Financial Incentives for Worker Productivity

Re “Productivity Drops for First Time Since 1995,” May 9: What’s missed is the reality that this decline has more to do with the fact that the report includes a higher percentage of old-economy jobs than new-economy jobs. What is significant is that new-economy workers were willing to give more effort, quality and unpaid time, resulting in higher productivity, than people in the traditional-economy jobs, since they had huge upside potential if the company were to go public.

Old-economy workers are there for the paycheck, may not receive overtime pay or may take years to garner a stock plan (ESOPs). They have no incentive to be more productive because their efforts may not be rewarded. Even if management were not to recognize workers’ efforts with promotions and raises in new-economy jobs, their efforts would have an effect on the success of the company and their stock options. Good managers, policies and benefits will be the difference, but nothing will be as good an incentive as the possibility to be wealthy in a few short years.

Asher Pergament

Beverly Hills