Do people every actually feel over-rewarded? Or do we continue to justify the rewards and privileges that we get?

According to the equity theory, as discussed in class, people have three perceptions on obtaining rewards for their behaviour. When one person works less than the other that person feels under-rewarded, when one person works more than the other they feel over-rewarded, and when they work the same amount they feel it is equal. According to the theory this need for equality is a motivator for workers.

http://hamidslimi.com/out-of-balance/

However, do people ever actually feel like they have been over-rewarded? Typically when working in a group, the person who does the most work feels that they deserve a larger portion of the reward than others. Be that in the form of monetary payment, or a higher mark on an assignment. People are able to recognize their efforts and often feel that they are entitled to having more than those who work less.

We see this all the time those who have more than enough money don’t fight for equality, those who need it do. So the main issue with the equity theory is that it assumes that all people want equality, which don’t get me wrong is what we should work towards. But some those who profit more will typically stay quiet and maintain the imbalance because they benefit more from it.

References

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Slimi, Hamid. Out of Balance. . hamidslimi.com/out-of-balance/. Accessed 4 Feb. 2017.