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<ul><li><keyword id="51245" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="office-politics">Office politics</keyword> is taking a toll on employees’ performance, globally. </li><li>While nearly 26% employees face lack of training and development at the workplace to step up their performance. </li><li>Nearly 65% Indians feel that ‘robots’ can perform their day to day tasks. </li></ul>Office politics has been daunting for employees for a long time now. Work environment plays a crucial role in the development of employees and the company. However, office politics is taking a toll on employees’ performance. Globally, one in every four employees is facing lack of performance due to office politics, shows the <keyword id="7874342" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="hbr-ascend">HBR Ascend</keyword> Youth Skills Survey 2019. While nearly 26% employees face lack of training and development at the workplace to step up their performance. In fact, every one out of two respondents said that they experience periods of disengagement at work. In addition to this, other cultural aspects including excessive workload, constricting working environment and lack of association among employees and leaders are also affecting productivity among employees. With <keyword id="24019" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="automation">automation</keyword> taking over a lot of tasks, it is safe to say that it has significantly contributed to the lack in performance due to transition of job roles. Nearly 65% Indians feel that ‘robots’ can perform their day to day tasks. Given that, performance pressure and fear of losing jobs have been the major reasons for burnout among employees. According to the <a href="https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/indian-companies-need-to-provide-sick-leave-for-mental-health-3145961.html">National Mental Health Survey of India</a> (2015-16), around 15% of Indian adults need support for one or other mental illness issues related to work. In the South Asian countries, 30% of respondents said that the biggest impediment in their workplace productivity is having a ‘difficult boss.’ While in the developed economies like in the US, 40% of respondents ranked office politics as the top barrier to high performance. According to the latest research titled <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/jobs/nearly-107-million-women-at-risk-of-losing-jobs-globally-as-automation-takes-over-mckinsey-report/articleshow/69659364.cms?from=mdr">“The future of women at work: Transitions in the age of automation”</a> by McKinsey Global Institute, nearly 11 million Indian women in the workforce will need to change their jobs by 2030, thanks to automated system, which may impact nearly 160 million female working professionals. The survey was conducted across 2,700 respondents in June 2019 to understand their skills gap and barriers to success. See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/always-on-work-culture-is-affecting-mental-health-of-indians/articleshow/69522649.cms">‘Always On’ work culture is affecting mental health of Indians</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/soft-skills-can-save-your-job-from-the-machines-but-young-professionals-are-severely-short-of-it/articleshow/70243130.cms">Soft skills can save your job from the machines but young professionals are severely short of it</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/changing-job-skills-are-making-indians-anxious-linkedin/articleshow/69872693.cms">Changing job skills are making Indians anxious: LinkedIn</a>

Office politics and changing job roles are hurting employees the most, says a survey

<ul><li>Employers want candidates to have <keyword id="6463655" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="soft-skills">soft skills</keyword> that provide people an edge over machines. </li><li>According to <keyword id="28120" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Linkedin">LinkedIn</keyword>, a professional networking platform creativity, critical thinking and adaptability are the most sought after soft skills. </li><li>India ranks among the top three countries to lead the world in AI skills with <keyword id="3241386" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="robotic-process-automation">robotic process automation</keyword>, compliance, and integration as the fastest growing skills.