Spanish Youths Take to the Streets

[Lorizael]

This thread has taken an awfully racist turn.

[Tupac Shakur]

I refuse to believe the UK has a large black anything.

[OneFootInTheGrave]

UK has BBC

[Heraclitus]

So what is your explanation for 40% unemployment among the youth?

In Slovenia part of the youth unemployment problem is that its hard to fire people. Its easier to keep old incompetent balding guy than to risk giving someone their first real job. If I had to guess Spain might have strong self-serving unions and restrictive regulations too.

[Arrian]

A large part might also be the idea that work is a necessary evil rather than a goal in itself. I struggle with employees that hit their monthly target during the first week and then slack off until the first day of the following month.

What the ****? I had to type it out. Are you mad?

Of course work is a necessary evil: that's why they have to PAY YOU TO DO IT. That doesn't mean one shouldn't take pride in work well done. Yes, they should.

Do the slackers in your experience get more $$ if they don't slack off, and blow their monthly target out of the water? Or would they just get a pat on the head while somebody higher up in the foodchain gets a fat bonus? Just asking.

-Arrian

[Zoetstofzoetje]

Do the slackers in your experience get more $$ if they don't slack off, and blow their monthly target out of the water? Or would they just get a pat on the head while somebody higher up in the foodchain gets a fat bonus? Just asking.

-Arrian

No, surpassing the basic requirements would directly lead to a sizeable bonus, around 50% of the relevant profit.

Take this example. Employee hits e.g. $5000 target at the end of week one. That's like a 'minimum' that should be attained leading to base pay. Anything above that ties into a bonus. If that performance is sustained across the other three weeks in the month, employee would earn base pay + ~50% of $15000. So lets say 10k total pay, instead of the 2k base pay. Not bad huh?

You'd think they'd all work their butts off for the massive bonus, no? It doesn't happen. Quite a few will start slacking off. Essentially, because the 2k guarantees that they can pay their bills, and live comfortably. Remember, in Spain a 1k salary is average, so 2k will get you very, very far. Let alone three k.

I call this problem 'the comfort zone'. It happens in a variety of situations beyond mine. A friend of mine was running a real estate agency. Agents would receive 25% commission on the firm's profits. To induce more sales, the commission was doubled to 50%. What happened? Half as many houses were sold. Most real estate agents stopped working when they had hit the target which enabled comfortable living.

[C0ckney]

it's almost as if people just want a good life and don't want to work after they have the means to achieve that...

btw, you're selling something which pays a large commission, you said in another thread that your spanish isn't very good. so one wonders who the customers are. is it timeshares that you're selling?

[KrazyHorse]

No, he represents an ex-government official from a recently-deposed regime in an african country. Luckily this very trustworthy individual managed to sneak 12 million dollars US out with him...

[C0ckney]

i know spain's economy is in the toilet, but i can't believe things have got so bad that they can compete with nigeria on scam related costs.

[Zoetstofzoetje]

how did you find me out???

[Arrian]

it's almost as if people just want a good life and don't want to work after they have the means to achieve that...

Bingo.

-Arrian

[MRT144]

No, surpassing the basic requirements would directly lead to a sizeable bonus, around 50% of the relevant profit.

Take this example. Employee hits e.g. $5000 target at the end of week one. That's like a 'minimum' that should be attained leading to base pay. Anything above that ties into a bonus. If that performance is sustained across the other three weeks in the month, employee would earn base pay + ~50% of $15000. So lets say 10k total pay, instead of the 2k base pay. Not bad huh?

You'd think they'd all work their butts off for the massive bonus, no? It doesn't happen. Quite a few will start slacking off. Essentially, because the 2k guarantees that they can pay their bills, and live comfortably. Remember, in Spain a 1k salary is average, so 2k will get you very, very far. Let alone three k.

I call this problem 'the comfort zone'. It happens in a variety of situations beyond mine. A friend of mine was running a real estate agency. Agents would receive 25% commission on the firm's profits. To induce more sales, the commission was doubled to 50%. What happened? Half as many houses were sold. Most real estate agents stopped working when they had hit the target which enabled comfortable living.

The utility of money varies from person to person.

[Jon Miller]

And circumstance.

And I agree. For me, the first $60k is very important but it becomes less important as the total income increases. Which is part of the reason I think it obvious that progressive taxation is correct. I would say that income above $200k has very little value compared to income above $50k.

JM

[MOBIUS]

Bingo.

-Arrian

Amen to that, which is why I only work 3 days a week.

Zitstuffer doesn't seem to understand that money is not the be all and end all of everything. Rather sad really.

[Zoetstofzoetje]

Funny how it's always the people who struggle to earn money, who claim that money is not that important