We have all heard about how dire the international economic outlook is; how bad the unemployment figures are; how many people are receiving federal bailouts and benefits etc. You know the story.
What we haven’t heard much about are the last ones standing. What do I mean? You know them. They are the employees that have survived layoffs and corporate mergers. They are the ones that are doing the jobs of two and three people for the salary of one person. They live under the daily stress of trying to do their assigned work and the threat of losing their jobs if they can’t keep up.
To add insult to injury, many of these people took less pay than what they would normally be worth, based on education and experience. Companies (and the media) have conditioned employees that they are commodities – that there are fewer jobs, ergo, that there is always another qualified individual ready to “step up to the plate.”
Back to the point… As profits go up, especially at publicly traded companies, and employees can’t even feed their families or keep their homes from foreclosure, the stress levels will soar. Anecdotally, I was told that a highly paid, high level manager at a Fortune 500 company had been given a very expensive sports car in appreciation for increasing his company’s profits. He had the audacity to rub this in the noses of his low paid worker bees, in effect saying, “Our company is doing great, you’re doing great, but you’re not going to see another dime for your hard work.
I believe that a revolt is coming. When workers can no longer handle the stress or corporate greed, one of two things will happen: 1) They will quit/ go “postal” on their employers. 2) They will realize their own worth; that they are valuable and for an honorable wage, they will happily produce for an employer.
I also believe that employers should take heed. Treat an employee fairly and he/she will be loyal as the day is long. Building goodwill within an organization will lead to long term success.
I suspect that many high level executives will disagree with this next statement. If you treat your customers as your first priority, and your employees as your second, the profits WILL follow.