From: idasan-AT-pseud.pseud
Subject: M-INTRO: Question for Jeeplink
Date: Fri, 5 Nov 2004 10:31:45 -0700


I have a question for Jeeplink.  What if a worker is in sales in a retail 
store and gets paid 6% commission.  How can he/she benefit from increase 
productivity the way you have managed to at your job?

----- Original Message ----- 
From: <BIRD-AT-pseud.pseud>
To: <marxism-intro-AT-lists.village.Virginia.EDU>
Sent: Thursday, November 04, 2004 7:27 PM
Subject: M-INTRO: RE: 8 Hour Workday - Random Thoughts


> The comments from Jeepers and jeeplink were interesting and I believe 
> speak well when
> considering the choices available to those who are educated, perhaps young 
> and with few
> personal responsibilities.  But I would like to hear a conversation about 
> the same issues
> when referring to a single parents, with perhaps a high school education, 
> perhaps not.
> When you are the only one bringing in a paycheck sometimes "choosing" to 
> work shorter days
> is simply not an option.  Often times even missing a few hours to stay 
> home with a sick
> child is not possible if you want to have a job at the end of the day. 
> When discussing
> labor policy I think it is important to always remember those who are most 
> vulnerable to
> exploitation in our society and consider the ramifications of the policy 
> for them.  I am
> educated and highly driven to be productive in all I do, my paid 
> employment as well. But I
> also have no dependents. Maybe those who are not as "productive" all the 
> time are
> splitting their time with another important commodity in our society - 
> children. Perhaps I
> should be willing to carry a little more of the load since they are 
> producing another
> important commodity for our society - future workers.
>
>>>> JEEPERS-AT-pseud.pseud 11/4/2004 3:52:30 PM >>>
> In my previous positions, I would have loved to work eight hours a day 
> instead
> of the ten hours a day that I was putting in.  Why did I work ten hours a 
> day?
> Because I had a high paying tech job that allowed me to work from home.  I
> wanted to keep my job and I knew that if I didn't put in roughly ten hours 
> a
> day that there was someone else waiting to take my job.  My employer only 
> asked
> for eight hours a day, but I knew that if I didn't put in more that my job
> would be in jeopardy.  They expected me to be available to them at all 
> times.
> I no longer have that job, they relocated to India.  Go figure.
>
> If you don't want to work eight hours daily, then don't.  Find a job where 
> you
> don't have to.  You probably won't get benefits, and you might not make as 
> much
> money, but that is your decision.  But believe it or not, there are those
> people that need to work eight hours a day if not more to make ends meet.
> People work eight hours a day because they need the money.  They know
> (especially in today's economy) that someone else is out there that can 
> take
> their job.
>
> I don't completely agree with jeeplink saying that people should be 
> rewarded
> for
> their productivity.  Although that might be part of the puzzle (employers
> obviously won't want to reward people for being non-productive) it doesn't
> completely work.  For example, we have two employees reading through the 
> same
> documents at a doc prep company.  Employee "A" speeds through the docs in 
> her
> stack in four hours.  Employee "B" also completes her stack, but in eight
> hours. Employee "A" has missed some small errors, but Employee "B" has not
> missed any.  Who is more productive? Even if employee "A" had missed no 
> errors,
> does that mean that she is more productive than "B"?  I think it just 
> means
> that employee "A" is more efficient and a better reader.  So should wages 
> be
> based on efficiency and how people read?
>
> I believe that people are more motivated when they enjoy what they are 
> doing
> and
> when they are rewarded for it.  Not only rewarded with pay, but in other
> recognizable ways as well.  We all want dream jobs that allow us maximum
> flexibility, maximum money for the minimum work, but that is just not
> conceivable.  I've found that as I have climbed the salary ladder, the 
> work has
> become more and more time consuming.  I make more money, but I also put in 
> a
> lot more hours.  That seems to be the trade off.
>
>
>
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