Ethical Dilemma: Are CEOs entitled to increases in compensation when their company’s financial situation worsens, because their job becomes more challenging? If they fail, are they entitled to huge severance packages for their efforts? by Elaine Hill

2025-10-20 20:31:48 UTC

No I don't believe that CEOs are entitled to Increases in compensation when their company's financial situation worsens, because their job becomes more challenging. Because first off yes I understand that their job is getting harder but its there fault that there company is failing and their job is getting harder because they over see everything so if something is wrong and it does not get better then it's there fault. I believe that they are entitled to a severance package but not HUGE it's should be some something like a month of there salary of something along that line.

2121155_1 — 2025-10-20 23:43:19 UTC

I do not think CEO's should get more compensation when they fail at their job or as a severance package. I think of it like school, if I fail I don't get to graduate, I have to work harder and put in more effort to get my diploma. For CEO's why reward their failures either give them the same pay they have already had and a second chance or let them go and get someone in who can do the job correctly.

2200634_2 — 2025-10-21 03:53:16 UTC

I’m completely against the high pay CEOs receive. It’s ridiculous that they make millions while their companies lose money and employees are being laid off. No one should get a bonus or a massive severance package for failing at their job. Regular workers do the hard work every day and get nowhere near that kind of pay. The system is unfair and clearly favors the people at the top, not the ones actually keeping the company running.

21556331 — 2025-10-21 16:16:35 UTC

I am against the CEO's being paid more. For the regualr works, if they dont perform well at there job, they could get fired or laided off. Why should that be different for people holding higher positions. There jobs may be more demanding therefore they get paid more, however, the pay gap being more then 200 times what other works make is outragous. To agree with Devan, its does seem like the system favors the poeple at the top. Workers should not be reward for failing. If they fail and still get a huge bonus whats going to motivate them to do the best they can at there job. Overall I dont think CEO's are entitled to anything just becuase they have a higher ranking job.

2140239_1 — 2025-10-21 16:19:28 UTC

I think the high pay CEO's receive is not fair especially when the company doesn't have enough money as it is, Overall I think high pay for CEO's is ridiculous and how high it has gone over the years. Companies should focus on keeping and paying their employees, they play a big part in how business is running.

0livia — 2025-10-21 18:03:27 UTC

I do not believe that CEOs are entitled to an increase in compensation when their company's financial situation worsens. The CEO of a company already makes bounds more money than the average worker so why reward them even more for their business failing. When a business begins to fail, the whole staff of the business has to work harder, not just the CEO. If there is a pay increase during financial hardship it should be applied across the whole staff instead of only the CEO. I believe that pay increases are deserved as bonuses as long as the whole company is given the same benefits. For example, every X amount of years worked at the company is a bonus priced at X amount. So say I worked at Apple for 5 years I would get a $5,000 bonus but then once I have worked there for 10 years I would get a $15,000 bonus. Rewarding the employees who show their loyalty and hard work will encourage people to stay at the company for longer and work harder.

2025-10-21 21:37:42 UTC

I am not completely against the higher compensation for CEO's as I am more against the pay gap between the workers and the CEO's. CEO's would be nowhere without their hard-working employees, and in some cases, you might be able to say they work even harder than the CEO. So in this way I feel that the CEO is entitled to a higher compensation, but employees should be paid a very comfortable wage as well.

21263641 — 2025-10-21 23:34:44 UTC

I'm against CEOs getting raises or bonuses when the company underperforms. If Profits fall or people are laid off, rewarding the person at the top feel backwards to me... especially when CEO pay is already substantially higher than any of their worker's. Compensation for one's work should follow results from said work. High pay is fine when it's earned. I feel like the compensation should be truly performance based with multi-year targets like revenue, innovation, safety, etc. As a bottom line, CEOs should be paid well for durable value creation, but should stop being paid top dollar for mediocre or harmful outcomes to their companies. There should also be a stop to the "golden parachute" for failure.

