Why Work?

Why do people work? Is it just for money? Or because they are genuinely interested in what they do? Or because they would be bored if they did nothing? Or because they like working with other people? Or because they take pride in doing something better than other people? All these questions are important for business. If people did not work, the business world and the whole economy would collapse overnight. So business must try to understand why people work and provide the right motivation, such as money or interest to make them work more keenly and efficiently.

One of the main reasons for working is money. How many people would work if they did not get paid? Basically people work to get enough money to satisfy their basic needs for food, water, shelter, clothes and warmth. Even when those needs have been met, money still remains a strong motivation, as it buys the luxuries that most people cannot afford - a country mansion, a Rolls Royce, a diamond necklace.

Money is rarely the only motivation! People want more out of work than that. Some people, but not all, would prefer to do any kind of job rather than sit idly at home. They would miss the company of their workmates. The sense of affiliation, of having friends, of belonging to a group, is a strong motivation for all kinds of working people. Businesses can use this personal need to motivate the work force by: providing company uniforms or overalls, organizing company entertainments and sports events providing free company trips for employees - and sometimes their wives or husbands too, producing a company newsletter or magazine, forming working groups in the factory, so that the members feel part of a team.

A sense of security is another basic human need for most people. Until recently, many businesses in both the private and the public sectors provide jobs for life. Employees knew for certain that there was very little possibility of their losing their job and that annual increases in their salary were guaranteed. When they retired, the company provided them a pension.

That kind of security has gone, even in the civil service. The greatest security most people can now obtain is having a job while millions of others do not. Even so, businesses can still increase their employees' sense of security to a certain extent by providing good pension schemes, providing sick-pay schemes and private healthcare, giving priority to promoting company employees when job vacancies occur, making sure that the work force knows of any changes in company policy or working conditions.

Another strong motivation for people is a sense of self-importance. Everyone likes to feel important, but these people want to feel much more important than others. Money in the form of large salaries or big expense accounts is one way in which this need can be met and another is by offering fringe benefits, such as company cars ranging up to Rolls-Royces and other luxury extras.

Some people can become almost entirely dependent on company approval. To gain more and more approval they become workaholics, unable to stop themselves working and perhaps putting in 16 hours or more a day.

Job satisfaction - a sense that your work is worth while, that you are doing something you really want to do and using all your skills and creativity - is just about the hardest thing to get from work. Low income and job satisfaction don't always go together. Many sports people, professional and self-employed persons get a large amount of job satisfaction and a much higher income.

Finally, there is a group of people who work outside the mainstream economy, on the borders of legality. The shade economy is growing fast, encouraged by the high rate of unemployment. Its total turnover is estimated at billions of pounds, all of it untaxed!

1. What is the main reason for working?

2. Explain how a sense of self- importance can motivate people at work.

3. Define job satisfaction. Give two examples of people who obtain it.

4. What do members of your family and other people you know obtain from work apart from money?

Text 2

Read the text and identify the problems discussed in it. Be ready to answer the questions given below.

Wages

Most manual workers receive wages calculated on an hourly basis, e.g. £5.50 an hour. Non-manual white-collar workers receive salaries, calculated for the whole year, e.g. £12,000 a year. Although there are still big differences between wages and salaries and the ways in which they are paid, there have been some major changes in the last few years.

• Although some manual workers are still paid in cash, since the U.K. 1986 Wages Act employers have the right to pay all new manual workers by cheque. (This was done to reduce wage robberies.)

• Wages used to be lower than salaries, but many manual workers now earn more than office workers. Some, with overtime, earn more than their salaried supervisors and a few earn more than some professional people.

• Unions used to be concerned mainly with negotiating wages. They now negotiate salaries for many white-collar workers too, e.g. bank workers or clerical staff.

A few firms have tried to get rid of the distinctions between manual and white-collar workers by paying annual salaries to both. However, most manual workers are still paid by the hour.

The national basic wage, or time rate, is agreed once a year in some industries by the employers and unions involved. The basic wage is decided mainly by the supply and demand for of labour. Generally, wages will be low if a job can be done by almost anyone and high if a job requires qualifications and training. Other factors, such as work conditions or health risks, are also taken into account. The strength of the union involved, the skills of its negotiators and the personality of its leader will also have a great influence on the agreed basic wage.

Workers can receive many extra payments on top of their basic pay. Some of these are negotiated nationally and some at the firm where they work. They include:

Overtime pay for work done outside normal working hours, such as at weekends or on holidays. Payment can vary from time and a quarter to double time. Increased supervision may be needed to prevent workers deliberately slowing down in working hours so that they can do more of the better-paid overtime.

Shift premium payments for working anti-social hours late at night or early in the morning.

Price rate, which pays workers a set rate for each article produced. This was popular in the past when more goods were produced individually. Some firms still use it, but it is more usual for home-workers. One drawback is that low-quality goods may be produced, so careful inspection is required.

Bonuses which are paid for producing beyond an agreed amount. A standard rate of production is fixed for each job by measuring the time taken to do it. A bonus is paid to a worker if more goods are produced in the stated time. Individual bonuses may be replaced by group or team bonuses, but this can cause resentment if there are slow-work­ing members of the team. Company bonus schemes are based on the total output of the whole factory, but the bonus is often too small to motivate individual workers.

Profit-sharing schemes set aside a proportion of a firm's profits for distribution among the work force. A reasonable percentage needs to be set aside to have any motivating effect on the workers.

Merit pay for constant good performance at work. This may cause resentment among other workers who think their work is just as good.

Employers must make certain deductions under PAYE from their employees' gross pay. Income tax and national insurance are statutory deduc­tions, which must be made by law. Other items, such as union fees, subscriptions or savings, are voluntary deductions. What is left after all deductions is the net pay, or take-home pay.

1. Which kinds of employee are usually paid wages?

2. What is the difference between gross pay and net pay?

3. Who sometimes settles the time rate for an industry?

4. What is the main drawback of piece rates? Where might they be used as a method of payment?

5. State three kinds of bonus scheme. What are some of the advantages and disadvantages?

6. Why can wages of newly employed manual workers be paid by cheque?

Text 3

Read the text. Put down the key words of each paragraph. Be ready to answer the questions given below.