Comments on: Measuring Productivity

By: Ms. Theologian

Ms. Theologian — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 23:20:56 +0000

If I recall correctly, there is a labor dispute at a fancy hotel in Pasadena precisely around the issue of paying the cleaning staff per room. Because, of course, some rooms are far dirtier than others.

And merit-based pay for teachers is equally tricky because of how students’ progress is measured (on standardized tests).

In any case, “productivity” is one of those words like “spirituality” that means a dozen different things. You always have to ask people what exactly they mean.

By: h sofia

h sofia — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 23:14:13 +0000

Yes, I tend to be interested in jobs that pay based on outcome, e.g. you get paid for the quality of your work. I think we’ve all seen situations where two people get paid the same for (purportedly) the same work, and one person is busting their butt, and the other is working hard to stay under the radar and produce nothing. With lousy management and fear of lawsuits, the person who does nothing will go home every week with a paycheck. Is that just? Fair? Does it contribute to low morale on the part of the hardworker?

Then again, every example I’ve seen of corporations “switching” to “merit-based pay” - where now the employee is paid by “the room” (in the case of hotel housecleaning staff) or by “the sale” it basically means less income for the employee and more profit for the employer. So I’m generally suspicious when talking heads start complaining about worker productivity and suggest people should be paid based on what they produce. I’m not against it in theory - surely, that is how artists live, isn’t it? And many other people who work on contracts, be they programmers or plumbers.

But corporations have a weird way of twisting things.

By: Ms. Theologian

Ms. Theologian — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 22:30:36 +0000

I wonder if you’re on to something with the “results” part of the equation. Because you can measure quality and quantity of results (providing it’s a report, presentation, item of some sort) far more easily than the “productivity” it took to get there.

By: h sofia

h sofia — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 22:25:01 +0000

This is a really tough subject. Companies and employers (even small ones) desire results. As individuals, we want to get “what we pay for.” How do you measure that when the pay is hourly? Or salaried? Merit-based? Commission? Some combination of the above?

Should more jobs fall under the “creative professional” category?

I’m still trying to wrap my head around this one, but need a much stronger understanding of different economic models.