I recently had a discussion with a friend in which this friend stated that they felt that they were deserving of a substantial pay raise among other really nice upgrades to a new contract. The union where we work promotes this idea. They continue to say we are worth it and that we deserve it. My friend felt that because they had sacrificed and suffered many trials throughout their career, with many other companies, in other places and gained all kinds of experience, they were now deserving of the rewards (I am referring to tangible rewards, such as cash) and that this company should be the one to pay up. They had climbed to the top and they now want those tangible rewards. Now, I have to admit that I did not sacrifice or suffer nearly as much and I also work for the same company. So would someone like me deserve the same rewards as my friend, even though I did not sacrifice as much? Or did I just get really lucky to work here with them?
The caveat I see to this 'reward' is that it might price us right out of the market. Like so many union jobs in this country, I believe that some union laborers have essentially priced themselves out of a job. When there are so many other people in this world both in the US and in places like China willing to do your job for less in a newly emerging world economy that is driven mainly by costs, why would a US company continue to employ you. In some cases the end results are that there are job cuts and more people out of a job just so you can have your huge pay raise.
For example, at a particular industrial plant, jobs are being cut at a significant rate. The union labor at this plant is just not cost effective. The wages paid are too high for the inefficient labor they provide. For instance, if you need to turn on a machine - a simple task that should take but a few seconds - can take up to an hour to accomplish. Apparently only the electrical trades are allowed to turn on/off the machinery. Unfortunately trying to find one of these people is like digging for a needle in a hay stack and when you do find them they are on their 'break' and will not be able to assist you any time soon. The end result is that trying to do maintenance on a machine that should have taken only a few hours, takes all day. Some of these people are paid wages far in excess of other people in other jobs, other states or other countries. So when the company says we need to be more productive and cost less, these unions fight for status quo or even pay raises! Is it any surprise that those jobs get shipped off shore? All this so that a few people could claim their rewards! Were they deserving? Were the people who lost their jobs deserving of that fate?
As for the reason for deserving the tangible rewards, so what if you worked really hard. There are no guarantees in life. No one came up to me and said if you sacrifice and work really hard you WILL get these tangible rewards, only that it is possble. I was always told that it is better to try and fail that to not try at all. So does that make me deserving? There are many people out there who work and sacrifice more than I can possibly imagine and they never see the rewards. Then there are people who do nothing other than being born into the right place or are just simply lucky and are in the right place at the right time that see more rewards than you or I can imagine. What did they do to deserve to win the lottery or inherit a large sum of money? I was taught to be happy with the satisfaction of a job well done and that a job is not worth doing unless it is done right. But I was NOT taught that I would definately receive all these tangible rewards if it worked really hard.
What happened to the satisfaction of a job well done? What happened to the simple pride of accomplishment? There is nothing wrong with doing a job to the utmost of your ability and 'rewarding' your self with the knowledge that you did a great job or you accomplished that amazing feat. For example, climbing Mount Everest. The reward you get is that fact that you actually climbed Mount Everest and live to tell about it! What an amazing story! And if you get some tangible reward, then that is like the icing on a cake. I believe that the danger is coming to Expect that delicious icing. Of course the possibility of getting a reward for a job well done is a tantalizing carrot dangling in front of our noses. There is nothing wrong with 'going for the gold', just don't come to expect it. You might get caught in a cycle of desire - always wanting what you don't have. You start to expect that tasty little carrot and start to think that you deserve it!
Of course I am not suggesting that you run out and offer up your services for free (not many of us have the same altruism of Mother Theresa) or that you should just accept substandard pay and let someone take advantage of the services you provide. I think we should be asking ourselves if the pay is a fair one. Does it meet our requirements and what we think we are worth - realistically worth (because I think I am worth a billion bucks!) Is it what your employer is willing to pay? Is there some middle ground you can meet on? Just because a company can afford to pay me the 'billion bucks', should it be required to so? I think this is where greed steps in. My greedy self says "oh yes"!! My realistic self says "I love what I am doing and I can't believe that someone is willing to pay me any money at all to do it." Of course I realize that I am lucky anyways in that I love my job and I am able to get a 'reward' in that satisfaction. For others, sometimes the only satisfaction comes in the form of money. So I can understand the desire of deserving a huge monetary reward.
But I am still having a hard time following the logic that you get what you deserve. If you sacrificed and worked so hard just for that money, won't you be let down if you don't receive it. If you worked so hard and sacrificed for just money, why not channel all that effort in doing a job that makes you happy or at least content? So that the satisfaction of a job well done, a job you at least like doing, can be the reward you are looking for. I can see a lot less disappointment and a lot less desiring what you don't have. That kind of reminds me of a dog running around in circles trying to catch its tail and never quite succeeding and only ending up really dizzy!
In addition, I can not escape the idea that life can be very unfair and uncertain. It would be nice to think that rules like - the harder we work or the more sacrifices we make the more reward you will get - that the lazy people will get nothing that they didn't earn. You reap what you sow. How nice that would be if we lived in a vacuum and that was an absolute. But as any good farmer will tell you, you can sow the best field in the county using the best fertilizers and the best seeds all in the neatest rows, but if a tornado or horde of locust destroys that, you will not be reaping anything more from that crop than the farmer down the street who didn't bother to sow any crops at all.
Life does not exist in a vacuum. There are so many things that affect each other. We are all interconnected and interdependent with each other. We wouldn't have our jobs without the company to employ us and the company would not be a company without the people to make it work. I believe people need to consider the consequences of disrupting that balance before they do. Is the company really taking advantage of your services? Are you being realistic with your needs and demands? Life is not as easy as those nice little absolute rules. So if deserving more could hurt other people, would you want those rewards? I guess what I am wondering is where does deserving end and greed begins?
