Motivation For Overtime?

[Patty Meglio <pmeglio -at- lct -dot- com>]

Steven Owens wrote:
< The issue is
the ratio - that you demonstrate respect for me, and for my skills and
what I do, by paying me in an appropriate ratio to how you pay your
other employees.
     If you're paying your rank & file employees one third of what
you're paying your managers, well, don't expect the programmers to have
any loyalty.  Dont expect them to feel respected and valued.  Don't
expect them to feel any sense of esprit de corp when their boss asks
them to sacrifice their weekend for the good of the company. >

I agree to a point with Steven. A lack of respect does reflect in pay 
discrepancies, and these discrepancies are not easy to hide.
However, I also think that a lack of respect for one's abilities and input 
are another reason that people leave a job. When you get to the point that 
you are just beating your head against a wall in an effort to make a better 
product and no one listens because the manager only trusts him/her self to 
make the decisions, than you tend to withdraw and finally, leave for 
greener pastures. A sense of trust between management and employees as well 
as a sense of ownership and responsibility is what I think most people want 
in their jobs. A manager who can bring people together and motivate them to 
work together toward a common goal, with common ownership, and with 
appreciation for their ideas and effort is very important. It also helps if 
the manager is also working hard with the same goals in mind.

Patty Meglio
Technical Communications Specialist
FUGRO-LCT INC.
pmeglio -at- lct -dot- com