The Generation of More Awards and Less Pay

On social media, you stop on a photo of your friend beside their company’s president as they hand your friend an award. Or you notice a thousand TikTokers leave hearts for the video of a woman being given a medal at work. But none of these accolades come with higher pay. It appears that employers have swapped pay raises for valueless praise in the form of awards.

Here’s a Sticker for Your Good Work

We all remember those shiny stars our teachers left behind on assignments on which we did well. In those heart fluttering moments, we melted on the inside from this acknowledgment of our good work. We all felt that new boost of confidence that made us believe we could do it when doubt lingered like an acrid stench. Those gold stars meant then what money to us means as adults, but workplaces are still handing out gold stars.

… it feels good to the employees being [given an award], but it’s literally worthless.

A presidential election just passed, and the country chose the president that they believe will give them some financial relief. Most voters are employed, and most of them feel they aren’t getting the pay they deserve. This was evident in the recent dock workers’ strike on the East and Gulf Coasts in October.

Employers have ceremonies by invite only, where they celebrate the “Employee of the Year” or “Most Dedicated” or “Most Helpful to Customers”. They give these hard-working employees plaques, medals or company-branded attire and products. At the time, it feels good to the employees being acknowledged, but it’s literally worthless.

Although employers would like to think awards are all employees need, pay raises are a must.

After the award ceremony, the awardees hop in their year 2000 Honda Civics in the parking lot beside the CEOs Porsche and go back to their one-bedroom apartment they can barely afford. The awards they receive don’t translate into more money. They can’t even sell whatever they’re given because it literally has no value.

Employers don’t seem to realize that employees desire more dollars than they do more gold medals, unless the medals are made of pure gold. High morale is an important factor in keeping employees on the job. Pay raises are vital in boosting morale. They also keep employees housed, fed and able to get to and do the job. Keep giving awards. But give more raises.

The Takeaway

Although employers would like to think awards are all employees need, pay raises are a must. If employees are worth acknowledging with awards, they’re worth paying more for that excellence on the job. Social media makes it seem as though the employee getting the award is happy with or deserves that alone. This is untrue, and employers have to pay their employees more in general but especially when they do the job exceptionally well.

This article was written by Jermaine Reed, MFA, the Editor-in-Chief of The Reeders Block. He also works an Adjunct College Professor. Join the email list to get notifications on new blog posts and books. This article is 100% human-written. And remember, if you see an error, that’s what makes us human. Subscribe and share.