2064204 — 2025-10-22 04:59:59 UTC

I am against increases in CEO's compensation and bonuses when their company's financial situation worsens because it means that in some aspect they have failed. I find it unfair to lay off workers or cut staff salaries when a company's financial situation worsens and then continue to give raises to the CEO. They are the leaders and they should be willing to do for themselves what they do to their employees and investors. A CEO's compensation should be based on how well the company is doing and not just their position in the company. The gap in salaries between executives and employees is disturbing and should be investigated.

2025-10-22 16:32:50 UTC

The most visible critique of excessive executive pay relates to the widening gap between the highest-paid executives and the average worker. In the 1960s, the average CEO-to-worker pay ratio was approximately 20-to-1; today, it often exceeds 300-to-1 in major corporations. This disparity fosters economic instability and social resentment. therefore a ceo conpensation should e based on how well they do.

2025-10-22 19:19:00 UTC

I believe top executives are paid too much. It doesn’t make sense for CEOs to get big bonuses when profits drop. The gap between CEO pay and regular worker pay is huge. That’s unfair and shows how unequal things are. Pay should be based on performance, not just status. If a CEO helps the company grow and treats workers fairly, then they should get pay that reflects on what they are doing in the job.

2227987 — 2025-10-23 16:14:18 UTC

I believe that CEOs should have higher pay than the average worker because what they are doing is so much more complicated. I do not agree with how much more they are getting paid, though. I believe if a business's financial situation worsens to the point of laying people off, the CEO should also take a pay cut. The business can continue paying most of its workers if the CEO takes a cut, which will benefit the company in the long run.

2129366 — 2025-10-23 16:40:49 UTC

I believe CEOs should have higher pay than an average worker because everyone has to start somewhere and if there a CEO than they started at the bottom and worked there way up to be qualified to be apart of that department. As they have more experience and have worked there longer and do more things than an average worker they should be payed more. for Example in a resturant they have managers meaning the people who have worked there way up to be in that spot, they create the schedule keep the business clean and all and all do a lot more than a regular server an because of this they get payed more to do the job that they are doing

2025-10-23 16:42:35 UTC

I think people should get paid for their work, however, I agree with the previous person said the way they get paid is weird take a health care CEO for example they only care about their money and not how their businesss model negitivally effects most of the population in the country.

2091759 — 2025-10-23 19:41:00 UTC

i dont think CEO´s should get more money because they already have a lot and the can just use their money, they should give less paid workers that money or hire new people to equally pay for their labor and time, if they dont its going to affect al lot of their workers

2130793 — 2025-10-24 15:15:05 UTC

I think CEOs don't deserve more money when there are people who struggle to get by on a day-to-day basis; meanwhile, a lot of these CEOs of big companies have so much money in their bank account that they will never use.

2252274_1 — 2025-10-24 15:57:04 UTC

No, I don't believe CEOs should be paid a huge amount on a company that is losing its profit, nor do I believe that once this company fails they should get paid millions of dollars. A CEOs job is to run the company and make sure the company is running smoothly, if they are unable to do that and cause the company to fail/fire other employees. They should not receive that much no matter the effort they put into trying to save the company. People struggle everyday in life just being paid 30,000 a year can be a lot for some. So, a CEO that has not only failed the company, but also made multiple employees lose their job should never get paid a significant amount of money.

2025-10-24 20:17:18 UTC

No, I don't think that CEO's are entitles to increase in compensation when there companies financial situation worsens because their job becomes more challenging, because, if the CEO of the company is having to fix the crisis that he allowed to happen financially, then he should be the one to fix it without getting paid more just because he was slacking or lazy before everything financially went down hill. I think that even if they do fail they should get their severance package because it covered the ex-CEO's butt a long with the company's name that the CEO is being cut from. Although they did fail, they still earned their severance package considering the years, time, and effort they put into the company before it failed.

21761631 — 2025-10-25 04:30:31 UTC

I don't think that Ceo's are deserving of higher compensation, especially when the company is at bay do to numerous factors like high layoff rates or things of that nature. The reason I say that is because, since their salary is so high regardless there is no reason that they should deserve more.

2025-10-26 19:31:11 UTC

CEOs should not get pay raises when their companies perform poorly. Their pay reflects the results, and CEOs should not get unfair rewards for poor performance. Top executives are often overpaid, and their pay should be more based on company success and fairness across the organization.

