One year before our expected raise period, our company of 200+/- employees was asked by the owners to read “Delivering Happiness” by Tony Hsieh (of Zappos fame). We had to buy the book ourselves, and have it read by the next company meeting in about 45 days (without being reimbursed- and we were told we couldn't share copies or notes)
The book spoke about the importance of the experience over the cost, and looking at providing quality instead of always focusing on the bottom line- because in the end, just like Zappos, you too will make it big (wake up call, there are WAAAAAAAAAAAY more variables that determine success)
The whole process of buying and reading this book was to teach the employees that we should value our work, our jobs and one another, as a family. And of course, that we wouldn't be getting our raises. Even at the meeting, when discussing tge themes of the book in what turned out to be the biggest and most hated book club ive ever witnessed, no one mentioned anything about the raises. It wasnt until later when whispers started floating thatbwe realized we had been played. This was 2011. Many of us were very, very upset and it led to several talented people, myself included, leaving within a few months of this stunt. The irony is that we all saw the sales sheets and knew it was a down year across the market. We knew raises would be small, if any at all. Many of us had agreed that had we just been treated as adults and told that we weren't getting raises because of such, we would understand, and continue to work. Last I heard, there are many openings there still with no new blood to step up because of how new hires are treated.