Top 10 HR Myths

Newsflash: everything you know to be true is actually false.
Oysters aren't aphrodisiacs. You've been drinking 8 glasses
of water-the worst of all beverages-for no reason. You could
have been swimming more. Like, WAY more.
Indeed, the truth ahead could be painful. But if you think
you can handle it, read on...
www.payscale.comPayScale: The Modern Compensation Company
Oysters are Aphrodisiacs 3
Women Make Less Than Men for
Doing the Same Job 5
Dropping a Penny on Someone from
the Empire State Building will Kill Them 7
Instituting a Pay for Performance System
isn't "Fair" 9
George Washington had Wooden Teeth 11
People Don't Leave Their Jobs
Because of Pay 13
It Takes 7 Years to Digest Swallowed Gum 15
Employers Talking to Their Employees
About Pay Will Incite a Riot 17
Bathroom Door Handles are
Full of Bacteria 19
Pay for Performance Raises Will Cost
Us More Money 21
Contents

oysters are
aphrodisiacs

Original Source: The New York Times
Contrary to popular belief, these infamous bivalves
are not as bow-chicka-wow-wow inducing as we
have been led to believe. This claim was started by
Casanova himself in 18th century Venice, where,
devoid of modern medicine, Casanova ate dozens of
oysters as preparation for his amorous activities.
However, there is no scientific evidence that
oysters are the Viagra of the Sea—and any success is
generally chalked up to the placebo effect. Moral of
the story: Don’t believe everything you read in 18th
century literature. Also, take the money you would
have spent on oysters and invest it in a sensible
401k. Ladies love stability!

WOMENMAKELESSTHANMEN
FORDOINGTHESAMEJOB

While a pay gap does exist, it is smaller than most people think.
For women and men in identical roles, the pay gap is 2.7%. This
myth originates from the fact that, when all women’s jobs are
compared to all men’s jobs, the pay gap widens to 74 cents on
the dollar, aka 26%, but that is because more women work in
lower-paying fields. Moral of the story? Forget the pay gap and
focus on this jobs gap – bring more women into leadership
roles and high-paying fields.
Original Source: PayScale

DROPPING A PENNY ON
SOMEONE FROM THE EMPIRE
STATE BUILDING WILL KILL THEM

According to Scientific American, a penny is too small,
too flat, and cushioned by too much air to transform
into a torpedo. Far from bludgeoning your enemies
to death, the actual affect of hitting someone with a
penny by dropping it off the top of The Empire State
Building would feel like “being flicked in the forehead,
but not even very hard,” the article stated. This info
should surprise no one because, let’s face it, pennies
are stupid. They are America’s worst currency. On
that note, if you want to kill someone with pennies,
try paying for your morning latte exclusively with
them, until those around you perish of rage and
boredom. Bwahaha.
Original Source: Scientific American

INSTITUTING A
PAYFORPERFORMANCE
SYSTEM ISN’T “FAIR”

Sayingpayingforperformanceisn’t‘fair’islikesayingwinning
agoldmedalisn’tfair.Inapayforperformancemodel,you
arerecognizingtopperformerswithcash.Takealesson
fromGravityPayments.Wheneveryone'spayisincreasedor
equalized,yourtopperformerswon’tconsiderthatfairand
they’lllikelytaketheirtalentselsewhere.Moralofthestory?
Goforgold!

George Washington had
wooden teeth

George Washington’s teeth were made out of
a lot of things, But, despite popular belief, wood
wasn’t one of them. A far cry from the porcelain
used in dentistry today, George Washington’s teeth
were made of ivory (hippopotamus
and elephant), lead, gold, and actual
teeth from horses, donkeys and humans.
Original Source: Smithsonian Magazine

PEOPLE DON'T
LEAVE THEIR JOBS
BECAUSE OF PAY

Not true. In 2015, the number one reason
most people left companies was compensation.
The majority of respondents to the 2015
Compensation Best Practices Report cited
“seeking higher pay elsewhere” as the primary
reason for leaving a company. Moral of story?
Money CAN buy you love.
Original Source: PayScale 2015 Compensation Best Practices Report
www.payscale.comPayScale: The Modern Compensation CompanyPayScale: The Modern Compensation CompanyPayScale: The Modern Compensation Company

IT TAKES 7 YEARS TO
DIGEST SWALLOWED GUM

Not to worry; that gum you swallowed in a panic to
avoid detention did not linger in your digestive track
beyond your high school years. Though the majority of
gum matter is in fact indigestible, the relatively small
size of the average piece of gum allows it to flow freely
through the digestive track and out of your body in far
less than seven years. Moral of the story:
this too shall pass.
Original Source: Scientific American

he makes
HOW MUCH?
My manager lied.
I am so out
of here!
EMPLOYERS TALKING TO THEIR EMPLOYEES
ABOUT PAY WILL INCITE A RIOT

If you aren’t talking with employees about pay, chances are they are
talking to one another—creating their own story of your compensation
philosophy. Not a good thing. PayScale, the compensation software
company, surveyed 71,000 employees to study the relationship between
pay and transparency. The study found that transparent conversations
about money can actually mitigate low pay. So, if an employer pays
lower than the market average for a position, but
communicates clearly about the reasons for the smaller
paycheck, 82% of employees surveyed still felt satisfied
with their work.
Original Source: Harvard Business Review
How much do
they pay you?

BATHROOM
OF BACTERIA
DOOR
HANDLES
ARE FULL

No need to grab that paper towel to open the
bathroom door, but you may want to avoid the
hand dryer. Turns out the dirtiest places in public
restrooms are the floors (no surprise there) and the
hand dryers! ABC News 20/20 found the toilet seat
and the door handle to be the cleanest spots in a
public restroom. They even went as far as to say that
it may be cleaner to eat your lunch off the toilet seat
than your desk. Eww.
Original Source: ABC News

PAY FOR PERFORMANCE
RAISES WILL COST US
MORE MONEY

This one’s a little tricky. Pay for performance
could cost you more, if you do it wrong. Do
it right—aka don’t reward under-performing
employees—and it will likely save you
money. Rewarding your top performers will
also reduce your cost of turnover—happy
employees don’t leave. Think of it this way, if
you don’t pay your top performers what they
deserve, your competitor will. Ouch.

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Top 10 HR Myths

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