Think about it - how often do you walk around your workplace and see co-workers with various trinket-y awards, memos, plaques, etc. on display in their cubicles?
I guess I 'see' them, but I really don't take much of any notice of them
Me? Well, I look at the back of the plaque they hand me...if it has a check taped on the back, I take that off...and toss the plaque in the trash when I get back to my cube...they just clutter up the area and are worthless.
The money, I do appreciate tho....
Maybe I should just frame and post the cancelled checks?
*nods* that tends to be one of big issues. If you are going to have a reward system you need some kind of metric by which to reward people. In sales it can kinda work since you have that bottom line sales number.. but other departments get trickier and metrics can favor behavior that doesn't really improve things or seriously favors particular personality types.
Well, it's not like the company has to tell everyone what they gave out for monetary rewards.
Hell, i'd think a company that did that would be stupid....just for the reasons you mentioned.
Personally, I could not care less what co-workers think about me, or where I "stand' in the office rankings or what title or position I have.....I just care about the money I'm bringing in....
Don't get me wrong, I'm friendly to nice co-workers, first one there with a joke or say howdy...but if it comes to them or my money...well....
Yeah..but it sure makes misery a whole lot easier to handle. I'd rather be rich and unhappy, than poor and unhappy (and everyone has bad times)...being poor just makes it worse.
Money itself doesn't make you happy...but the things it enables you to DO and how you can live can make you quite happy.
I'm not satisfied with the amount I make yet, I guess I would never be until I had enough money where I didn't have to work, and could spend all my free hours doing what "I" wanted to do.
But I'm making enough to make something nice....I like that I don't have to worry about what everyday things cost. I never look at a gas pump for instance...I really don't know what a gallon of gas costs lately. I just stick a card in, and pump. It is a necessity of life. I like that I don't have to look at prices when I shop for food and drink. I actually DO look, just due to liking to get a good deal and I like to cook...I start off looking at the grocery circulars weekly, and plan my meals by what's on sale, just a hold over in personality from my college days.
But, unlike those days...I don't count what I'm putting in the cart...and at the checkout...I don't really pay attention to what the total is if I'm charging. If I have cash, I count it out, but honestly, I'm not even making a mental note of how much the total was.....
Reaching that level....has been nice.
I still want more. I hate that I still have to worry about how much a new car I'd like costs...I hate looking at my budget for a new tv or high end camera, or computer or tory...etc.
Hoping I can get to that point in a few years...working hard to get there.
I'd never work another day in my life if I didn't have to....so, since I do have to work...it has to be worth it, and I'll do whatever I need to get that reward...jump jobs, work for self...etc.
Everyone wants to be appreciated and recognized for their hard work. Sometimes, the absolute best motivator a boss or co-worker can provide is simply saying, "You really nailed that project! It looks great!" or "Hey, I really appreciate you working a little overtime to get that project out," or "Thanks for dealing with that unruly client, you're saving our relationship with that company."
Well, sure, a nice word is nice and always appreciated, but if it doesn't pad my bank account, it means very little to me, and is forgotten as soon as I walk away from the boss or the quarterly 'rah rah' with awards ends.
I'm a bit of a mercenary...I do whatever job is needed for money, plain and simple. You pay me enough, and I don't really give a rats ass if I don't get any praise.
I think the rewards or congratulations mentality...is something from days long gone by, when you could work for a company for a long time, even a job for life, where you felt loyalty from said company and the people you work for.
Well, that work paradigm simply doesn't exist any longer...you as a worker are nothing more than an expendable asset...used and can quickly be tossed aside for any reason. I'm ok with that. I have no loyalty to any company (unless I own it). These days...you work, make money and if you're smart, you look for the next job to get more salary (if you're W2) and position. You generally aren't going to get either of these staying at one job for too long.
This is especially true in this economy. There are plenty of jobs out there if you're qualified and can do good work....and if you have some personality to sell yourself. You have to be flexible and willing to go to the job wherever it is in the country. Fortunately, more and more, telecommuting is available and you can keep from traveling and do your work remotely.
But the name of the game is money. If you're working (in 99% of the cases, there are still a few exceptions) for the company and have a warm feeling about them, loyalty and think you're not expendable...you are a fool.
