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Open Source vs. Wall Street Bonuses

Posted by kdawson on from the can't-buy-me-whuffie dept.

tcd004 sends in a piece from PBS NewsHour on money and what actually motivates people. "What best motivates the workforce? More money? Fame? New studies reveal that beyond a certain threshold, large financial rewards can actually become a drag on performance in the workplace. Reporter Paul Solman compares million-dollar Wall Street bonuses to the rewards earned by the labor force behind the open source community."

3 of 172 comments (clear)

  1. Real world already knows this by ender06 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Who would've imagined that knowing you'd get a huge bonus anyway would make you work less/not as hard? The rest of us in the real world already know this.

    1. Re:Real world already knows this by Rhaban · · Score: 5, Insightful

      As a developer, I see everyday that when someone is asked to do something with a tight deadline, it usually takes more time than if there's no deadline or a large one.

      When someone thinks there's no time to perform a task, they try to cut on "useless" parts like planning, modeling... and they try to begin "productive" work right away.

      The result is often that a lot of work has to be redone, and the global task ends up taking more time.

  2. Re:people who do less useful work earn more by LKM · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Similarly, in my experience, the people who end up in the highest-paying jobs are usually not the most productive or useful workers at a company, but simply the most sociopathic ones. Instead of helping others and improving the system, they optimized for their own success.