Many companies have embraced tying their product to a noble cause by making charitable donations when their sales volume increases. Others have tied worker productivity to their philanthropy as well.
Stephan Meier, a professor at Columbia Business School, however, has discovered that corporate philanthropy tied to worker productivity can sometimes backfire. An Economic Journal study discovered that when worker productivity was tied to the company’s giving, workers produced less when they doubted the motives of their employer.
The study concluded, “Why a firm is doing good matters just as much as the act of doing good.”
Proverbs 16:2 teaches, “All a person’s ways seem pure to them, but motives are weighed by the Lord.”
Our motives matter. Not only does God weigh our motives, but so do our employees.
