Life is not always fair. Whether a person is making a comparison of numerous countries or many individuals, there is always a gap between the haves and have-nots. This also occurs with the salary of those people working in the corporate world. Company executives have received a large amount of money, but the general workers have not.
Compared to the regular staff, executives are rewarded with a lot of different perks - possibly a company car, more holidays or stock options. In addition, the average big shots in America received forty times that of a regular worker in 1980. It was about eighty-five times in 1990, and roughly four hundred times in 2002n. While their pay has increased tenfold, the other workers have received minor raises which might just be above the inflation rate.
With income being lopsided so much, many workers are complaining that this situation is just too unfair. Yes, the Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) might be stressed out. After all, they are the ones who must make the really important decisions under pressure so they deserve to be paid well. However, a company's success is based on the hard work of the lower-level staff. Without these employees working all day and possibly overtime (OT), would the companies be profitable enough to afford to pay the high salary of the executives?
Many workers might be feeling as if they are getting a raw deal. This could have really negative effects for the company. For instance, the employees might be bitter toward the executives and this could result in a loss of ambition to work hard. To keep as many people as pleased as possible, some changes are needed. This means that fair work will be rewarded with fair pay and at that time the income gap will be cut back.
executive = boss, manager
income = earned money
gap = big difference
haves and have-nots = countries or people who have or do not have wealth
stock options = options given to employees to purchase the company's stock
tenfold = 10 times, multiplied by 10
lower-level staff, general workers = ordinary employees
inflation rate = percentage increase in prices
lopsided = not equal by a large amount
deserve = are worthy of (something)
bitter = unhappy, angry, resentful
perks = gains or advantages that are extra to salary (eg. a company car)
big shots = important people with high positions and lots of power
be stressed out = have too many worries, feel too much pressure
raw deal = bad deal or agreement
cut back = reduced, decreased