We all know that employees don’t work as hard as business owners, and that they take advantage of you at every opportunity. This goes double for civil servants. That’s why I was surprised when I opened my newspaper and discovered that government employees in New Jersey were going to be forced to show for work up this Friday.
I say three cheers for New Jersey, the nation’s state most scorned state. Yes, New Jersey took a huge step forward this week when Governor Jon S. Corzine followed the lead of that NJ’s leading bank and announced that state employees would no longer receive the day after Thanksgiving off.
While the Associated Press, credits the governor for canceling this decades-old tradition, we should be applauding the man who thought up this wonderful idea, Vernon W. Hill II, who founded Commerce Bank in 1973. Determined that his bank would be different to other banks, Hill decided to focus on customers, instead of staff. As a result, his branches open until at least 8 PM on weekdays, 5 PM Saturdays and 4 PM Sundays. It’s also open on almost every public holiday—including the day after Thanksgiving. And this has paid off big for the man—he recently recently sold Commerce to Toronto-based TD Bank Financial Group for $8.5 billion.
Employers looking to squeeze every possible ounce of productivity out of their workers should follow Commerce Bank’s example and eliminate as many public holidays as possible. The Business Owner’s Toolkit says while this strategy is legal, and that there’s nothing to stop you forcing your employees to show up for work on Christmas—or any other day, it says the strategy is risky because it can cause resentment amongst your workers.
I say nonsense. Your workers already resent you. Follow the example of Gov. Corzine and hold your ground. If Mr. Corzine can ignore the 5,000+ phone calls and emails that have flooded his office, you shouldn’t have any problem ignoring the demands of your staff. His stand is particularly notable in the case of administrative court staff who will be required to be at their desks on Friday—even though the court is not in session.
If you’re not convinced that you’re standing on terra firma in this area consult Employee Issues, the place I go when I need ensure that the law is on my side. According this site, there’s no Federal "holiday pay law" that entitles private-sector employees to receive time off for holidays with or without pay. And the good news is that if you do make your people show-up, you don’t have to pay them overtime—unless they work more than 40 hours. Isn’t it great to live in America?
Today’s column is a little shorter than normal because I’m spending the day before Thanksgiving walking the floor of my many client’s businesses making sure that their employees are working hard while the bosses spend the day getting to their holiday destinations in their private jets. Until Monday…stay demovated.
To stay one step in front of the competition, check out my latest book: Dr. Young’s Guide to Demotivating Employees at http://dolyttle.com.
While I don’t really have any interest in hearing what you have to say about anything, if you have a burning desire to get something off your chest, email me: dryoung@demotivationist.com.
