with categories of good or bad, along with a few questions. My result stated “Your responses suggested a moderate automatic preference for Young people over Old people”. I find this personally interesting, I see, as a young person myself I may prefer people in my age range. In general I have always help older people with high regard, I think they carry lots of wisdom and experience. So I find it interesting the I would have such a bias.

If I was a hiring manager I would have no idea I had such a automatic bias. It is unfair to a older person to have a disadvantage at getting a job purely because of their age. I think older people bring a lot to the table in a work environment. They bring lots of life experience, also in my opinion my be harder workers then many people in the younger category. Thats all my opinion though. In general this test brought up a great point. I’m not a hiring manager, but I can only imagine all the hiring mangers out there that might have a bias that they don’t even realize they have. That could have a great affect on many perfectly capable individuals not getting a job.

Not in a attempt to make anyone feel guilty, but I think any hiring manager should take this test, and the other test in the different categories. Just for the fact that they can have this knowledge and maybe that helps them look deeper at an individual that they normally would have inherently discarded. All they might need is the realization, just like me, I did not know I would have help that bias and this helps me recognize that.

Sources:

• https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/Study?tid=-1 (take the test I did yourself!)

What Makes Interviews Effective Or Ineffective, How Could Interviews Be Improved?

In my personal experience, I’ve had interviews with many different companies in different industries. There are many similarities in these interviews as well as many differences.

First let us look at what makes an interview effective. In my opinion I have found one on one interviews more beneficial then group interviews. In this setting the candidate can talk on their own time without pressure from other candidates. They will be more keen to ask questions about the role in this setting. Most importantly the direction of the conversation can be fluid. I think where the conversation goes outside of the interview questions is a better gauge of a candidates character. As an interviewer I would want to see how a candidates conducts themself in regular conversation, as that is how they will act in the work place. (Prevue HR)

Now let us look at some ineffective interview tactics. Well group interviews have the benefit of giving all candidates the same information at the same time. It is also based more on first impression based, which is good for getting a good gauge of a persons character. Group interviews also can cause someone to charge their true answer to a question based on social pressure form another candidates answer. This also harms the person who has to go first as they don’t get the same context.

I think interviews overall could be improved across industries in two different ways. One, there should be a heavier focus on conversation that allows the interviewer to get a better gauge on character. For example, allowing the candidate to take the conversation further then just cutting them off after they answer the question. This allows for conversation that the candidate didn’t prepare for and allows for a better judgement of their character. Two, increasing the candidates knowledge about the role before the interview. It’s the worst feeling to be in an interview and realize you are not qualified for the role. Interviewers can make sure their job descriptions on the listing are highly in-depth, they can also restate the role and it’s requirements before the interview to not waste anyone’s time. This could decrease a lot of unnecessary interviews or vetting through unqualified candidates.

Sources:

• “Group Interviews vs 1-on-1 Interviews.” Prevue HR, 1 Apr. 2025, www.prevuehr.com/resources/insights/group-interviews-vs-1-on-1-interviews/.