People & Strategy Winter 2015 Vol. 38 Issue 1 - 34

* The manager population knows how to
identify the strongest contributors and
uses the system to reward them
accordingly.
* The performance assessment process
underlying rewards is applied fairly and
accurately; for example, forcing a performance distribution onto a bell-shaped
curve often fails to recognize the important contributions of the most effective
employees.
* The organization provides the richest possible array of learning and career development opportunities; our research
consistently shows that the opportunity to
master a job and grow with an organization is a highly valued reward as well as
an important buffer against the stress of
stuck-in-a-rut jobs.
than $300 billion annually. Job pressure,
with manager behavior a principal factor, is
the No. 1 cause. Our research suggests, however, that employees and organizations disagree about the causes of stress. (See sidebar,
"Employers and employees not aligned on
causes of stress," below.)
Employers view work-life balance as the
leading source of stress. In contrast, the
key sources of stress for employees are not
work-life issues but workplace issues-
namely, lack of support, low pay, and conflicting job expectations. These stress
drivers reflect a gap in two elements
critical to sustainable engagement-
enablement, which relates to resources,
and support in various forms, including
financial (e.g., pay) and energy, which
relates to the well-being that comes from a
supportive social environment that ensures
clear job expectations.
Addressing the perception of low pay is challenging for employers. Few have sufficient
budget flexibility to make substantial increases to base pay across the employee population. But this doesn't mean that companies
can or should ignore the message that
employees feel under-rewarded. Research
into employee stress indicates that a perceived imbalance between effort and reward
(not just financial remuneration but also recognition and career growth opportunities) is
34

PEOPLE & STRATEGY

a major cause of stress. Redressing a perceived effort-reward imbalance requires, at a
minimum, companies to ensure that:
* The mechanics of the pay system (base
pay, short- and long-term incentives) are
understood by everyone in the organization; lack of knowledge leads to conspiracy theories about how executives exploit
employees by paying far below market.

* The employee population understands the
full scope of rewards provided, so that
they can value both financial elements and
the non-financial rewards that don't show
up in their pay checks.
* Supervisors and managers can also play
an important role in addressing the causes
of workplace stress:



People & Strategy Winter 2015 Vol. 38 Issue 1

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of People & Strategy Winter 2015 Vol. 38 Issue 1

People & Strategy Winter 2015 Vol. 38 Issue 1 - Cover1
People & Strategy Winter 2015 Vol. 38 Issue 1 - Cover2
People & Strategy Winter 2015 Vol. 38 Issue 1 - 1
People & Strategy Winter 2015 Vol. 38 Issue 1 - 2
People & Strategy Winter 2015 Vol. 38 Issue 1 - 3
People & Strategy Winter 2015 Vol. 38 Issue 1 - 4
People & Strategy Winter 2015 Vol. 38 Issue 1 - 5
People & Strategy Winter 2015 Vol. 38 Issue 1 - 6
People & Strategy Winter 2015 Vol. 38 Issue 1 - 7
People & Strategy Winter 2015 Vol. 38 Issue 1 - 8
People & Strategy Winter 2015 Vol. 38 Issue 1 - 9
People & Strategy Winter 2015 Vol. 38 Issue 1 - 10
People & Strategy Winter 2015 Vol. 38 Issue 1 - 11
People & Strategy Winter 2015 Vol. 38 Issue 1 - 12
People & Strategy Winter 2015 Vol. 38 Issue 1 - 13
People & Strategy Winter 2015 Vol. 38 Issue 1 - 14
People & Strategy Winter 2015 Vol. 38 Issue 1 - 15
People & Strategy Winter 2015 Vol. 38 Issue 1 - 16
People & Strategy Winter 2015 Vol. 38 Issue 1 - 17
People & Strategy Winter 2015 Vol. 38 Issue 1 - 18
People & Strategy Winter 2015 Vol. 38 Issue 1 - 19
People & Strategy Winter 2015 Vol. 38 Issue 1 - 20
People & Strategy Winter 2015 Vol. 38 Issue 1 - 21
People & Strategy Winter 2015 Vol. 38 Issue 1 - 22
People & Strategy Winter 2015 Vol. 38 Issue 1 - 23
People & Strategy Winter 2015 Vol. 38 Issue 1 - 24
People & Strategy Winter 2015 Vol. 38 Issue 1 - 25
People & Strategy Winter 2015 Vol. 38 Issue 1 - 26
People & Strategy Winter 2015 Vol. 38 Issue 1 - 27
People & Strategy Winter 2015 Vol. 38 Issue 1 - 28
People & Strategy Winter 2015 Vol. 38 Issue 1 - 29
People & Strategy Winter 2015 Vol. 38 Issue 1 - 30
People & Strategy Winter 2015 Vol. 38 Issue 1 - 31
People & Strategy Winter 2015 Vol. 38 Issue 1 - 32
People & Strategy Winter 2015 Vol. 38 Issue 1 - 33
People & Strategy Winter 2015 Vol. 38 Issue 1 - 34
People & Strategy Winter 2015 Vol. 38 Issue 1 - 35
People & Strategy Winter 2015 Vol. 38 Issue 1 - 36
People & Strategy Winter 2015 Vol. 38 Issue 1 - 37
People & Strategy Winter 2015 Vol. 38 Issue 1 - 38
People & Strategy Winter 2015 Vol. 38 Issue 1 - 39
People & Strategy Winter 2015 Vol. 38 Issue 1 - 40
People & Strategy Winter 2015 Vol. 38 Issue 1 - 41
People & Strategy Winter 2015 Vol. 38 Issue 1 - 42
People & Strategy Winter 2015 Vol. 38 Issue 1 - 43
People & Strategy Winter 2015 Vol. 38 Issue 1 - 44
People & Strategy Winter 2015 Vol. 38 Issue 1 - 45
People & Strategy Winter 2015 Vol. 38 Issue 1 - 46
People & Strategy Winter 2015 Vol. 38 Issue 1 - 47
People & Strategy Winter 2015 Vol. 38 Issue 1 - 48
People & Strategy Winter 2015 Vol. 38 Issue 1 - 49
People & Strategy Winter 2015 Vol. 38 Issue 1 - 50
People & Strategy Winter 2015 Vol. 38 Issue 1 - 51
People & Strategy Winter 2015 Vol. 38 Issue 1 - 52
People & Strategy Winter 2015 Vol. 38 Issue 1 - 53
People & Strategy Winter 2015 Vol. 38 Issue 1 - 54
People & Strategy Winter 2015 Vol. 38 Issue 1 - 55
People & Strategy Winter 2015 Vol. 38 Issue 1 - 56
People & Strategy Winter 2015 Vol. 38 Issue 1 - 57
People & Strategy Winter 2015 Vol. 38 Issue 1 - 58
People & Strategy Winter 2015 Vol. 38 Issue 1 - 59
People & Strategy Winter 2015 Vol. 38 Issue 1 - 60
People & Strategy Winter 2015 Vol. 38 Issue 1 - 61
People & Strategy Winter 2015 Vol. 38 Issue 1 - 62
People & Strategy Winter 2015 Vol. 38 Issue 1 - 63
People & Strategy Winter 2015 Vol. 38 Issue 1 - 64
People & Strategy Winter 2015 Vol. 38 Issue 1 - Cover3
People & Strategy Winter 2015 Vol. 38 Issue 1 - Cover4
https://www.nxtbookmedia.com