</li></ul>India adds 12 million people to its workforce every year. And they are competing with machines, in addition to fellow humans for jobs. What can give humans an edge is soft skills — which employers too seek. Even in times of <keyword id="107950" type="TECHNOLOGY" weightage="20" keywordseo="artificial-intelligence">artificial intelligence</keyword>, <keyword id="294572" type="TECHNOLOGY" weightage="20" keywordseo="machine-learning">machine learning</keyword> and big data — humans with empathy and other skills will have the upper hand. According to LinkedIn, a professional networking platform creativity, critical thinking and adaptability are the most sought-after soft skills in the era of automation and digitisation. These are all the skills that machines can’t replicate. Not the first witness For one, recruiters want humans to think better. Come 2022, analytical thinking will be the most in-demand skill followed by creativity, as per the <keyword id="69007" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="World-Economic-Forum">World Economic Forum</keyword>. “Our education is geared towards refining technical skills and not focusing much on the softer skills such as being able to think creatively, manage stress, or communicate clearly. Employers have raised the bar on what skills they are recruiting for, but we are probably not preparing our students enough to meet that gap,” Vivek Chachra, country manager of <keyword id="86058" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Harvard-Business-Review">Harvard Business Review</keyword> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/soft-skills-can-save-your-job-from-the-machines-but-young-professionals-are-severely-short-of-it/articleshow/70243130.cms">told</a> Business Insider India. The <keyword id="4894774" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="linkedin-report">LinkedIn report</keyword> said that India ranks among the top three countries to lead the world in AI skills with robotic process automation, compliance, and integration as the fastest growing skills. And this demand for changing skills in the job market has accelerated the need for reskilling courses. Soft skills like strategic thinking, negotiation techniques, networking skills, business communication, and analytical thinking have been in high demand, as per HBR Ascend Youth Skills Survey 2019. “From all the discussions we have had with young graduates and early career professionals, it’s evident that they’re not spending enough time on learning and acquiring those skills. Honestly, every college cannot foresee what the job market would be like in two or three years, hence they must spend time keeping abreast of the latest developments and learning along the way,” Chachra added. LinkedIn has over 20 million jobs posted on its platform — including 500,000 jobs in India. And, almost 62 million members on the platform are from India. “Upskilling is part of LinkedIn’s broader vision to build a robust jobs and talent marketplace — one that can help companies solve their key talent challenges across planning, hiring and people development, enabling them to build winning teams,” the report said. See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/careers/news/top-soft-skills-than-can-help-new-age-employees-beat-competition-from-machines/articleshow/71801631.cms">Top soft skills than can help new-age employees beat competition from machines</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/soft-skills-can-save-your-job-from-the-machines-but-young-professionals-are-severely-short-of-it/articleshow/70243130.cms">Soft skills can save your job from the machines but young professionals are severely short of it</a>

These are the top soft skills that will keep your job safe in the times of AI, according to LinkedIn

<ul><li>Nearly one-third of the millenials across the globe think that education has helped them gain technical skills, but they lack <keyword id="6463655" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="soft-skills">soft skills</keyword>. </li><li>Soft skills like strategic thinking, negotiation techniques, networking skills, business communications, and analytical thinking have been the high-in-demand <keyword id="1384626" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="employability-skills">employability skills</keyword>. </li><li>Working professionals will need to re-skill themselves every 3-4 years so as to evolve in a competitive working environment. </li><li>A majority of the respondents are confident on their tech skills.</li></ul>Millennials have been quick to learn the technical skills but in an era where technology is eating away jobs, the much-needed soft skills, which may give people the edge over the machines, is a rare commodity. Nearly one-third of the millenials across the globe think that education has proved beneficial for them to attain technical skills, but they still lack soft skills for higher employability. While merely 15% of the millenials feel that the education system has helped in their holistic development, revealed <a href="https://hbrascend.org/topics/the-changing-perspectives-work-and-the-workplace-youth-skills-survey/?utm_source=yss_ind" data-type="tilCustomLink">HBR Ascend Youth Skills Survey 2019</a>. The survey by the learning platform, comes in the back on World Youth Skilling Day. According to the conclusions drawn from the survey, the growing industry demand for changing skills