I truly wish that EM would convert their salary system to one where a reasonable portion of each employee's salary is paid out in restricted shares, just like it is for most execs. 30% sound about right.
If your base salary was $150k, then you get $100k in cash and the remaining $50k in restricted shares with the typical 3 and 7 year payouts. Quit or get laid off, you lose what is left, just like it is for execs. Drop into the bottom 30% in ranking, you get salary only, no restricted shares. That is a real pay cut. Oh yeah, now we are getting real. Live like an exec.
With all employees and management in the same boat, perhaps then we could get past this never-ending argument of the execs and grannies getting dividend payments at the expense of employees, etc.
I wonder how the posts on these boards would change. A lot I bet. All of a sudden the dividend haters would now want the company to pay dividends out to all shareholders, by all means.
And when the stock tanks, employees lose a lot of their wealth, just like execs. The petty name calling and sniping might give way to people realizing that if they don't perform, their wealth will only decrease further.
Yes, this already happens to some extent to those who own considerable amounts of XOM stock. But far too many employees don't have enough skin in the game. Salaries yes, but everybody has that. Let's talk real skin and real commitment. Wish it would happen.