Benefits and Compensation

How Much Should You Pay For Employee ‘Happiness?’


A recent Gallup study shows the higher the compensation, the happier the employee. Happy employees build business success. But where’s the limit? A classic resource may help you find it.


Everyone wants happy employees, right? Happy employees are productive, inventive, and supportive of all you do.


Yesterday, we gave you one tool to make them happy … with shorter meetings. Today, let’s turn to something more substantial. It’s the results of a recent Gallup poll that related happiness to compensation. The (not so surprising) result: The more people make, the more they feel “very satisfied” with their lives.


How great is the difference? Three quarters of those making over $75,000 a year in the “Personal Satisfaction and Happiness By Household Income” study were “very satisfied” with life. In contrast, less than half felt that way if they made under $30,000. Those making between these amounts fit about halfway between.


Employee unhappiness is expressed in business by losing people and productivity, and by generating a cadre of disgruntled workers who infect all those around them.


On the other hand, if you pay too much, it’s bye-bye profits. In any case, what you can pay is affected by outside factors … where you’re located, what the law says, and what your competitors are paying, among them. So how do you know the right rate?



What are your competitors offering workers these days? Check your state’s edition of BLR’s exclusive Employee Compensation in [Your State] program to find out. Try it at no cost or risk! Click for info.



A Tool to Tell You What to Pay


Our editors recommend a classic BLR program used by thousands of companies for more than 20 years. The program is called Employee Compensation in [Your State]. The [Your State] refers to the fact that a separate edition is published for each of 43 U.S. states, plus the District of Columbia. So if you live in Illinois, Employee Compensation in Illinois is the reference you receive.



Each edition of the Employee Compensation in [Your State] service contains these key elements:



  • Recommended Rate Ranges for Hundreds of Jobs, Localized for Your State and Region. Based on annual surveys and official data, the Employee Compensation program provides minimum, midpoint, and maximum for both exempt and nonexempt positions. These rates are local for your state, region, even city. You shouldn’t pay the same in Manhattan, Kansas, as you do in on Manhattan Island in New York. This program makes sure you don’t.



  • A to Z State and Federal Law Comparisons. Comp and benefits are regulated by a tangle of laws. Employee Compensation offers an alphabetically arranged set of analyses on how these laws apply to common topics Look up “ERISA” or “overtime pay” or “workers’ compensation” and you instantly have a plain-English explanation of how the controlling laws apply to you.



  • A Full Job Descriptions Program. Employee Compensation offers a complete tutorial for setting up a job descriptions program. Many ADA-compliant sample descriptions are provided, ready to copy and use.



    Don’t just look at national data for salary guidance on hundreds of jobs when you can have it specifically for your state. It’s in BLR’s famed Employee Compensation in [Your State] program. Try it on us! Here’s how.





  • Updating at No Extra Cost. The program price includes 6 updates a year (which others charge extra for), plus annual survey reports on exempt and nonexempt compensation and benefits, including the detailed results of the pay budget survey. A monthly newsletter offers even more updating.


    Click the links below, and you can see samples of the program and newsletter, as well as a full table of contents of what’s included.


    The program is priced affordably for small companies as well as large, for about $1.50 a working day. That’s coffee money for just about every form of information most managers need to run a competitive and efficient comp/benefits program.


    You can check out the entire program in your own office for up to 30 days, with no need to buy. (We even pay return postage if you decide to return it.) Just click one of the ordering links above, and we’ll be happy to set things up.


    Click to order free trial


    Download product sample
    Download sample newsletter
    Download Table of Contents

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