# Modern Incentives and Trust By:: [[Brian Heath]] 2023-06-13 Most incentive structures devised by organizations for their employees need to be revised. At the most basic level, an honest paycheck for work performed is more than sufficient as an incentive to do good work. It is a vital aspect of the whole employment thing. Managers start to get "creative" when this fails to deliver the kind of work they seek. Some offer monthly or yearly bonuses if a specific made-up goal is achieved. Others will throw a pizza party to build morale. Someone may earn a day off if they perform above average three out of four weeks. Regardless of the effectiveness of these additional incentives, let's consider why such bonus structures are needed in the first place. Most people want to do a good job, so why might their work underdeliver? They may need training to become proficient. No amount of promised pizza parties will make up for the lack of training for these individuals. Another reason for poor work is misaligned expectations. If the manager's idea of good aligns differently with reality or what the workers believe is good, there is little chance of producing good work. Fixing misalignment is a task many managers are not up to. Many need to understand their organizational power's impact on the situation. For example, we are taught from a young age not to question authority, but now the new manager is the authority. Who are the workers to challenge you? However, even if the manager successfully manages through this situation, most do not know how to articulate "good" within the reality of the day-to-day work. This is true even if the manager used to perform the task. They are now the organization's agents and are intentionally isolated from their employees. Doing the work is different from managing the work. Instead of dealing with these issues, organizations attempt a shortcut by creating bonus structures to incentivize "harder" work because they believe any "harder" work is "better" work. At this point, one may ask, why not just pay people this bonus as part of their regular salary? The answer is simple: modern organizations categorically do not trust their employees, nor do they know how to. If you trust someone, you'll gladly give them money for a promised outcome in the future. There is no need to hold back 50% until appropriate services are rendered. This is how we operate when we do not trust people. This is a reasonable and safe approach in these situations. But trust is a two-way street. If you don't trust me as a worker to pay me for work rendered, why should I trust you as my employer who can't even honestly tell me what good is? Employment in modern organizations is a game of chicken to see who will flinch first. Right now, cultural power is with the employer. Not that long ago, it was with the worker. It's time for a third option: metamodern organizations and the rise of freelancers. #### Related Items [[Salary]] [[Work]] [[Business]] [[Culture]] [[Metamodernism]] [[Power]] [[Management]] [[Performance]]