By Lisa A. Eramo
My partner recently shared this quote with me, and I thought I'd post it here. True strength and beauty do radiate outward from within. Enjoy!
"People are like stained-glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light from within."
~ Elizabeth Kubler-Ross ~
Friday, June 26, 2009
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Being paid for what you're worth: A novel idea
By Lisa A. Eramo
We all complain about our salaries. 'We're not paid enough!' 'We deserve a raise!' 'We don't make enough to pay our bills!'
In these tough economic times, chants such as these have increased in volume and frequency, yet employers find themselves emptying their pockets with little more than voluntary unpaid time off to offer employees.
In the midst of layoffs and downsizing, what if employers actually paid employees what they were truly worth? What if our salaries actually reflected the time, effort, and passion we put into our projects and assignments? Would it help retain staff or recruit the best and the brightest? My best guess is that it surely would when coupled with a positive and open work environment, reasonable work load, and comprehensive benefits.
These days, hospitals are being penalized for providing poor care to patients, especially when patients suffer from infections acquired within the hospital walls. Even physician reimbursement has begun to move toward a pay-for-performance model in which more effective and efficient care is rewarded. Why not extend this concept to other professions as well? Pay us for the work we do. The better we perform, the more we make. Those whose final product is less than dazzling are paid less than others who bend over backward to produce the desired results.
Isn't this the way most professionals already work? Not quite. In theory, employers award us for working hard, providing us with merit-based raises each year. In reality, the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow is not bottomless. Employers make decisions oftentimes using a matrix to which only the higher-ups are privy. In the current economic climate, many employers have not only foregone raises, but they have also begun to cut other benefits such as retirement matching, tuition reimbursement, and continuing education. The idea of being paid for what you're worth is at an all-time low.
This idea couldn't be truer for the underpaid--and often under appreciated--profession of teaching. If teachers (the really good ones) were actually paid what they're worth, they'd be among the richest professionals in the country. And schools would be better because of it. Test scores would be higher. Drop out rates would decrease. Students would be inspired. We all know what a little inspiration can do. People would willingly enter the profession because they'd know that their countless evenings grading tests or planning lessons would pay off--literally and figuratively. What kind of teachers could a school if it paid them $125,000? Top notch ones, that's for sure.
Some may say teachers' riches come in the impact they have on students' lives...in the success stories for which they can take credit. I say let's pay them what they deserve for cultivating minds and inspiring youth. Without an education, where would we as a society be? I'm not just talking about a textbook education. Some of the best teachers I've had taught me about life, strength, and loss. Those are the lessons on which you can't put a price tag.
We all complain about our salaries. 'We're not paid enough!' 'We deserve a raise!' 'We don't make enough to pay our bills!'
In these tough economic times, chants such as these have increased in volume and frequency, yet employers find themselves emptying their pockets with little more than voluntary unpaid time off to offer employees.
In the midst of layoffs and downsizing, what if employers actually paid employees what they were truly worth? What if our salaries actually reflected the time, effort, and passion we put into our projects and assignments? Would it help retain staff or recruit the best and the brightest? My best guess is that it surely would when coupled with a positive and open work environment, reasonable work load, and comprehensive benefits.
These days, hospitals are being penalized for providing poor care to patients, especially when patients suffer from infections acquired within the hospital walls. Even physician reimbursement has begun to move toward a pay-for-performance model in which more effective and efficient care is rewarded. Why not extend this concept to other professions as well? Pay us for the work we do. The better we perform, the more we make. Those whose final product is less than dazzling are paid less than others who bend over backward to produce the desired results.
Isn't this the way most professionals already work? Not quite. In theory, employers award us for working hard, providing us with merit-based raises each year. In reality, the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow is not bottomless. Employers make decisions oftentimes using a matrix to which only the higher-ups are privy. In the current economic climate, many employers have not only foregone raises, but they have also begun to cut other benefits such as retirement matching, tuition reimbursement, and continuing education. The idea of being paid for what you're worth is at an all-time low.
This idea couldn't be truer for the underpaid--and often under appreciated--profession of teaching. If teachers (the really good ones) were actually paid what they're worth, they'd be among the richest professionals in the country. And schools would be better because of it. Test scores would be higher. Drop out rates would decrease. Students would be inspired. We all know what a little inspiration can do. People would willingly enter the profession because they'd know that their countless evenings grading tests or planning lessons would pay off--literally and figuratively. What kind of teachers could a school if it paid them $125,000? Top notch ones, that's for sure.
Some may say teachers' riches come in the impact they have on students' lives...in the success stories for which they can take credit. I say let's pay them what they deserve for cultivating minds and inspiring youth. Without an education, where would we as a society be? I'm not just talking about a textbook education. Some of the best teachers I've had taught me about life, strength, and loss. Those are the lessons on which you can't put a price tag.
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