in the job market has accelerated the need for reskilling courses. This includes enhancing skill sets in data science, analytical thinking, creative and innovative thinking, and <keyword id="107950" type="TECHNOLOGY" weightage="20" keywordseo="artificial-intelligence">Artificial Intelligence</keyword> (AI) and <keyword id="24019" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="automation">automation</keyword>. However, even soft skills like strategic thinking, negotiation techniques, networking skills, business communications, and analytical thinking have been the high-in-demand, the survey noted. “Millennials understand the impact of technology and automation on the future of work and highly value knowledge over current credentials, Vivek Chachra, Country Manager (India), <keyword id="611554" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Harvard-Business-Publishing">Harvard Business Publishing</keyword> said. Not the first witness In India, soft skills are the most in-demand skills across industries, according to a LinkedIn report on <a href="https://business.linkedin.com/talent-solutions/recruiting-tips/global-talent-trends-2019#formone">‘Global Talent Trends 2019</a>.’ Creativity has been the most in demand, since this is what machines can’t replicate. The future will demand professionals to re-skill themselves every 3-4 years so as to evolve in a competitive working environment, ET reported <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/services/education/e-learning-platforms-slowly-changing-indian-education-landscape/articleshow/68850167.cms">citing</a> Zairus Master, CEO, Shine Learning, a global education services provider. Given that, online learning is also gaining momentum among millenials in India. See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/indian-students-prefer-online-coaching-for-jee-neet-gate-ssc-and-banking-exams/articleshow/69956565.cms">Indian students prefer online coaching to offline classes</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/most-demanded-skiils-by-employers-in-india/articleshow/69085603.cms">These are the most popular e-learning subjects for millenials</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/internships-in-india-on-the-rise-with-startups-leading-the-way/articleshow/67655265.cms">India sees steep rise in internships across different industries as young graduates seek more skills: survey</a>

Soft skills can save your job from the machines but young professionals are severely short of it

<a href="http://pictures.reuters.com/C.aspx?VP3=SearchResult&amp;VBID=2C04WNV4XYBAU&amp;SMLS=1&amp;RW=1525&amp;RH=853">David McNew/Reuters</a>Bob Iger, CEO of Disney.<ul class="summary-list"><li>Bob Iger has served as chairman and CEO of The Walt Disney Company <a href="https://www.thewaltdisneycompany.com/leaders/robert-a-iger/">since 2005</a>. </li><li>Since his appointment, the <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/video/2018/03/08/disney-stock-has-risen-338-percent-since-bob-iger-took-over-in-2005.html">company's stock has risen 335%</a>, and in November, <a href="https://www.thewaltdisneycompany.com/disney-sees-extraordinary-consumer-demand-with-more-than-10-million-sign-ups/">Disney debuted its new streaming service, Disney+</a>.</li><li>Here's how Iger's leadership strategies shaped the upwards trajectory of the company.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/prime?module=article&amp;area=summary">Click here for more BI Prime stories</a>.</li></ul>Bob Iger bet big with the launch <a href="https://www.thewaltdisneycompany.com/disney-sees-extraordinary-consumer-demand-with-more-than-10-million-sign-ups/">of Disney+</a> but his legacy extends well beyond <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/disney-plus">the streaming service</a> and the internet-breaking debut of <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/top-netflix-streaming-shows-this-week-clone-wars-crown-mandalorian-2019-11">Baby Yoda</a>.Since Iger stepped into the chairman and CEO role in 2005, the <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/video/2018/03/08/disney-stock-has-risen-338-percent-since-bob-iger-took-over-in-2005.html">company's stock has risen 335%</a>. He brought Disney into the 2000s with <a href="https://www.thewaltdisneycompany.com/leaders/robert-a-iger/">major acquisitions</a>, like Pixar in 2006, Marvel in 2009, and 21st Century Fox this year. Disney's film division had its <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/disney-has-highest-grossing-year-for-studio-all-time-record-2019-7">highest-grossing year yet in 2019</a>, with the release of films like "<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/frozen-2-biggest-animated-movie-in-pre-sale-tickets-2019-11">Frozen 2</a>" and "<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/aladdin-remake-is-fun-cannot-capture-magic-of-original-2019-5">Aladdin</a>." Iger's latest