Paying low wages is standard practice in the gig economy. It’s so widespread that it has become normal. Organizations will often flaunt it by calling it “flexible work” and believing they are boosting the independence and happiness of their laborers. Paying low wages has been noted to have many negative effects that include unhealthy relationships between workers and employers. Additionally, low pay can actually have a long-term negative effect on the economy, because it splinters the labor market and prevents labor from sharing in the overall economic growth. Lets know more about One Effect Of Low Paying Jobs.
However, the most significant effect of low paying jobs is that it impacts employee productivity negatively in addition to having long term consequences for the national economy as well.
How Do Low Wages Affect Productivity?
- Low employee motivation
- Decreased employee loyalty
- Poor health of employees
- Increased absenteeism
- Inability to gain new skills
Low Employee Motivation
The first effect that low wages have on productivity is that it hampers and erodes employee motivation. Many workers are reluctant to work if they don’t get a good deal where wages are concerned.
If companies are unwilling to pay higher wages to their workers, then the workers may not feel appreciated. Consequently, they will not feel the urge to put their best feet forward when serving customers.
In the end, unhappy customers may opt to take their business and patronage elsewhere.
Decreased Employee Loyalty
Employees desire work environments where they get treated like family. This does not imply giving workers free passes to do as they wish. No. What workers need is appreciation and recognition of their value by their employers.
In essence, there are not many better ways of demonstrating to workers that their input is valued than by paying them well.
Failure to pay workers well may cause them to detach themselves from the company and actively look for greener pastures. Productivity will ultimately go down if workers spend most of their time looking for new employment opportunities.
Poor Health of Employees
Poorly paid workers often get forced to work multiple jobs with little time for rest and recovery. This overexertion of their bodies has the likelihood of causing injury and bodily harm.
In addition to physical bodily injuries, poorly paid workers often find themselves experiencing psychological distress. This is tied to their inability to meet their daily needs and obligations resulting in increased stress and anxiety levels.
The sad reality is that employees who work low paying jobs often have difficulties accessing quality health care owing to the limited disposable income in their wallets.
As a result, low wages lead to higher stress and lower ability to focus and apply their abilities efficiently at work.
Increased Absenteeism
Incidences of absenteeism among employees are linked to low wages. The linkage between absenteeism and low wages lies in the fact that when workers feel underpaid, they place less value in their jobs.
When an employee is paid well, they treasure their job. When workers realize that their chances of landing similar paying jobs are slim if they lose well-paying ones, they are less likely to become absent from work.
In contrast, a worker may not feel the need to always show up for work. This is because they figure that even if they lost their job, they would not have to look for long before getting similar or even better-paying jobs.
Consequently, workers’ productivity reduces owing to their inconsistent performance of duties resulting from absenteeism.
Inability to gain new skills
One constant factor that some employers fail to realize and appreciate is the need for employees to constantly improve themselves. This improvement comes in the form of workers gaining new skills that improve their efficiency and overall productivity.
It is not uncommon to find companies that are home to employees who have worked for many years without any improvement of their skills. This means that such workers have years of experience doing the same things in the same ways.
Some employers feel that upskilling their employees may be too high a cost for them to shoulder. As such, they scrap any programs that require them to assist their staff financially in additional training.
The result is workers who are unable to take advantage of industry advancements and who still rely on obsolete techniques and production methods.
However, one effective way of encouraging workers to seek new skills is to pay them well. By doing so, workers are able to comfortably meet daily expenses while having enough income left over for upskilling.
So what now for poorly paid employees?
Seeing as it is not very easy to change corporations’ attitudes towards wage increases, one might wonder what options workers have.
It is important that workers strive towards taking their financial health as a personal responsibility. Instead of lamenting over poor pay, workers could explore the various options available to them.
1. Improve their skills
It is no secret that the higher a worker’s qualifications, the more they are likely to get paid by employers. Therefore, individual employees are better off seeking opportunities that they can use to upskill without spending a fortune.
There are several online platforms that offer short courses in various disciplines. Some of these include Coursera, Udemy, LinkedIn, Google, Alison, and Futurelearn.
By signing up on the abovementioned platforms, workers can access relevant courses and boost their resumes.
In return they become more appealing to their current or future employers and can attract higher wages.
2. Explore profitable side hustles
If there is one phenomenon that has caught on in today’s world, it is the manner in which individuals are exploring ways of earning additional income. People all over the world are looking for avenues of earning more using the skills they already have.
There are plenty of platforms that have sprung up whose objective is to link clients who need services with freelancers who are looking for a little extra income.
Some of these websites include Upwork, PeoplePerHour , Fiverr, Guru, and Toptal. These websites offer professionals opportunities to make use of their skills by taking on tasks that can supplement their income.
What’s impressive, though, is that while some individuals begin by taking on tasks on a part-time basis, their side hustles soon prove so profitable that they quit their formal jobs altogether!
Conclusion
In a nutshell, while employers are encouraged to regularly revise the wages they pay employees upwards to match the rising cost of living, employees need to open their eyes and find alternative ways of boosting their earnings.
Employers also need to realize that poorly paid workers are a ticking time bomb that could implode at any time. If it does, there is no telling the extent to which their businesses will be affected.
Most importantly, workers MUST NOT rest on their laurels and always look to increase their value by improving their skills.