2124787 — 2025-10-26 22:07:16 UTC

I do not think that CEOs should be given compensation based on poor performance at their company. If anything, they're responsible for their company's performance. If their company isn't doing well, they shouldn't be rewarded; they're in charge, so they should be focused on improving their company. They're responsible for company morale and performance, their worries should be less focused on money and more on doing their job, no matter the circumstances. CEOs are already paid more than they should be in my opinion, especially in relation to those lower in their company who are often the backbone of the company.

2025-10-27 00:18:41 UTC

I dont think the CEO should be given compensation based on their perfomance. They do play an important role in the compnay but CEO's should not recive executive compensation based on the company. They pay should reflect the companys perfomance and not the effort or position the CEO is in.

2123397 — 2025-10-27 04:25:56 UTC

I do not think CEOs are particularly entitled to compensation outside of the success of their company. A CEO should be, as their employees are, paid according to their personal success, and that decision should be outside themselves. Employees are paid specifically with raises and other benefits on the table, so that employees are incentivized to work hard; why would it be any different for CEOs?

2025-10-27 05:29:47 UTC

CEOs are paid far too much, especially when their compensation does not reflect company performance. Studies show that CEO bonuses increased from 20% to 30% even at firms with declining profits or major layoffs, creating a stark contrast with the wages of average workers. The pay gap, once 59-to-1 in 1989, had grown to 271-to-1 by 2016. Even some CEOs, like Edgar Woolard, Jr., criticize this system, explaining that pay is often driven by consultant surveys and the desire to rank executives in the top quartile, rather than by actual results. Moreover, enormous severance packages, such as the $20 million given to Carly Fiorina after leaving Hewlett-Packard, highlight how disconnected CEO pay can be from accountability or company success. This evidence shows that executive compensation is excessively high and often unfair.

21519111 — 2025-10-27 21:03:41 UTC

The CEO should be paid more. They have a more taxing and strenuous job than anyone else in the building. They are in charge of how the plans for everything are run. When you are in charge of people, it is a hard job. First, you have to understand what job they are doing and trying to complete. Decide what they need and how they should do it. Assign it and deal with people's issues and problems. At the end of the company is struggling, they are the ones the brunt of it. They should be paid a very large amount, as they are handling a whole company. Even if it fails, they still handle and work harder than anybody else in that company.

2025-10-28 19:21:05 UTC

CEOs are not automatically entitled to getting a higher pay when its comes to a companies struggles. Compensation should reflect the results, not the effort. Large severance packaged that are for failed performance are sometimes seen as unfair. Pay should reward success and accountability. Overall, CEO compensation should have to balance the risk, responsibility, and the actual performance.

22453641 — 2025-10-28 20:23:05 UTC

I do not think that CEO's are entitled to higher pay when their work gets harder. They are already paid 271 times higher than the average worker, but I do not think they do 271 times more work. Even when their situation is hard, they are doing far less than 271 times the average worker's work. Also, it should be the result that matters from the work, not the work itself. I find that hard work will always pay off, so when their company is doing badly, I think it reflects what they put in. So if it is their fault, I don't think they should receive compensation. They might have more stress to keep the company afloat, but in the end, they are doing far less work than they are getting paid to do.

2025-10-29 00:24:24 UTC

Yes, top executives are paid too much, especially given the weak connection between their compensation and company performance.

2025-10-30 04:00:08 UTC

I personally don't think CEO's should receive executive compensation. In the case of financial hardships in the company none of the baseline employee's would receive compensation. I don't find it fair to designate an increase in compensation to just the CEO of the company. While I understand a CEO's job becomes more difficult when finances worsen, I think they should be payed based on the success of the company. If there's already financial troubles and the CEO is failing to reverse it, than designating money for executive compensations is the worst idea when thinking about the success of the company in general. Considering the fact that a CEO already makes 271 times higher than the amount an average worker makes, I think it's an irresponsible business decision to invest more money into the CEO. Especially if the CEO fails to resolve the issue.