endeavor, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/disney-plus">Disney+</a>, debuted on November 12, attracting more than 10 million sign-ups <a href="https://www.thewaltdisneycompany.com/disney-sees-extraordinary-consumer-demand-with-more-than-10-million-sign-ups/">a day after launch</a>.This wasn't always the situation; a <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/stocks/dis-stock">$260 billion market cap</a> is not to be assumed. When Iger took the helm nearly 15 years ago, Disney was in a tough spot."We had been through a rough five-year period, with a hostile takeover attempt, a shareholder revolt, and a battle with two prominent board members," Iger <a href="https://hbr.org/2011/07/the-hbr-interview-technology-tradition-and-the-mouse">told HBR in 2011.</a>His first task, then, was mending the relationships with the board members and allowing for internal peace. Then it was all about balancing the traditional with the modern and carving a place for Disney in modern times. Iger <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2019/11/08/media/disney-bob-iger-risk-takers/index.html">plans to step down in 2021</a>, and he'll be remembered for more than the quantifiable achievements that benchmark his career. Underneath it all lies a solid leadership strategy, one that allowed Disney to build on the success it experienced in the 20th century to secure a foothold in the 21st.As Business Insider <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/disney-bob-iger-morning-routine-2018-10">previously reported</a>, Iger allows his work ethic to propel his career forward. His 4:15am wake-up time, morning workout in near-darkness, and arrival at the office early enough to make coffee for everyone speak volumes about the kind of leader he is: He's disciplined, focused, and incredibly strategic.He's had to be. Iger's leadership strategy started taking shape in his teenage years when he <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/23/disney-ceo-bob-igers-principles-for-great-leadership.html">worked odd jobs</a> to help support himself; more than 45 years later, his strategy colors the highlights of his professional career.<h2>Personal discipline</h2>With <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/why-startup-founders-act-like-cult-leaders">so many examples</a> of how leaders can make disciples out of their employees, Iger stands apart with his discipline. From what he's written in his 2019 book "<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Ride-Lifetime-Lessons-Learned-Company/dp/0399592091">The Ride of a Lifetime: Lessons Learned from 15 Years as CEO of the Walt Disney Company,</a>" Iger seems to strive for an authentic, rather than a bigger-than-life, presence."There's nothing less confidence-inspiring than a person faking a knowledge they don't possess," Iger wrote. "True authority and true leadership come from knowing who you are and not pretending to be anything else."Iger has humble beginnings: He started off his career as a weatherman before pivoting to <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/23/disney-ceo-bob-igers-principles-for-great-leadership.html">over 20 different positions</a> within the studios of ABC Television, including <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1989/03/24/arts/abc-names-its-president-of-entertainment.html">president of entertainment at ABC</a>, <a href="http://www.c-span.org/person/?robertiger">president of ABC Television</a>, and <a href="http://www.c-span.org/person/?robertiger">president and COO of Capital Cities/ABC</a>. He joined Disney's senior management team in 1996, ascending to chairman and CEO as a Disney insider less than 10 years later. Even though Iger was personally familiar, and steeped, in how Disney had always done things, he wasn't afraid to explore the possibilities that the nearly century-old company hadn't developed. "You can't allow tradition to get in the way of innovation," Iger <a href="https://hbr.org/2011/07/the-hbr-interview-technology-tradition-and-the-mouse">told HBR</a>. "There's a need to respect the past, but it's a mistake to revere your past." In that vein, Iger led the acquisitions of creative powerhouses like Pixar to bring in an influx of fresh thought into the very workings of Disney itself. At the same time, he's attempted to maintain the aspects of Disney culture that keep people working there. This encompasses the overall purpose that goes into working at a company with a generations-long influence like Disney.Iger essentially wanted to <a href="https://www.newstatesman.com/robert-iger-disney-ceo-ride-lifetime-autobiography-review">preserve</a> the overall feel of the brand while allowing for innovation within it - and this extends down to the product level. "There's a culture and a way of life at the company that you've bought that sometimes can be integral to the creative process or the process of creating product at that company," Iger <a href="https://www.npr.org/2019/09/26/764329165/disney-ceo-bob-iger-has-lessons-on-fostering-creativity-and-acquiring-it">told NPR in September</a>. "And if you go about it in too heavy-handed a way, you can destroy spirit and culture and a sense of purpose - and in doing so, destroy the very essence of what you bought, or reduce value."