Employee motivation: Pay gap is damaging morale, says expert

Date: 13/06/2011

Employee motivation is being harmed by a 'them and us' pay culture, according to an expert.

Brendan Barber, general secretary for the Trade Union Congress, has said that there is a growing gap between director and employee pay, which is damaging staff performance and in turn the productivity of a company.

These comments follow recent research from IPPR, which suggested that two-thirds of workers think the pay gap between the top and bottom earners is too wide in their company.

The study also showed that on average, people think chief executive officers deserve 65 per cent less than they currently earn, while the bottom earners deserve more.

"As senior execs grab an ever greater slice Britain's dwindling earnings pool, ordinary workers face having their wages held back, which lowers consumer spending, causes rising household debt and acts as a brake on our economic recovery," Mr Barber said.

"Taking action to close the widening pay gap would not only boost our economy, it would also be a big vote winner, as this poll shows."

Posted by Elizabeth Mewes

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