The Glass Wall

Abstract

Even though the nature of work has changed dra-matically in recent years, you would never know it by looking at the reward systems for America's 16 million unionized workers. While there has been much talk about using alternative rewards to motivate unionized workers, the action has failed to penetrate the glass walls that exist around organized workforces. Across all indus-tries, the narrow, highly focused and predictable jobs wrought by the Industrial Revolution largely have disappeared. To be effective, employees now have to do more than just show up and follow instructions. Like their nonunion counterparts, union workers must work in groups or teams that do not follow a predictable routine, and they increasingly find their jobs require problem solv-ing and participation in and understanding of the organizations they work for. It follows that com-panies should reward these union employees for the higher levels of performance required to excel in this environment. Here is where the misalign-ment is occurring. Finding it a challenge, but not an insurmountable one, companies are learning to use alternative rewards to focus and motivate unionized workers and invigorate union-man-agement relationships.