You can still do what you like for an occupation...nothing wrong with enjoying your work, but remember, money is what greases the wheels on your life....and money allows you flexibility to KEEP doing what you want as far as a work occupation is in addition to your personal lifestyle.
Make as much money as you can...sock a good bit of it away, so that if you find yourself between jobs or contracts...you can float for time till you get another job that interests you.
If you don't pursue as much money as you can...then, you lose that option for 'happy work'...when you get desperate and become at risk for losing home and things important to your family if you have one.
You work for money...get it, it is the bottom line. Any work you do..should not be FREE, it should not be for the good of the company (nice if it works out that way, and often does), but remember, when it comes down to it....it is about You and your life and lifestyle.
A gold star or handshake doesn't cut it in the real world unless it is backed up by compensation...that is what makes it meaningful.
Ok, here it is plain and simple, if I do good, and you want to reward me.....money.
Plain and simple, THAT is my motivator at work.
I mean, If I did not need to earn this amount of money to support the lifestyle I'm accustomed to and enjoy, then I'd certainly NOT be working.
I mean, give me a lottery win that funds me for life, and you'll never see me work again a day in my life, I have way too many hobbies, interest, places I'd like to visit and women I'd like to bang to be stuck somewhere working if I didn't have to.
So, if you want to reward me...keep your plaques, you're tiny plastic 'atta-boy' awards or gold stars. Hand me cash, and I'll feel appreciated and motivated.
It's a good story, not trying to knock this guy, but when hacks like Forbes try to show the spirit of entrepreneurship and capitalism is alive and well, they always seem to leave out the part where that person got a lucky break or windfall through no effort on their own.
I'd say that most of us...at varying levels of success...got there because of a lucky break, knows someone, or maybe simpler put...'being at the right place at the right time'.
That's part of life.
I'd venture to say, most everyone is presented with opportunities that you might want to call a 'break', 'luck' or 'right place at right time' situation...
The difference in being successful or not, is to be able to recognize it and act on it, and not let the opportunity pass you buy due to fear of taking a chance, or laziness.
Well, again...I want these types of laws, I don't like the intrusiveness companies are trying to impose, but I think IMHO, that the constitution is basically written with the thought specifically to grant only limited powers to the feds, it doesn't grant rights...you have them already...but it is supposed to grant limited, enumerated powers to the feds. It isn't written for private entities....I suppose with the thought that you aren't forced to working for a private entity or interact with them...but the govt. does have force of law behind them, and can put you in situations that you can not voluntarily get out of....you can't go to jail for refusing to work at a company that asks for this intrusive information.
I may be wrong, but that's the gist of my understanding of the situation....
the only state in the US that still does not require motorcycle helmets!
Arkansas doesn't have a helmet law, and I think TX doesn't either?
I know in LA, we're trying to reverse what former gov. Blank-stare...err....Blanco did in re-instating the helmet law. But no, SC isn't the only state with no helmet laws....
There are reasons for this - one of the more compelling ones being that despite them all driving around pissed as newts, not that many people end up dead
Hey...practice makes perfect....
That's why the one time I refuse to drive, is on New Years Eve. I call it amateur night.....
It is the one night of the year where people that have no experience driving after drinks, go out, try it...and the cops are out lined up on that night looking for them.
I'll hang at home that night....and enjoy the 364 other nights when the rest of us with experience are out.
I've never understood this need of US/UK people to drink and drive.
Well, they have these things here called bars. They have parking lots to accomodate all their patrons that drive there.
You have drinks...and well, you have to get home, and you have to get your car home (often after going directly there after work before going home).
Most people live miles away from work and said bar...and there really is no such thing as viable public transportation in most cities.
I'm guessing Norway is set up a bit differently.
The N.E. part of the US seems to be a bit more piggish on drinking and driving, but its a normal way of life largely in the south. It isn't unheard of to grab a beer to go when leaving home.
I don't know any one of my friends that has never had drinks and driven.......and it isn't a rare thing either.
Those parking lots at bars aren't full during business hours, and empty at closing time without sending the majority of people out there that would likely not pass the fairly recently passed, ridiculously low BAC of 0.08%....
Are you saying that the US or any other developed country for that matter does not have laws regarding begging, drinking alcohol in the streets, making noise...
Err, sure...we call it New Orleans down here....
