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"If a company took this to the logical extreme - making the employees the consumers of the product/service - then it would cease to be "work", and would instead

"If a company took this to the logical extreme - making the employees the consumers of the product/service - then it would cease to be "work", and would instead be a "hobby/internship/volunteer/education/experience"." Tangentially related, but an early strategy of the Ford motor co was to double the standard factory wage of it's employees, so that the purchase of one of its automobiles was within reach and seen as the bonus of employment. It did wonders for their introduction of the automobile to America.

developer2 10y ago
The pessimist in me wonders just how altruistic the intention behind the wages in the Ford example was. If that were a modern example, I fear the rationale from management would not be about putting the vehicles within reach as an _optional_ bonus, but rather that it would be an unwritten rule that employees are expected to purchase one. Not buying the company's product? Enjoy your status as an employee who doesn't "fit the company culture". Realization: I have become extremely cynical in my middle years with all the crap I've seen from employers. :/
- msds 10y ago
  Early Ford was pretty direct about the value of "fitting the company culture", what with ceremonies like this: https://www.thehenryford.org/collections-and-research/digital-collections/artifact/254569#slide=gs-213137 https://www.thehenryford.org/collections-and-research/digita...
- icebraining 10y ago
  I share your suspicious. Before they raised their salaries, they were having to hire 52k workers/year despite only having a 15k workforce, due to a tremendous turnover. And the extra money wasn't free; you had to subject yourself to the "Ford Sociological Department", whose 200 investigators would make sure you complied with the company's rules: be married, keep your wife at home, abstain from alcohol and to ask for permission before making serious purchases (like buying that Ford car).
  - 77pt77 10y ago
    Very interesting indeed http://jalopnik.com/when-henry-fords-benevolent-secret-police-ruled-his-wo-1549625731 http://jalopnik.com/when-henry-fords-benevolent-secret-polic...
solotronics 10y ago
Very interesting and relevant but under the model where the products of the tech titans are near free its hard to apply this same logic. Google doesn't really cost the users much (except loss of private data?) so its hard to say they should pay their employees enough to afford a google mail account.
eru 10y ago
They actually doubled the wages to combat crazy rates of attrition. (Way more than 100% a year.) That workers afford cars after that was a nice side effect that made for good PR.

developer2 10y ago

The pessimist in me wonders just how altruistic the intention behind the wages in the Ford example was. If that were a modern example, I fear the rationale from management would not be about putting the vehicles within reach as an _optional_ bonus, but rather that it would be an unwritten rule that employees are expected to purchase one. Not buying the company's product? Enjoy your status as an employee who doesn't "fit the company culture". Realization: I have become extremely cynical in my middle years with all the crap I've seen from employers. :/

msds 10y ago
Early Ford was pretty direct about the value of "fitting the company culture", what with ceremonies like this: https://www.thehenryford.org/collections-and-research/digital-collections/artifact/254569#slide=gs-213137 https://www.thehenryford.org/collections-and-research/digita...
icebraining 10y ago
I share your suspicious. Before they raised their salaries, they were having to hire 52k workers/year despite only having a 15k workforce, due to a tremendous turnover. And the extra money wasn't free; you had to subject yourself to the "Ford Sociological Department", whose 200 investigators would make sure you complied with the company's rules: be married, keep your wife at home, abstain from alcohol and to ask for permission before making serious purchases (like buying that Ford car).
- 77pt77 10y ago
  Very interesting indeed http://jalopnik.com/when-henry-fords-benevolent-secret-police-ruled-his-wo-1549625731 http://jalopnik.com/when-henry-fords-benevolent-secret-polic...

solotronics 10y ago

Very interesting and relevant but under the model where the products of the tech titans are near free its hard to apply this same logic. Google doesn't really cost the users much (except loss of private data?) so its hard to say they should pay their employees enough to afford a google mail account.

eru 10y ago

They actually doubled the wages to combat crazy rates of attrition. (Way more than 100% a year.) That workers afford cars after that was a nice side effect that made for good PR.