Academic

Mr. B's and Giving Back

By Gordon Smith, Christine, Hurt, Vic Fleischer, Fred Tung, Lisa Fairfax, David Zaring

I heard a story this morning about how workers at a Michigan pancake house called Mr. B's decided to give back to their boss by agreeing to work one shift without pay.  The workers were motivated by knowledge that the business appeared to be suffering a bit, and that their boss had used his personal funds on several occasions in order to keep the business going and ensure that the workers received a paycheck.  To show their appreciation, all seventeen workers on the day shift (from the dishwashers to the hostesses) agreed to work without pay for a day.  When the customers learned what the workers were doing, they increased their tips, which the workers pooled and divided equally among themselves.  Given the current economic times and the hardship the workers either are or are likely to experience, this certainly represented a powerful and important statement.  In that respect, the workers' efforts translated into real cost savings.  Moreover, it is a powerful and important statement about the potential impact of corporate responsibility.  It suggest that the employer's commitment to his workers and customers not only encouraged their loyalty and apparent productivity, but also prompted them to subordinate their own economic interests in order to advance the collective interest of the business and surrounding community.  Some encouraging news and actions in this less than encouraging climate.

Full post as published by Conglomerate on January 29, 2009 (boomark / email).