{"id":26,"date":"2025-11-22T03:46:39","date_gmt":"2025-11-22T03:46:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/leoshrblog\/?p=26"},"modified":"2025-11-22T03:46:39","modified_gmt":"2025-11-22T03:46:39","slug":"when-pay-sends-a-message-how-compensation-changed-my-behavior","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/leoshrblog\/2025\/11\/22\/when-pay-sends-a-message-how-compensation-changed-my-behavior\/","title":{"rendered":"When Pay Sends a Message: How Compensation Changed My Behavior"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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The most straightforward example of when compensation influenced my behavior occurred when I was in the restaurant\u2002business. For months, I\u2019d picked up extra shifts training new hires, filling in for busy stretches and staying late to make things run smoothly. I really liked my team, and\u2002I wanted the store to do well, so I was putting in a lot with no immediate benefit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then transfer a new employee came and told me he was getting paid more an\u2002hour than I was, but for no experience. I asked my manager why, and he told me that the\u2002higher rate was designed to attract \u201cbetter applicants.\u201d To hear that\u2002was to be made invisible. For the first time I knew my remuneration did\u2002not match what I was contributing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This reaction directly ties to equity theory, which holds that people compare their inputs\u2002and outcomes to others. If\u2002they feel like they don\u2019t get paid enough, motivation decreases (Smith, 2015). And\u2002that\u2019s exactly what happened to me. I did come to work, but I stopped going the extra\u2002mile. I didn\u2019t raise my\u2002hand for extra assignments or turn on the jets when something went awry. And I directed elsewhither the\u2002effort expended to make me feel that I was worth it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This situation also relates to Kerr\u2019s theory in “On the Folly of Rewarding a While Hoping for B.” My\u2002boss hoped I\u2019d exceed expectations but instead rewarded new employees who were less competitive than those with experience (Kerr, 1975). The\u2002reward system fostered what the organization didn\u2019t want. As Buckingham & Coffman assert in \u201cCreate Heroes,\u201d recognition and a\u2002fair wage communicate value, and when employees fail to feel valued, they withhold effort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In retrospect, the problem wasn\u2019t just money it was the message that pay\u2002sent. Remuneration is about dignity, equity and gratitude Published: Compensation conveys a sense of respect. When pay is equal\u2002to performance, motivation of employees goes up. When\u2002it doesn\u2019t, behavior shifts rapidly (Greenhouse & Strom, 2014).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Buckingham, M., & Coffman, C. (2016). First, Break All the Rules<\/em> (Chapter 6: Create Heroes).
Kerr, S. (1975). On the folly of rewarding A, while hoping for B. Academy of Management Journal.<\/em>
Smith, D. (2015). Most people have no idea whether they\u2019re paid fairly. Harvard Business Review.<\/em>
Greenhouse, S., & Strom, S. (2014). Paying employees to stay, not to go. The New York Times<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The most straightforward example of when compensation influenced my behavior occurred when I was in the restaurant\u2002business. For months, I\u2019d picked up extra shifts training new hires, filling in for busy stretches and staying late to make things run smoothly. I really liked my team, and\u2002I wanted the store to do well, so I was […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14966,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/leoshrblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/leoshrblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/leoshrblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/leoshrblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14966"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/leoshrblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/leoshrblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/leoshrblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26\/revisions\/28"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/leoshrblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/leoshrblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/leoshrblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}