Online retail behemoth Amazon recently launched a startling new offer to their staff – get paid thousands of dollars to quit your job! This seemingly strange offer has been put in place to make staff think about their current positions and what they really want from their working life…
What Are Amazon Thinking?!
It’s not as daft as it seems… The ‘Pay to Quit’ program gives employees an annual offer of thousands of dollars if they want to quit. The concept may seem strange but it is not an offer that Amazon wish their employees to take up; the idea is to get employees to think hard about their working lives and what they truly want from them. To elaborate further, if this offer proves too good to refuse for some then it’s likely employees are dissatisfied in their current positions and may perhaps be better suited to employment elsewhere! Amazon don’t want employees to see a position with them as a means to an end, they want a role to mean more than that and consequently, for employees to be truly satisfied with their current career path.
Smart or Stupid?
We think it’s actually pretty clever. The concept is there to suggest people contemplate their personal goals and aims and whether they can be achieved within their current position.
“Please Don’t Take This Offer”
If an employee is unhappy in their job, this can often translate into their actual work and, by extension, their personal lives. This is of benefit to no one, so Amazon asks its workers to look at things a different way. The first year in which the Pay to Quit scheme was trialled started by offering $2000 and increased by $1000 each year until it reached the $5000 currently on offer. Amazon of course want to keep as many of their loyal staff as possible, which is why the title of the email which is sent round to offices is “Please Don’t Take This Offer” – however it shows Amazon’s sense of innovation by demonstrating that they value staff as people and not just workers.
Jamie Mistlin find me on Google+.
Castle Hill House