:)
It sure is nice to be able to order a drink 'to go' and carry it around with you here in the city....
"The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized."
Ah...but that is applicable only to the government...not to between private parties. That clause is pertaining to the law enforcement officials and restrains them (or the military) from raiding your home on a whim, without a warrant.
Granted...THAT part is being eroded too, but still...it wasn't written to apply to private entities that don't have the force of law behind them.
While I am all for this type of legislature, I have to ask myself, on what authority do the FEDS have to make this law?
I'm not sure how I see this falling into the interstate commerce clause? I mean, a person works in his state....money paid to him in a state in which he is responsible for state taxes, etc.
I would think this would have to be done on a state basis, and not a federal one?
Sorry, but these days...I'm questioning every law the feds are trying to pass, and trying to understand where the constitutional authority is for these mandates/laws.....
And besides...who wants to watch a bunch of fat chicks modelling clothes.
I dunno how bad the obesity thing is in Israel vs the US, but over here...I don't think having girls (and guys) seeing non-obese models as something to try to emulate as being a bad thing.
What normal guy wouldn't want to be getting some from a Victoria Secrets model?
I guess in some parts of the country its illegal for underage people to be on the premises of a bar? That must cut into sales even worse than smoking bans.
I live in New Orleans...there are LOTS of bar only bars here. The old fashioned "neighborhood bar" is still around here.
Sure some sell food too, but they are primarily bars, alcohol is the main money makers. Heck, even at restaurants, bar sales often top or come close to topping food sales for profit.
But that being said...down here, we still have choice in bars....allowing smoking in bars does not hurt your business, in most cases, it helps it seems.
There are a very few non-smoking bars in the city...you can't smoke inside, but they do have patios you can go out onto if you want to light one up. No one forces anyone to go into a smoking establishment (patron or worker)...it should be free choice for the owner of the private business.
Most of the country I've lived in in the US, will not allow anyone under age 21 to even enter a bar. NOLA, is a bit of an exception....liquor laws are much looser here. It is the gambling machines in bars that often keep under 21's out though.
Some bars don't really care; but if you're the type of bar where your 'regulars' are 95% of your patrons, you cater to them and let some things slide (like backbones)
Ah yes...I like those types of bars.
And I know a few of them I'm regular at....it helps to be a regular, you get your drinks poured heavy...sometimes they start pouring when you walk in the door and they hand it to you as you sit down. You get to see what you want on the TV....and yes, you can get some c-rap killed on the juke box if some idiot plays something really obnoxious.
It really helps if you're a regular that tips well.....
But, please, don't let me get in the way of your excellent "hooray for me, fuck you"/"all's fair in love and war" attitude. Just don't expect much sympathy when society adopts the same mentality and starts rolling the guillotines through the gated communities. It's happened before, and it's gonna happen again.
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LOL...geez, always remember to hit preview first!!!
D'oh!!
I guess I 'see' them, but I really don't take much of any notice of them
Me? Well, I look at the back of the plaque they hand me...if it has a check taped on the back, I take that off...and toss the plaque in the trash when I get back to my cube...they just clutter up the area and are worthless.
The money, I do appreciate tho....
Maybe I should just frame and post the cancelled checks?
I wonder how many of those kids can pass and English test....?
Well, it's not like the company has to tell everyone what they gave out for monetary rewards.
Hell, i'd think a company that did that would be stupid....just for the reasons you mentioned.
Personally, I could not care less what co-workers think about me, or where I "stand' in the office rankings or what title or position I have.....I just care about the money I'm bringing in....
Don't get me wrong, I'm friendly to nice co-workers, first one there with a joke or say howdy...but if it comes to them or my money...well....
Yeah..but it sure makes misery a whole lot easier to handle. I'd rather be rich and unhappy, than poor and unhappy (and everyone has bad times)...being poor just makes it worse.
Money itself doesn't make you happy...but the things it enables you to DO and how you can live can make you quite happy.
I'm not satisfied with the amount I make yet, I guess I would never be until I had enough money where I didn't have to work, and could spend all my free hours doing what "I" wanted to do.
But I'm making enough to make something nice....I like that I don't have to worry about what everyday things cost. I never look at a gas pump for instance...I really don't know what a gallon of gas costs lately. I just stick a card in, and pump. It is a necessity of life. I like that I don't have to look at prices when I shop for food and drink. I actually DO look, just due to liking to get a good deal and I like to cook...I start off looking at the grocery circulars weekly, and plan my meals by what's on sale, just a hold over in personality from my college days.