<h2>Iger's principles, the rule of three, and the role of a CEO</h2>Iger says that failure should be kept in perspective as much as success is - and it's the job of a leader to be an optimist regardless of the circumstances."When you come to work, you've got to show enthusiasm and spirit," Iger <a href="https://hbr.org/2011/07/the-hbr-interview-technology-tradition-and-the-mouse">said</a>. "You can't let people see you brought down by the experience of failure. You don't have that luxury."In Iger's book, he also points to qualities like courage, focus, decisiveness, curiosity, fairness, and thoughtfulness as <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/23/disney-ceo-bob-igers-principles-for-great-leadership.html">essential</a> to effective leadership. For example, Iger says that every leader should create an environment where fairness flourishes."This doesn't mean that you lower your expectations or convey the message that mistakes don't matter," Iger writes. "It means that you create an environment where people know you'll hear them out, that you're emotionally consistent and fair-minded, and that they'll be given second chances for honest mistakes." Part of what got Iger the CEO position was his ability to distill his strategic vision <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bob-iger-rule-of-three-disney-ceo-2019-11#focus-on-three-priorities-and-three-only-1">down to three priorities</a>:<ol><li>He wanted to invest capital in content from the best minds in the industry. The acquisition of Pixar, Lucasfilm, and Marvel, among others, made this possible. </li><li>He aimed to utilize technology in new ways. This took the form of Disney+. </li><li>He made it a goal to grow Disney's global presence, symbolized with <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ap-disney-ceo-iger-says-china-has-incredible-potential-2016-6">the debut of Disney Shanghai</a>, Disney's first theme park in mainland China. </li></ol>Iger has fulfilled all of these goals with the help of his optimism, courage, and other effective leadership qualities. As he stated, it's the CEO who cultivates the strategic vision of an organization. "It's the CEO who determines strategy, who is its major proponent, and who says, 'This is where we're going,'" Iger said. "You also set the standards that are applied to your company: how people behave, how they treat one another, what ethics are expected of your company and its products, and how it behaves in the world." <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/deepak-chopra-how-to-unleash-your-happiness-creativity-productivity-2019-11">Deepak Chopra explains how to unlock your natural happiness, creativity and productivity</a></h3>

Acquisitions, global growth, and Baby Yoda: How CEO Bob Iger's leadership style turned Disney into a $260 billion colossus

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="60973" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Biden">Biden</keyword>'s $4 trillion <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-in-bidens-infrastructure-bill-package-american-jobs-plan-2021-3">infrastructure plan</a> promises to raise wages for some workers and create many jobs.</li><li>The spending plans resemble what <keyword id="6629386" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Henry-Ford">Henry Ford</keyword> and <keyword id="191583" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Jeff-Bezos">Jeff Bezos</keyword> did: both founders raised wages as their companies grew.</li><li>Ford and Bezos increased productivity, which signals that Biden's plan could lift the middle class.</li></ul><keyword id="1533678" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="President-Joe-Biden">President Joe Biden</keyword> is a man of the middle class. At least, he's trying to be.He wants "good jobs, blue-collar jobs, jobs that pay well," he said in a White House conference at the end of March. And he wants to give the middle class a raise.His two-part <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-bidens-2-trillion-infrastructure-plan-means-for-you-2021-4">infrastructure package</a>, promises to, if passed by Congress, create millions of jobs and give workers a raise. "It's time to build our <keyword id="34412" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="economy">economy</keyword> from the bottom up and from the middle out," he said while <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-bidens-middle-out-theory-works-to-boost-economic-growth-2021-4">unveiling the package last month</a>. Just how many jobs his package would create is definitely in the millions, but the exact number is