I selected ‘Employee Pay is Low Practice’ to evaluate. I think that there are many factors that
can contribute to a company executing this practice. Recently, the pandemic brought to light
the concerns regarding low paying jobs. People in the service industry was hit hard. The
phrase ‘Essential Worker’ took on a whole new meaning. We all discovered just how
important these people are to maintaining our healthy society.
However, one factor that can cause low wages is that some small businesses might not be
financially equipped to pay their employees higher salaries. If their profit margin is low,
paying low wages is a given.
Low pay can be directly attached to some employees experiencing low morale. This fact
could lead to negative repercussions. You have some employees who associate their pay grade
with their ‘Work-Worthiness.’ These employees could end up feeling as if they are not
relevant to the company and therefore might have the tendency to feel less than motivated to
do an exceptional job.
If a higher pay was offered, I think that the degree of motivation would be elevated.
Companies should never fail to invest in their employees. As stated in Soomo Learning,
investing in the employees makes the company more attractive to top talents who might be
seeking employment. Word of mouth is the best marketing strategy. If the word gets out that a
certain company is paying a decent salary, others will take notice.
The benefits of paying employees higher salaries could results in more satisfied employees.
They will feel better about themselves and that will probably prompt them to feel better about
their jobs which could lead to each employee becoming more productive. Paying a higher
salary will create an atmosphere that would be conducive to productivity. Profit along with
satisfied employees will make a huge positive difference every time! That’s a winning
combination.
There are a few reasons why an employee pay may be too low. The company may be a start up
and do not have the budget to cover a higher payroll. The company might have compensated
pay for the benefits package. c A company may pay according to the geographic. c These are just
a few of the more common reasons. Either way it goes, when the pay is too low the company
typically will have a high turnover of employment. As the employees will look for better
paying opportunities. This will eventually leave the company losing out on potential great
employees. It would be beneficial to increase the pay or balance it the low pay with a
generous benefit, such company stock options, assisting in the community or reducing the
carbon footprint in the world. These are issues that will “soften the blow” of being offered a
low pay and make it worth sacrificing.
For this discussion I have decided to focus on a scenario where employee benefits are
minimal; there is little paid time off or sick time available. For a business to not offer many
benefits including PTO or sick time could simply be a matter of cutting costs. Small
businesses in particular may not be able to afford to pay for the insurance plans they would
have to offer to employees. However, with larger companies they may be trying to change
their bottom line financially, so having little PTO or sick time available is one less thing they
have to pay for.
By offering employees paid time off, sick leave, and other benefits the company is showing
that their employees are truly a priority. Which will in turn increase productivity by creating a
healthy and encouraging work environment. By offering benefits such as sick leave if gives
employees the ability to stay home when they are not well without the threat of not getting
paid because they got sick. When employees come to work sick, regardless of the work
environment, they spread it. Particularly in the service industries, the illness can be spread to
both coworkers and customer alike, which then can be spread throughout the community even
more. "In a CDC study, 49 percent of food workers who had worked at least one shift while
suffering from vomiting or diarrhea in the last year said that knowing they would not be paid if
they stayed home influenced their decision to work while sick" (Michel, 2017). Employees
working sick do not reach the level of productivity they could if they were well which in turn
costs the business they money they could have potentially made off that productivity. " Paid
sick days help to reduce the productivity lost when employees work sick . . . which is
estimated to cost the national economy $160 billion annually or about $234 billion when
adjusted for c inflation, surpassing the cost of absenteeism" (NPWF, 2020).
Listed within the negative impacts of not offering specifically sick leave benefits I already
noted what could be turned around by simply offering a positive amount of sick leave. By
offering great benefit packages you can attract more talented applicants. You would also
minimize employee turnover because you're creating an environment where employees want
to stay and not jump ship to a competitor with better benefits. Offering benefits also
encourages a healthy work environment where employees are happy to work and be
productive. (Goodshore, 2021)
If there is anything we have learned from this pandemic in a business setting at the very least,
I hope that it is that no matter what the job is, having sick leave is a minimum. People get sick,
and helping people get better when they're unexpectedly sick, helps our community and places
of work stay healthy. In this discussion post I will be evaluating businesses that do not take
initiative to give back to their community. Giving back to the community may be overlooked
by businesses which are focused on creating profit, this could be a small business that is just
starting up and focused on other things or even a large corporation who wants to maximize
potential profit.
