Carrots?
PraiseStar
20 Posts
Some companies would like to think of their employees as a bunch of
animals that only will do something if you dangle a carrot on a stick
in front of them. These same companies even set up "Carrot Shops" What
has this world come too?
I think this approach actually ruins
the work ethic. In this approach people become takers rather that
givers. Just doing a good job for what they were hired for is not
enough for them. These same folks won't lift a finger unless they are,
well lets call it what it is...Bribed.
What
say you on the subject? Are you for chasing a carrot on a stick? Or do
you believe in taking pride in your job? Perhaps you even have another
point of view, I'm interested in what you have to say on the subject.
Comments
It seems to me that a lot of this frustration comes in when you're dealing with different generations in the work place. We have all heard the generalization about baby-boomers, Gen X 'er, etc, but there does seem to be some validity to it in this situation. Older works were brought up to see having pride in their work as being valuable. The younger generations entering the work place value on their work/life balance. As the baby-boomers are leaving the work force, I think you will see more and more "carrots" in the work place in order to keep employees happy and retained. Companies are going to have to be creative in the future to be able to retain employees who do not have the company loyalty ideal that their parents and grandparents did. <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />
Recently I heard about a company in town that gives employees free music downloads and company space to store them. All the younger people saw this as a great place to work and would choose to work there as opposed to another company that did not offer this carrot.
You may not like the carrot approach, but I think that you will see more and more companies trying it in the future. Does your company have a plan to stem the brain drain that will happen in the next few years as the boomers leave your company?
I like your perspective Pam!
As far as brain drain, we are not to big, so that is not our issue, but I can see how it could be one.
Woof. As a 28 year old, I am more than annoyed with everyone blaming the younger generation. My biggest problem employee group are people in their late 30's to mid 40's who have been in the carrot culture for too long and now have a feeling of entitlement.
However, I can appreciate instant gratification over deferred compensation. I don't have kids or a spouse that needs health insurance, so I'd rather have my benefits package tailored to my needs/wants. Plus, I think having the ability to sync my ipod at work rather than at home would be fantastic. I wouldn't need to have such a big harddrive at home and my relatively old personal laptop (3 years old) would survive longer if I could keep all my music at work. Granted, where I work, that would not be a selling point at all. You gotta know your audience!
Woof. As a 28 year old, I am more than annoyed with everyone blaming the younger generation. My biggest problem employee group are people in their late 30's to mid 40's who have been in the carrot culture for too long and now have a feeling of entitlement.
However, I can appreciate instant gratification over deferred compensation. I don't have kids or a spouse that needs health insurance, so I'd rather have my benefits package tailored to my needs/wants. Plus, I think having the ability to sync my ipod at work rather than at home would be fantastic. I wouldn't need to have such a big harddrive at home and my relatively old personal laptop (3 years old) would survive longer if I could keep all my music at work. Granted, where I work, that would not be a selling point at all. You gotta know your audience!
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I am by no means blaming the younger generation at all, just stating that there are obvious differences between the two or three and how we need to be able to respond to each group. This is the first time in history that we have had three and sometimes four generations working en masse together in the industrialized workforce. (I'm not counting the child labor of the 20's) Each group brings different perspectives to the table. While you are single without kids and would like benefits more tailored to your needs, you need to remember that company wide benefits (without union involvement) were not the norm 25 to 30 years ago. That generation saw any benefits the company provided as a carrot and now we take for granted that they will be offered in most instances. We all have a sense of entittlement to one degree or another.
I've always believed in the carrot rather than the stick....as Mom always said, you get more flies with honey than with vinegar. (I could keep going..... That said, I do my best to give praise when due. I regularly (at least once every few weeks) give my staff members thank you cards for specific things they've done that was above and beyond. I almost never have turnover in my office - last time was 7 years ago.... I don't get why giving a thank you note means you think they don't automatically take pride in their jobs - do you take less pride when you're recognized for doing something?
I don't think it is generational either - though I will say that the youngest workers seem to hunger for recognition a bit more than the boomers. EVERY generation, though, seems to respond to a sincere "thanks!"
There's a book out called "a carrot a day" and you can find things from there and O.C. Tanner on (I think) Carrot.com.
Hi everyone-
There is an article on what the different generations can learn from one another in today's boston.com at
boston\\http://www.boston.com/jobs/news/articles/2007/12/02/younger_older_workers_have_much_to_learn_from_each_other/
I don't think that the "carrot" culture creates a workforce of takers. In fact, without carrots I think it's the employer that becomes the taker.
From what I remember of the book, the "carrots" are not only financial. It can be something as simple as saying "nice job" or simply recogninzing someone's hard work. I don't think its enough that employers expect their employees to go above and beyond simply becuase they've been hired. There has to be some incentive to go that extra mile, if not everyone would just do the status quo, get their paycheck every week and that would be it. Or, the harder workers would eventually lose their motivation (or move on to a different employer) if they are treated the same as everyone else. When employers are expecting so much more from employees these days, e.g., extra hours etc., a little appreciation goes a long way.
3 years is REALLY old for a laptop technology-wise. Woof, now ubiquitous technology like bluetooth connectivity, dual hard drives, increase number of USB ports and size have come a long way. My parents are fine the laptop we bought for them about 5 years ago though...
happy holidays everyone.