unclear. The Biden administration has been messaging that the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-in-bidens-infrastructure-bill-package-american-jobs-plan-2021-3">$2.3 trillion American Jobs Plan</a> would result in <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-04-02/biden-says-infrastructure-plan-will-create-19-million-new-jobs?sref=BLKWHazc">19 million jobs</a> over the next decade, citing a report from Moody's Analytics. But that report actually says 16.3 million jobs would come from natural job growth and the $1.9 stimulus legislation, and so 2.6 million new jobs would come from the infrastructure package. But that's still a lot of jobs. As <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/biden-first-100-days-trickle-down-reagan-legacy-big-government-2021-4">Insider's Joseph Zeballos-Roig reported</a> at the culmination of Biden's first 100 days, this approach marks a break with 40 years of presidential <keyword id="6358883" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="politics">politics</keyword>, when the nation's chief executive incentivized big business, aka the private sector, to take the wheel. But it shares something in common with two of the greatest corporate chief executives ever: Henry Ford and Jeff Bezos.Raising wages has already been a big issue during Biden's first months as president. He campaigned on raising the <keyword id="562632" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="minimum-wage">minimum wage</keyword> from $7.25 to $15, but the $15 proposal was <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/minimum-wage-struck-from-biden-stimulus-plan-2021-2">struck from his stimulus plan</a> for not meeting the rules of budget reconciliation. Now, the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/april-jobs-report-disappointment-us-economic-recovery-faltering-unemployment-crisis-2021-5">job-market recovery is faltering</a> while employers are <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/labor-shortage-solution-pay-workers-higher-wages-2021-4">largely not raising wages</a>, and April surprised to the downside with a gain of just <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/april-jobs-report-signals-new-economy-changes-experience-leisure-hospitality-2021-5">266,000 jobs</a>. The average worker hasn't received a raise since the 1970s, with hourly inflation-adjusted wages only growing by <a href="https://hbr.org/2017/10/why-wages-arent-growing-in-america#:~:text=The%20majority%20of%20Americans%20share,rather%20than%20through%20investment%20income.&amp;text=Since%20the%20early%201970s%2C%20the,growing%20only%200.2%25%20per%20year.ear.">0.2% a year</a>. The average wage as of 2018 had the same purchasing power as it did 40 years ago, <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/08/07/for-most-us-workers-real-wages-have-barely-budged-for-decades/">according to Pew</a>. Biden's <keyword id="595080" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="infrastructure-plan">infrastructure plan</keyword> could improve working conditions. The plan is focused not just on job creation via roads-and-bridges investment, but on <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-bidens-new-infrastructure-plan-will-benefit-parents-2021-4">funding for care workers</a> and tax incentives for childcare to be provided at American workplaces. It also calls for an end to subminimum wage provisions, where employers can pay disabled workers less than the federal minimum wage.By taking a page out of the Ford playbook - and increasingly the Bezos one - Biden could be giving the middle class a much-needed lift.<div type="image" title="henry ford" height="1471" width="1961" msid="82481195" hostid="261"></div><h2>Ford and Bezos raised wages to increase productivity</h2>America's industrial middle class ascended during the last century with the help of a little mass production. In 1914, Ford Motor Co. founder Henry Ford offered factory workers $5 a day for eight hours of work. Equivalent to $120 in 2014 dollars, it was more than double the minimum wage at the time, <a href="https://www.npr.org/2014/01/27/267145552/the-middle-class-took-off-100-years-ago-thanks-to-henry-ford">NPR's Sarah Cwiek reported</a>. Bob Kreipke, corporate historian for Ford Motor Co., told Cwiek that, in raising the minimum wage, Ford intended to stabilize his workforce after the advent of conveyor belts helped standardize production. The move "raised the bar all over the world," he said.Turnover waned as productivity accelerated, causing Ford's profits to double in less than two years. Ford later called the wage hike his "best cost-cutting move." It was the beginning of what we know today as efficiency wages - paying above the market rate. This makes a job more desirable, creating a larger talent pool, thereby making employees more replaceable. It incentivizes employees to slack less, <a href="https://hbr.org/2018/10/how-amazons-higher-wages-could-increase-productivity">per