But, unlike those days...I don't count what I'm putting in the cart...and at the checkout...I don't really pay attention to what the total is if I'm charging. If I have cash, I count it out, but honestly, I'm not even making a mental note of how much the total was.....
Reaching that level....has been nice.
I still want more. I hate that I still have to worry about how much a new car I'd like costs...I hate looking at my budget for a new tv or high end camera, or computer or tory...etc.
Hoping I can get to that point in a few years...working hard to get there.
I'd never work another day in my life if I didn't have to....so, since I do have to work...it has to be worth it, and I'll do whatever I need to get that reward...jump jobs, work for self...etc.
Well, sure, a nice word is nice and always appreciated, but if it doesn't pad my bank account, it means very little to me, and is forgotten as soon as I walk away from the boss or the quarterly 'rah rah' with awards ends.
I'm a bit of a mercenary...I do whatever job is needed for money, plain and simple. You pay me enough, and I don't really give a rats ass if I don't get any praise.
I think the rewards or congratulations mentality...is something from days long gone by, when you could work for a company for a long time, even a job for life, where you felt loyalty from said company and the people you work for.
Well, that work paradigm simply doesn't exist any longer...you as a worker are nothing more than an expendable asset...used and can quickly be tossed aside for any reason. I'm ok with that. I have no loyalty to any company (unless I own it). These days...you work, make money and if you're smart, you look for the next job to get more salary (if you're W2) and position. You generally aren't going to get either of these staying at one job for too long.
This is especially true in this economy. There are plenty of jobs out there if you're qualified and can do good work....and if you have some personality to sell yourself. You have to be flexible and willing to go to the job wherever it is in the country. Fortunately, more and more, telecommuting is available and you can keep from traveling and do your work remotely.
But the name of the game is money. If you're working (in 99% of the cases, there are still a few exceptions) for the company and have a warm feeling about them, loyalty and think you're not expendable...you are a fool.
You can still do what you like for an occupation...nothing wrong with enjoying your work, but remember, money is what greases the wheels on your life....and money allows you flexibility to KEEP doing what you want as far as a work occupation is in addition to your personal lifestyle.
Make as much money as you can...sock a good bit of it away, so that if you find yourself between jobs or contracts...you can float for time till you get another job that interests you.
If you don't pursue as much money as you can...then, you lose that option for 'happy work'...when you get desperate and become at risk for losing home and things important to your family if you have one.
You work for money...get it, it is the bottom line. Any work you do..should not be FREE, it should not be for the good of the company (nice if it works out that way, and often does), but remember, when it comes down to it....it is about You and your life and lifestyle.
A gold star or handshake doesn't cut it in the real world unless it is backed up by compensation...that is what makes it meaningful.
Ok, here it is plain and simple, if I do good, and you want to reward me.....money.
Plain and simple, THAT is my motivator at work.
I mean, If I did not need to earn this amount of money to support the lifestyle I'm accustomed to and enjoy, then I'd certainly NOT be working.
I mean, give me a lottery win that funds me for life, and you'll never see me work again a day in my life, I have way too many hobbies, interest, places I'd like to visit and women I'd like to bang to be stuck somewhere working if I didn't have to.
So, if you want to reward me...keep your plaques, you're tiny plastic 'atta-boy' awards or gold stars. Hand me cash, and I'll feel appreciated and motivated.
I'd say that most of us...at varying levels of success...got there because of a lucky break, knows someone, or maybe simpler put...'being at the right place at the right time'.
That's part of life.
I'd venture to say, most everyone is presented with opportunities that you might want to call a 'break', 'luck' or 'right place at right time' situation...
The difference in being successful or not, is to be able to recognize it and act on it, and not let the opportunity pass you buy due to fear of taking a chance, or laziness.
*sigh*
Well, again...I want these types of laws, I don't like the intrusiveness companies are trying to impose, but I think IMHO, that the constitution is basically written with the thought specifically to grant only limited powers to the feds, it doesn't grant rights...you have them already...but it is supposed to grant limited, enumerated powers to the feds. It isn't written for private entities....I suppose with the thought that you aren't forced to working for a private entity or interact with them...but the govt. does have force of law behind them, and can put you in situations that you can not voluntarily get out of....you can't go to jail for refusing to work at a company that asks for this intrusive information.
