Pay Complaints & Doggone Labor Market Inequalities

Sometimes it appears that the labor market is the great unequalizer.  I expect this pattern to only continue as we move through and out of the recession.

Conversations with a number of colleagues and clients over the past few weeks confirm that many employees have noticed this too... and they're not liking it much.

Fact is, some skill sets are mission critical for a lot of organizations today, some skill sets are in short supply relative to demand, and some skill sets are both of these things.  Some skill sets are neither.  And the truth is that this matters - quite a bit, in fact - when it comes to pay.

All, or pretty near all, employees do important work today.  If they didn't, chances are they wouldn't still be there in the wake of the recent waves of staff reductions.  Unfortunately, all important work is not created equal - or of equal value - in the eyes of the labor market.  And, as these recent conversations have confirmed for me, this can be a bitter pill for many employees to swallow.

A recent discussion and case in point involved comparisons between customer service and technology.  The positions in question in both areas each required a Bachelors degree and two to four years related experience - yet (surprise!) the technology positions were assigned to a higher salary range. 

"Not fair!" say the customer service employees.

I say it depends on how short-sighted your definition of fair is.  Want to be paid like a technology employee?  Go get a degree - or at least a few solid certifications - in IT.

Want to make the big bucks that sales people do?  Take on a sales job.

Don't want to learn that stuff or do that kind of work?  Congratulations!  You've just answered your own complaint!

The inequalities of the labor market, like them or not, are there for a reason.  They incent people to learn the stuff and do the kind of work that many of us would rather not, to pursue those challenging skill sets that are the most critical to moving today's organizations forward.  And we need that, collectively, to be the case in order for our overall economy to lift.

Bottom line: The labor market presents us with choices and implications, but not the fairness many seek.  The sooner we understand that, the better position we are in to make smart and informed career decisions.

That's it.

Comments

[E James (Jim) Brennan]

Thanks for a classic reminder that equality is both relative and rare, as well as frequently irrelevant to reality. Those who don't already know that basic tenet of our tradecraft can't be told the lesson too often. Well said, Ann!

[Nancy Hess]

In the spirit of transparency, we can better define mission critical and highlight jobs that fall in this category. This may set off a chain of mumbles amongst the workforce, but it is better than leaving the matter vague and undiscussed. I am curious how many organizations make their job evaluation findings transparent, or at least semi-transparent. I prefer to work with a management team so that the findings are understood by a core group, but I do not advice making eval findings generally accessible.

[Blair Johanson]

Ann, Thank you for your timely comments about job value differences and the current economic dynamics that will foster job skills reality checks for both employers and employees. The need for greater job evaluation transparency will become more apparent with anticipated increases in employee turnover during the post recession period and the rising frequency of internal compensation equity audits by outside governmental agencies. In response to Nancy's question, we have seen less job valuation creep when the executive management team understands and participates in the job evaluation process.

[Ann Bares]

Jim:

Even better said ... "equality is both relative and rare, as well as frequently irrelevant to reality"! Thanks!

Nancy:

Really excellent points. It is important that we identify and define what are mission-critical skills, realizing that this will - of necessity - have to change over time. Leaving it vague and undiscussed opens the door to misunderstanding and frustration ... and worse. And completely misses the opportunity to entice more employees to pursue/develop mission-critical skills. And you're right - this has a core connection to job valuation methodology and transparency. Interesting challenges to ponder - thanks for the great comments!

Blair:

Great thoughts and totally right on. As you and Nancy both point out, this does have potentially enormous implications for job evaluation transparency - and I think the connection you note between valuation creep and participation/understanding is a critical one.

Thanks - all - for the great observations. Very interesting issue to follow into 2010....

[Linda Townsend]

RE: Market Force Information in Kinderhook, NY.
Unlawful pay practices to 'Independent Contractors.'