I work for a fast-growing but small manufacturing company (2200 employees, about half hired in the last two years, average age about 30, union), in a small town in the midwest.
People beg to come work for us (we start at $12 an hour, free medical, company paid pension, etc., good for this area) but after we hire them, a big percentage (the younger ones mostly, but some older ones too) immediately begin to think of ways to avoid coming to work but still keep their jobs.
This ticks off the long-timers who have to cover for them, work more overtime, Saturdays. So we let the worst offenders go, hire some more, the cycle continues.
Assume you’re working an assembly line – the money’s good and your co-workers are congenial – but the job’s boring and your muscles ache – what would keep you from calling in sick once or twice a month?
Read the book “Gung Ho!”. Great book for learning how to motivate employees!!! I cannot recommend it enough.
1a) To parapharse the three steps of “Gung Ho!” (still get and read the book):
A) Gift of the Squirrel - Worthwhile work. employees must understand that what they do is important for society as a whole.
B) Gift of the Beaver - Working together. Employees should be trusted to do their jobs. Employees should be treated with respect from management and their fellow employees. Employees should be compensated fairly (sounds like you have that covered).
C) Gift of the Goose - Encouragement. Employees should be congratulated not only on their personal work, but on the work of the team. Acknowledge and celebrates your successes personal and as a team.
A really nice example from the book, again paraphrased. Look at the military, they are able to get many recruits year after year to potentially literally risk their lives and not for pay and benefits, but for concepts of the spirit. Duty, honor and some shiny medals!
D) Gift of the Wolverine - Adamantium claws. Employees should have some kind of super-power that makes it more fun and exciting to fight evil mutants. Red safety glasses should be provided for those employees with uncontrollable optic blasts.
E) Gift of the Slime Mold - Oozing around a lot. Employees should be encouraged to wipe their old waste boogers onto the floor or their shoes, until going to work is as much fun as walking on a mat of Jell-O[TM].
Gimmicky books on how to improve your business are a dime a dozen, because everyone wants to know how to do it and no one really knows for sure. It’s more comforting to think that the success of your business depends entirely on things you have control over, rather than a heck of a lot of dumb luck.
Is there really any relationship betwixt how much a person is paid and how much they want to come to work? $12 is generous but not enough motivation I guess.
Also, do you hire any handicapped people? It’s my guess they like to come to work more.
the money’s good and your co-workers are congenial – but the job’s boring and your muscles ache – what would keep you from calling in sick once or twice a month?
Fear.
Know anyone that would rather work than lay around on the beach doing nothing, if they didn’t have to have the money?
I don’t even look forward to going in on paydays anymore. But if I don’t, all of those people from the government on down, who are sucking the economic life out of me, will begin to call, wondering where their money is.
I haven’t a clue, as I never see any of it except for what they hand me of whats left, but I do fear the sound of a ringing phone, as they begin to look.
Thus I am motivated by avoidance of a simple bell. Pavlov would be proud.
BugZap, you hit the nail directly on the head. Why do I go to work every morning? Because the current economic and social structures in this country make it impossible to live by subsistance farming. Because local laws demand that you must have services that you have to pay for—i.e., water, gas, electric, etc. Because Your Benevolent Government demands that you WILL pay taxes, and if you don’t, be sure that the IR-SS (also known as the Revenue Fascists—and we all know how * they * work) will make you wish you had. Because since you can’t subsistance farm, you have to pay for food unless you want to starve.
Those are a few of the reasons I go to work. But it sure isn’t because I get any big charge out of going. The commute is long, the hours are poor, the surroundings are drab, the work is repetitious and boring, and 90% of the managers are brain-dead idiots who also have egos the size of an average galaxy and a management style which brings to mind the term “Lidice”. Sure, the benefits are good, and the pay is good, but it sure isn’t what I thought I’d be spending my life doing, and that’s for damn sure. If there were any way other than working to keep body and soul together and keep Uncle and other parasites off my back, I’d sure be doing it.
Oh, sure, Satan – it’s easy to like your job when you get to torture souls, burn the wicked, etc. But I only get to do that part of the time in my job. That’s the part of the job I like! Unfortunately, there are long stretches in which I have to go in anyway to do the part of the job I don’t like (I’m in one of those stretches now, and it sucks). On those days, I have to side with Pickman – the reason I go in is 'cus they don’t pay me if I don’t…
Tracer: There are a lot of books about how to improve your company. I have read a lot of them. “Gung Ho!” is a very good book and the advice in it is not gimmicky at all. I do admit that even when I first started to read it I was thinking the same thing, but the advice really is of high quality, IMO. Have you read it?
I do not know why anyone would really enjoy working on the line. I Like my job because it poses a lot of intellectual challenges. Being in management I can change a lot of the crappy things that used to bug me. Plus it gives me a feeling of self worth and involvment in society as a whole.
How one could make working on the line challenging, I don’t know. YOur workers on the line very likely have personal issues such as child care, substance abuse and legal problems. EAP programs are some help. But I bet quite a bit has to do with child care.
Even our execs have child care problems. Difference is, they don’t have to call in sick. they are given more lattitude.
i love my job also. Now I won’t pretend there aren’t days I don’t want to work, but overall I love my job and my company.
Also it’s partially an environmental thing. My dad was a loser who couldn’t hold down a job and didn’t provide well before (or after) the divorce and I promised myself I would do better than him. So far I am a super-overachiever compaired to him, I’m hoping for godlike.
To deal with men by force is as impractical as to deal with nature by persuasion.
I love my job, I’m a online systems analyst for a Canadian Bank that was bought by another bank last week. And am therefore not sure if I’m going to have a job in February. The package will be okay, but I would rather work. Anyone out there have any offers?
I volunteer at the SPCA in the USA, as does everyone else in the shop. But we still have to have an ‘unemployment compensation’ poster on our wall. lol
I’m lucky enough to have found a career that I really like.
My job is to sit at a computer and make it do stuff. If I didn’t have to work at all, I would probably spend most of my time in front of a computer anyway. So I may as well get paid for it. =B^)
If anyone needs proof that Satan is truly evil, know this. CMC International Records is known primarily for signing old 80’s hair metal bands and giving them new recording contracts. If you wonder where Iron Maiden is getting their money in the 90’s, it really is Satan’s fault!
Mr. Zambezi, you’re absolutely right – child care is one of the issues people complain about – we’ve hired all the caregivers and there’s no one left to watch the kids.
Bernard, thanks, I’ll get the book. (Really.)
Tracer, we’ve covered ooze – someone has been making bodily function deposits in inappropriate places. That’s the ooze factor, I guess.
Please, your thoughts are much appreciated – e-mail me directly if you have any more ideas or suggestions. gearhart@netins.net
Actually, Warrant was resigned by Columbia and Iron Maiden are also on a major label. We did such a good job that our bands are defecting!
However, we do have a great Lynyrd Skynyrd album that hit stores yesterday. Should make quite a splash on the Billboard Top 200 next week - Look out for it!
I do several jobs. One job that is really boring is landscape maintenance. Cleaning up after nature week after week is way boring without much benefit.
My other volunteer job they let me have clothes, vcrs, computer parts, etc, btu i have to work for free. FOr some reason that job is a lot more fun than a paying job.
