I think this is half the problem for the backlash:
"“What’s their incentive to hustle if you pay them so much?” Ms. Brajcich said they asked."
It relies on the assumption that the only motivation people would have to work, is that they will be homeless if they don't. I think the idea that you can work towards something bigger than you is a foreign concept to the majority of people.
If you are being overpaid (in some sense), you might work harder than before because you have more to lose if you get fired. Any alternative job would most likely come with lower pay.
Several employees who stayed, while exhilarated by the
raises, say they now feel a lot of pressure. “Am I doing
my job well enough to deserve this?” said Stephanie Brooks,
23, who joined Gravity as an administrative assistant two
months before the wage increase. “I didn’t earn it.”
(edit) I understand the gut feeling of unfairness from the people who were already earning more than $70K, but some of the quoted assume their fellow employees who got raises "for nothing" will just slack off, and that shitty attitude seems to underscore a class division.
I think they assume correctly. I know all sorts of people who are extremely well paid who spend at least 30% of their time just waltzing around the office and chatting with people. Some people are just entitled &/or clueless.
But in life, you can play to defend what you have or you can play to move into something else. It's unusual for a good offense to also be a good defense, regardless of any cliches.
I have noticed that lots of the people who are rich enough to relax for the rest of their lives work very hard. This has always made me suspect that without the motivation of survival tokens, boredom would still keep society running just fine.
It relies on the assumption that the only motivation people would have to work, is that they will be homeless if they don't. I think the idea that you can work towards something bigger than you is a foreign concept to the majority of people.