I may be wrong, but that's the gist of my understanding of the situation....
Arkansas doesn't have a helmet law, and I think TX doesn't either?
I know in LA, we're trying to reverse what former gov. Blank-stare...err....Blanco did in re-instating the helmet law. But no, SC isn't the only state with no helmet laws....
Actually...after I've had a few and have to drive home, that is about the ONLY time I actually look at and try to adhere to the speed limits.
When 100% sober, I only look at the speedometer when the radar detector goes off....on any street I'm on.
Hey...practice makes perfect....
That's why the one time I refuse to drive, is on New Years Eve. I call it amateur night.....
It is the one night of the year where people that have no experience driving after drinks, go out, try it...and the cops are out lined up on that night looking for them.
I'll hang at home that night....and enjoy the 364 other nights when the rest of us with experience are out.
Well, they have these things here called bars. They have parking lots to accomodate all their patrons that drive there.
You have drinks...and well, you have to get home, and you have to get your car home (often after going directly there after work before going home).
Most people live miles away from work and said bar...and there really is no such thing as viable public transportation in most cities.
I'm guessing Norway is set up a bit differently.
The N.E. part of the US seems to be a bit more piggish on drinking and driving, but its a normal way of life largely in the south. It isn't unheard of to grab a beer to go when leaving home.
I don't know any one of my friends that has never had drinks and driven.......and it isn't a rare thing either.
Those parking lots at bars aren't full during business hours, and empty at closing time without sending the majority of people out there that would likely not pass the fairly recently passed, ridiculously low BAC of 0.08%....
Err, sure...we call it New Orleans down here....
It sure is nice to be able to order a drink 'to go' and carry it around with you here in the city....
Ah...but that is applicable only to the government...not to between private parties. That clause is pertaining to the law enforcement officials and restrains them (or the military) from raiding your home on a whim, without a warrant.
Granted...THAT part is being eroded too, but still...it wasn't written to apply to private entities that don't have the force of law behind them.
I'm not sure how I see this falling into the interstate commerce clause? I mean, a person works in his state....money paid to him in a state in which he is responsible for state taxes, etc.
I would think this would have to be done on a state basis, and not a federal one?
Sorry, but these days...I'm questioning every law the feds are trying to pass, and trying to understand where the constitutional authority is for these mandates/laws.....
Hmm...I guess it does help battle premature ejaculation problems tho, if it cuts down a bit on the sensitivity, eh?
I dunno how bad the obesity thing is in Israel vs the US, but over here...I don't think having girls (and guys) seeing non-obese models as something to try to emulate as being a bad thing.
What normal guy wouldn't want to be getting some from a Victoria Secrets model?
Someone who is actually fit, with more muscle and lean body mass, can actually show up as unhealthy when using BMI with the way we measure it.....
I like it....
I live in New Orleans...there are LOTS of bar only bars here. The old fashioned "neighborhood bar" is still around here.
Sure some sell food too, but they are primarily bars, alcohol is the main money makers. Heck, even at restaurants, bar sales often top or come close to topping food sales for profit.
But that being said...down here, we still have choice in bars....allowing smoking in bars does not hurt your business, in most cases, it helps it seems.
There are a very few non-smoking bars in the city...you can't smoke inside, but they do have patios you can go out onto if you want to light one up. No one forces anyone to go into a smoking establishment (patron or worker)...it should be free choice for the owner of the private business.
Most of the country I've lived in in the US, will not allow anyone under age 21 to even enter a bar. NOLA, is a bit of an exception....liquor laws are much looser here. It is the gambling machines in bars that often keep under 21's out though.
Ah yes...I like those types of bars.
And I know a few of them I'm regular at....it helps to be a regular, you get your drinks poured heavy...sometimes they start pouring when you walk in the door and they hand it to you as you sit down. You get to see what you want on the TV....and yes, you can get some c-rap killed on the juke box if some idiot plays something really obnoxious.
It really helps if you're a regular that tips well.....
I take it you don't frequent many bars, do you....?
Wow. you really believe that.....don't you?
[rolls eyes]