What Is The Pay To Quit Initiative?

How much money would it take for you to quit your job? It sounds ridiculous, but big name companies are willing to pay their employees to quit. Sounds intriguing, right?

Last month, Amazon announced a new program called Pay To Quit. The program was modeled from a similar program utilized by another company, Zappos. Once a year, Amazon makes an offer to all of their fulfillment center workers that if they quit, they will receive $2,000. The sum goes up $1,000 each year until it reaches $5,000. You can learn mow about the Pay To Quit Initiative on CNBC.

Nearly 40,000 people work in Amazon’s fulfillment centers, which are scattered across the country. No one knows exactly how many people have taken the offer, but according to one website it is about 3% of workers.

This is not made up. Amazon will really pay you to quit your job. According to Amazon’s Jeff Bezo, “the goal is to encourage folks to take a moment and think about what they really want. In the long-run, an employee staying somewhere they don’t want to be isn’t healthy for the employee or the company.” Bezo has a really good point if you’re not happy doing your job, it’s not healthy for you or your employer.

Employers want employees who want to show up to work and do a great job. They don’t want people who are just scraping by and show up to work because they have to. The Pay To Quit initiative gets rid of unhappy workers and keep the happy ones. Happy workers are more productive and will ultimately make the company more money.

What would you do if your company offered a similar program? Most Amazon employees don’t take Amazon up on the Pay To Quit offer. Amazon is a notable company that offers great benefits – including paying up to 95% of tuition for workers to take classes for in-demand job niches like nursing. Does this make you want to apply for a job with Amazon?

When you consider what you would do, you must consider the benefits, the job, the location, your income, and the job search. Remember that the goal of this program is find happy workers. If you’re not happy in your job, maybe you should quit.