2025-10-30 04:10:31 UTC

i dont think ceos should be payed more then lower level employees but i do think at some point ceos are over paid to where it is a corrupt amount. after so many millions when is that money considered to much? that part i dont know but i belive it should be a universal thing to the top 1% there should be a cap and the rest should go back into the economy or areas to help the world. because at some point you are past generational success and then its simply greed to want more. you wouldn't have a concept of money after so many million money would be like water.

2224622_1 — 2025-11-03 03:40:49 UTC

Sawyer Goldschmidt

I feel as Ceo should be paid more. As they have big responsibilities and losses. If the company goes bankrupt, they are the ones who lose the most, compared to workers who would only lose their jobs. They also have more task and would say their job is harder, it might be easier than the employees at the end but they risked their time and money to develop it so their for i think they should get paid more as they did, do and or do the most and risk the most.

2025-11-04 19:35:01 UTC

i feel like ceos should be apyed more due their doing more work and worked there way up to the position.

2170365_2 — 2025-11-04 22:54:19 UTC

Harlow Mavis

I dont think CEO's should get paid more even if their company is doing poorly because they are responsible to fix the problems. If they fail they shouldve get severance packages because they are getting rewarded for their failures and not their successes

2025-11-12 15:44:37 UTC

CEOs are not automatically entitled to pay increases when a company’s finances worsen simply because the job becomes harder. Higher pay can be justified when it’s tied to clear, long‑term objectives and measurable value creation. Large severance packages are not automatically deserved when a CEO fails.

2025-11-20 21:13:17 UTC

I think that CEOs should be paid more because they are the head of the company and do a lot of the heavy lifting. It should also be noted that CEOs werent just given that title. So there should be a relatively significant gap between salarys and pay checks. Studies show that paid gaps go up 20 to 30 percent while companies are failing and this is because the CEOs are taking the brunt of it.

2025-11-26 03:02:49 UTC

A lot of CEO salaries are based on comparisons, so every company wants their CEO to be “top tier,” which just keeps pushing pay higher and higher. It’s not really about performance anymore — it’s more about keeping up with other companies. That’s why their pay keeps rising even when the business isn’t improving.

2161871 — 2025-12-03 07:29:12 UTC

I do not believe that CEO's should be paid more, because yes, although they do a lot of hard work and heavy lifting but so do the employees and sometimes theyre the ones keeping it afloat. And some employees are living paycheck to paycheck while some CEOs live in mansions.

2025-12-09 21:03:54 UTC

no I don't think CEOs should be given compensation, they are paid higher then most workers, I think it should be based on there performance at the company. most of the time they are over paid, and since their salary is so high there is no reason that they should get more.

2134454 — 2025-12-09 22:26:04 UTC

No, I don't think that CEO's are entitled to a higher compensation, because if their company has an increasingly worsening financial situation, that means that their employees, whom are already making significantly less than the CEO, will probably be struggling. Yes, they put in a lot of work, but that doesn't change the fact that they more than likely don't need more money when there are other people within their company who work just as hard and also deserve compensation.

2025-12-09 23:47:17 UTC

I don’t think CEOS are entitled to increases in compensation when their job gets harder. CEOs are already paid more then other employees, which i think is fair because they do have more responsibility but I don’t think that they should get more pay just because their job becomes more challenging. That is unfair cause everyone in the companies job would get harder if the company’s financial situation worsens. It’s all a team effort in order to fix the issue and the CEOs aren’t the only ones doing more work.

2025-12-12 22:07:35 UTC

There is a lot of CEO out there that want there pay to be the best out of any CEO in similar industry's witch pushes there pay higher, and higher. Plus It doesn't really matter about how good they are at there job Just about keeping up with other companies that's why everything going up in price but they aren't improving

2025-12-17 15:40:57 UTC

I believe CEO’s deserve their pay, most CEOs have either built their company or worked up to that position, it is actually very rare for a CEO to be some lazy person who got along well with the person who was CEO before them. This being said if the created the company they deserve because without the idea no one would even be getting paid in the first place. If they worked up to it, they deserve as much pay, because the proved that no matter in what company position they were put, they would be the best of the best.