Minimum Wage

As a person who has an MBA, I’ve read a fair number of case studies on management styles and ways to keep employees engaged in their jobs.  Today, I was reading the “Rules of Employment” for an employer who pays the majority of their employees minimum wage.

What I find very interesting is the idea that so many ridiculous rules and regulations are being imposed on a job that pays the least amount the law will allow.  The people who often work these jobs are already at the bottom of the socioeconomic ladder, why is it necessary to put so many extraneous rules on a rather skill less job.

I’m not saying employers shouldn’t have rules and regulations to enforce safety and set expectations.  What I’m saying is, treating employees as members of a team or at least giving them the illusion they are important, seems like a better management style than just assuming they are all screw-ups.

Instead of treating this portion of the labor force as chattel, why not give them some reassurance their needs are important.  Why not offer benefits and rewards like in better paying jobs (not necessarily health insurance but perhaps paid days off or free meals).  If the workers were treated like members of the team, instead of a means to an end, wouldn’t they be more likely to stay, thus reducing the overwhelming turnover rate?  

Furthermore, running a business with a business model that depends on an unreliable and sometimes inefficient staff seems like a recipe for disaster.  If employers treated the staff like they actually needed them for success might mean better jobs, less turnover and more businesses would succeed. This could even lead to a better economy (okay maybe I won’t go that far just yet).