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If you've ever worked in a large company, you will know that a file clerk could be the hardest working employee in the office and a supervisor, the laziest employee. The bottom line is, how hard a person works is a function of their own personal prinicples and work ethic. The notion that you get the work you pay for is not universally true, or we would all leave our auto mechanic with a smile on our face instead of that look of incredulity and open mouthed-stare as we are handed the invoice.

The truth is that you can't buy a work ethic, you can't even see it on a resume. Resumes are meant to make someone sound better and more qualified than they are, employers know this. Regardless of what job they do, what position they hold or what authority they wield, some people will always work hard and give the job their all while others will always find ways to slack off. Those who slack off well while still looking good to the boss will also get promoted - often ahead of those who work harder.

You can't buy honesty by paying more money. Either the employee will give you an honest day's work or he will not, and the amount of money you pay him will not change his character one iota. What may happen is that the hard-working employee who does not receive recognition while watching others succeed will lose heart and spirit.

Recognition, compensation, and reward will keep a hard-working employee from leaving a job, but all the money in the world won't tempt the guy who is used to doing only what he must to satisfy his job requirements into doing more. More money won't improve his character or improve the quality of his work.

I am reminded of the recent story in the news about the fast-food worker who found a $185,000 check lying on the sidewalk. Existing on his McDonald's pay and food stamps, he nevertheless said that it never entered his mind to try to cash it, he returned it immediately to the rightful owner. You can't buy that. But if his employer is listening, maybe you could put it in the management program.

Learn more about this author, Andrea Paulsen.
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