What Pay Costs
The Science of Pay, Incentives, Bonuses, Salaries, Equity Compensation, Motivation, and Performance: Moving Compensation Forward. Without Holding People Back
Book • 2025
James Seechurn examines common compensation practices and argues that pay-for-performance, merit cycles, and rigid competency frameworks often fail knowledge-work organisations.
He combines research, history, and real-world examples to show how pay systems shape behaviour and culture, and proposes alternatives like role-based pay, participative workforces, and living wages.
The book highlights economic and social costs of unfair pay and presents practical approaches for designing fairer, more effective reward systems.
It is aimed at leaders, HR professionals, and founders seeking to rethink compensation to drive innovation and long-term value.
Seechurn draws on examples from companies and academics to make an evidence-backed case for change.
He combines research, history, and real-world examples to show how pay systems shape behaviour and culture, and proposes alternatives like role-based pay, participative workforces, and living wages.
The book highlights economic and social costs of unfair pay and presents practical approaches for designing fairer, more effective reward systems.
It is aimed at leaders, HR professionals, and founders seeking to rethink compensation to drive innovation and long-term value.
Seechurn draws on examples from companies and academics to make an evidence-backed case for change.
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James Seechurn
Everything You Know About Paying Fairly is Wrong | With What Pay Costs' Author James Seechurn
