Insult Factor

Samuelson’s Economics has an entire chapter worrying over wage rates and the efficient allocation of labor. Why do people change jobs? Samuelson would like to tie it to capital allocation, work duration…he doesn’t mention the insult factor.

I know a guy who loved his job. He was proud of the job and the work he did. When he learned that someone else made more than him, it was too much. He quit even without another job to go to. Nothing else had changed. It was simply that he felt insulted.

Managers fail to understand the insult factor. Headhunters understand it. Unions understand it. Customers understand it. Why go through the folderol of a manufacturer’s rebate? If you are getting points, then someone else is getting ripped off. When the price at the aisle doesn’t match the register, you feel insulted. Bombing me with ads texts and emails after I have bought the product is discouraging. When a headhunter offers a better deal, it feels like your own company doesn’t value you.

Companies don’t realize that when they throw out puff pieces about how great they treat employees that it becomes insulting. I was at a company where headquarters was running a morale building exercise awarding the discovery of efficiencies. This was a software company. We were out there, bare knuckle fighting for sales. The company announcements were intensely demoralizing.

There are times when corporations engage in worthwhile activities and then advertise their altruism. But if you are engaged in a tough, demanding, hopefully profitable, endeavor so someone or even yourself has to prattle and prance with little regard for the bottom line it is an insult. Halos are for heaven. The appearance of beneficence becomes a broken promise. Corporate philanthropy means they are not paying enough taxes.

I was assigned to a project that was disgusting. They told me it would only be for a few months. After the few months I was gone. If they hadn’t promised I might have stayed longer. Promises matter. I’m canned if I fail a deadline.

We are ruled by the marketplace but our reasons are complex. Telling people how great they have it while they are under the hammer brings the union. Going to the moon doesn’t cut it. The upper class has to understand that you don’t insult the help.