In my idealised world (I live there a lot),  I believe people who are good at what they do should be rewarded. And rewarded fairly.

So when situations like the bonus scheme at AIG get world focus, it does give me pause.

There’s a bunch of people who may or may not have worked hard – we won’t ever know. They operated in an environment where the upside of their performance-based reward was signficant. But clearly not linked to overall company performance.

There’s been enough written about the “rightness” of this -and I guess my only additional perspective is that those employees didn’t create the bonus system -  the management did and the board endorsed it.  Casting blame at the employees is misdirected, I believe. But I digress. 

In my line of work, I’m fortunate enough to be well rewarded for what I do. Working with businesses and larger organisations has benefits.

My good friend, on the other hand, works in an industry where the reward scales are significantly lower. He sells wine. This is a guy who absolutely loves wine – he loves understanding it, talking about it, helping others increase their knowledge, and of course drinking it.

His level of knowledge and passion for what he does is no less than mine. He spends more time doing his work than I do. And yet his level of reward pales in comparison.

Fairness and equity are big drivers for me. This just doesn’t feel right. Back in my idealised world I imagine a world where people who have passion, drive and achieve results can earn similar salaries, regardless of the industry they work in.  Where the expression “doing something for the love of it” doesn’t imply lower salaries.  And where variable reward programs encourage team and business performance more than individual performance.

Anyone else want to come and work in that world?

OK- I know it’s unrealistic – and there’s the fact that some roles contribute hugely to company success. I know all that…..But I can dream right?