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> ...What I'm wondering, though, is at a more personal
> level. In your experience, does better pay increase your
> productivity? Has it improved the productivity of other
> tech writers you know?
This depends on a few things, including the work environment.
If I'm working at a place I enjoy, more pay will keep me there _and_ get me to work harder. I feel an obligation.
If I'm working at a place that treats me badly, no amount of pay will keep me there or get me to work harder. That's when I start looking for work elsewhere because I'm obviously not a fit for the company, and the company is obviously not a fit for me.
I'm reading this book "Corporate Cults" (I'm only on chapter 3, so don't tell me how it ends). The author makes a distintiction between hiring on the basis of who someone is vs what they do. If a company hires someone because of who they are, the company isn't necessarily looking for someone who is the best at doing their job, the company is looking for someone that will fit into the corporate culture. If a company is hiring someone because of what they do, the company isn't necessarily looking for someone who plays nicely with others, but who can get the job done. (This is a simplistic summary of a point that I haven't completed reading yet, so excuse any misunderstanding).
Anyway, in this discussion on compensation and productivity, it would seem that depending on why you were hired (who you are vs what you do) would determine the things that would make a person more productive. For example, if you were hired because you were a groovy dude, getting more money wouldn't make you work harder, but getting to walk around in bare feet might (just throwin something out as an example). If you were hired because you were a master at what you do, walking around in bare feet wouldn't make you work harder, but getting more money might.
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