Hi Michael — your work is somewhat related to my work, both in nonprofits and for-profit business consulting. That is a very big incentive you posed, and I hope that the manager did not have to treat employees poorly to achieve the desired results and was able to achieve results (KPIs related to ?? profit margin? Care provision? Client growth?).

This is something that I believe (and have learned myself over the years) — every person should be paid well for the work they do. If their work is not “worth” being paid well, then it is work that does not need to be performed. Your incentive program was in the home care industry? Instead of the manager, let’s consider the home health aide or LVN who goes to the homes. If this person is not paid enough to have a life, what is their incentive to do a good job with their challenging and demanding job? What is “productivity” in home health care? Is it even possible for a health aide to work over 8 hours a day, and if so, should they?

We just had a pandemic, and I believe it is actually continuing — during which workers like health aides were asked to continue to work full-time. These workers included grocery store checkers, stockers, and baggers, butchers, produce people, people working in fast food, airport security, sanitation workers, everyone working in agriculture, and even people like my daughter, who works in the mortgage industry. Because pay is no longer enough to sustain a family life, these workers were right to question whether they should continue to go to work in a situation where they could catch COVID and die. People have historically been willing to work in some of the most terrible jobs, as long as they could support their families. But you can’t do that in a city like Los Angeles or many others on less than $80,000 a year. And even at that level, the lifestyle of your family will be frugal and you will live in a very bad neighborhood. Even two people both making that much will not be able to have a good lifestyle in that city — just an acceptable one, i.e. a roof over one’s head, able to pay bills, able to afford to commute.

All over the world, everyone is saying “My life is worth more.” Most people do not want yachts or multiple homes. They want A HOME. They want to have TIME OFF for themselves. As inflation continues, fewer and fewer people will work for low wages in poorly-paid jobs. It has NOTHING to do with them not being smart enough, not being able to compete or “perform” as your incentive program seemed to encourage. It has to do with them recognizing their life has value — more value than working endlessly for others doing things many others are unwilling to do, and not even being able to buy a home, start a family, or have any type of personal life.