the Harvard Business Review</a>.Over a century later, another leader implemented a similar strategy. In early 2021, in fact, in the beginning of the Biden era, <keyword id="18635" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Amazon">Amazon</keyword> CEO Jeff Bezos announced a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-raise-pay-3-an-hour-for-500000-workers-2021-4">pay bump of up to $3 an hour</a> for 500,000 workers as the company continues to hire. This comes after Amazon set its minimum wage at $15 in 2018, higher than its biggest competitor, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-slams-walmart-for-not-paying-workers-15-per-hour-2020-12">Walmart</a>. Also this year, the company advocated for a $15 federal minimum wage, a key policy item for Biden. The federal minimum wage <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/optimum-currency-theory-explains-why-minimum-wage-stuck-2021-4https://www.businessinsider.com/optimum-currency-theory-explains-why-minimum-wage-stuck-2021-4">remains stuck</a> at $7.25 an hour.Bezos, who is serving out his final year as CEO, said he aimed for Amazon to become "Earth's best employer and Earth's safest place to work" in his final letter to shareholders. He said he decided to "raise wages" because he wanted to lead competitors to higher average hourly wage among other employers in the same labor market."We're not done leading," the founder added. "We'll do that by continuing to lead on wages, on benefits, on upskilling opportunities, and in other ways that we will figure out over time."Based on the concept of efficiency wages, HBR thinks it's possible Amazon's wage hike could be just as successful as Ford's. It could benefit Amazon by inducing better employee retention and productivity gains. <a href="https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=52552">Research has found</a> that an unexpected pay raise motivates employees to work harder out of a sense of reciprocity.<div type="image" title="Jeff Bezos" height="1666" width="2222" msid="82481197" hostid="261"></div><h2>Biden's plans could change the economy </h2>Now, Ford and Bezos' plans weren't foolproof. Company wage hikes don't necessarily reflect a strong workforce. Productivity remains a controversial topic at Amazon, where drivers recently spoke up about demanding delivery times that they said incentivize them to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-drivers-say-peeing-in-bottles-common-despite-company-denials-2021-3">pee in bottles and leak period blood into their pants</a> rather than take a break. And while the company's <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/amazon-earnings-wall-street-reacts-blockbuster-report-analysts-stock-price-2020-7-1029456482">revenue exploded</a> during the COVID-19 pandemic, workers said they were <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-workers-lawsuit-wash-hands-penalty-coronavirus-2020-7">reprimanded for taking breaks</a> to wash their hands and sanitize stations.And, while Ford's wage hike may have boosted a more prosperous middle class, the economy has since changed. University of California, Berkeley, labor economist Harley Shaiken, <a href="https://www.npr.org/2014/01/27/267145552/the-middle-class-took-off-100-years-ago-thanks-to-henry-ford">told NPR</a> that employers now view the lowest wage as the most competitive and that technology has taken precedence over stabilization. What worked for boosting the middle class economy then may not work now. An infrastructure plan that holds the promise of pay increases and new jobs for some workers could help boost the middle class even if the federal minimum wage stays where it is, as wealth inequality in the US continues to widen.Granted, some of these gains could be offset by a rise in inflation. While the economy can't yet be definitely said to be overheating, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/inflation-stimulus-debate-economic-growth-spending-federal-reserve-larry-summers-2021-3">as some critics charge</a>, it is seeing a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/everything-that-could-get-more-expensive-in-2021-inflation-2021-3">supply shortage</a> in everything from cars to hot tubs to chicken due to pent-up demand unleashed with reopening. Both Biden's administration and the Federal Reserve has insisted these shortages - and resulting price rises - are "transitory," and reflect a bottleneck effect as the economy kicks back into gear. In other words, the economy should work out these kinks soon. Then again, it might not.While it may still be too early to measure the success of the wage hike at Amazon and we may no longer be living in Ford's economy, the research is clear: increasing pay motivates employees. Seeing aspects of their strategies reappear in Biden's infrastructure plan could be a gamechanger for the economy.

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