The negative repercussions of not giving back to the community could include not standing
out against competition. For example, a local coffee shop which gives out free coffee at town
meetings might stick into the minds of community members than the coffee shop that does not
do that. Another negative consequence could be a lack of purpose in the employee’s minds. If
they are working for a company who’s only goal is making money, they may not be as
attached to their work and move on to a new path sooner than later.
While giving back to the community by donating to local shelters, fundraisers with local
community organizations, or having an employee volunteer program may seem like an extra
step that a company does not want to focus on, it will actually make the company more
profitable in the future. When a company reaches out to their local community it will get them
noticed by potential customers who may have not known about the company before, or it will
get them noticed in a different light by already existing customers and influence them to keep
returning to a business that does good for the individual’s community. Creating a company
culture that encourages employees to participate in giving back to their community will help
employees feel as though they have a further purpose with this employer, and may feel
fulfilled and happy with the company and stick around for a long time. According to the
textbook, retaining employees and becoming a company with a good culture to attract talent
will result in a more profitable business in the long run. (Soomo Learning, 2020)
A real-life example of a company who gives back to its community is Whole Foods. They
have programs to alleviate poverty in countries they import goods from, and they also support
organizations that support nutritional lifestyles of kids. Many people decide to support Whole
Foods for their grocery shopping because it will help them give back to the world that they life
in. (Cole, 2017)
The practice I will choose to evaluate will be employee benefits are minimal, there's little paid
time off and limited sick time. One of the main general factors that a business or organization
may not offer benefits to their employees is because of the cost. In order for a company to
offer paid time off, sick days and great benefits, the company has to be financially stable.
However, the cost of health insurance has steadily risen, making it less and less affordable to
employers, and making financial planning difficult from year to year although the small
business provisions of the Affordable Care Act have altered this balance by incentivizing
employer-funded benefits (FindLaw, 2018). Employers are not required by law to offer these
benefits but it’s a good way to retain employees, cut down employee turnover and to attract
potential workers.
The benefits both the employees and business organization can astronomical. One of the main
facts would be to retain employees with needed and top talents which will lower employee
turnover. This will also attract other potential workers to want to work for the company.
Employee benefits provide your workforce with resources to remain healthy and productive,
serving as a win-win for both your organization and employees (People Keep, 2021). There
are companies that also offer incentives for healthy living which is huge. Some offer non-
tobacco use for a certain amount to be deducted from the monthly health insurance portion that
is paid by the employee. Another example of a great benefit is offering monetary incentives
for every employee to get a full annual physical. This not only help keep workers healthy and
to spot any potential illness which can lead to major issues, but it also helps keep insurance
costs down for these illnesses if caught too late. However, the company would still need to be
in a great financial standing to offer this type of benefit.
Pro and cons: Offering employee benefits. FindLaw. (2018, January 17). Retrieved January
16, 2022, from https://www.findlaw.com/smallbusiness/employment-law-and-human-
resources/pro-and-cons-offering-employee-benefits.html
Smith, G. (2021, March 29). Five advantages of employee benefits for small businesses.
People Keep. Retrieved January 16, 2022, from https://www.peoplekeep.com/blog/five-
advantages-of-employee-benefits-for-small-businesses
Cole, L. (2017, March 14). 5 companies that give back in Big Ways. Business 2 Community.
Retrieved January 14, 2022, from https://www.business2community.com/strategy/5-
companies-give-back-big-ways-01798630
Soomo Learning. (2020). People, planet, and profit. https://www.webtexts.co
Goodshore, C. (2021, February 25). Top 5 reasons to offer employee benefits. Business.org.
Retrieved January 13, 2022, from https://www.business.org/hr/benefits/top-reasons-to-offer-
employee-benefits/
Michel, Z. Z. (2017, March). Business case for HFA - clasp. Clasp.org. Retrieved January 13,
2022, from https://www.clasp.org/sites/default/files/public/resources-and-
publications/publication-1/Business-Case-for-HFA-3.pdf
NPWF. (2020, October). Paid sick days are good for business. National Partnership for
Women & Families. Retrieved January 13, 2022, from
https://www.nationalpartnership.org/our-work/resources/economic-justice/paid-sick-
days/paid-sick-days-good-for-business-and-workers.pdf
bizfluent.com/info-8203577-can-wages-affect-employees-organization.html
Soomo Learning (2020). People, Planet, and profit – https://www.webtext.co
7 Reasons You Should Pay Your Employees Above-Average Salaries | Inc.com
