The Gatherer Vol 11

T he Wolf of Wall Street, a movie that portrays the real-life astronomic rise and downfall of stock-broker Jordan Belford, shows the incredible power of financial motivators. Indeed, the equation is clear and simple for Jordan’s money-hungry, oversized- suit wearing employees to understand: work your butt off, crush your KPIs and you get to live the high life. In short, the story promotes a ‘money talks, BS walks’ method to motivate the corporate masses. So when rising the ladder isn’t possible, kick in a few bucks to keep people loyal. When something needs to be done fast, dangle a bonus. Let’s face it: the symbolic meaning behind money is so powerful that it can instantly cut through language barriers (just think of the last time you were in a foreign country and needed help). Money provides protection, safety and (quite often), power. So, it seems simple enough, right? If you need to motivate your workers and keep them loyal, use money. But is that the best way for companies to show care for the people that stand behind them through politics and pandemics?

While this theory has its critics, data don’t lie: rich countries aren’t happier, which remains true whether you’re starting off poor or rich, developed or not. While the authors are quick to state that causation is far from clear, they have two predictions: issues may arise due to social comparison, and hedonistic adaptation. Put more clearly, people want to keep up with the Joneses and are never happy with what they have. And perhaps you’ve seen this paradox in action: the motivation of a raise or bonus wears off within weeks. Salary comparisons causing office drama and one-upmanship. Indeed, salary disparities, whether deserved or not, are hard to swallow for others. The result can manifest as inter-team conflict, struggles for power which show up as passive-aggressive digs or sly humour, and worst of all, water cooler gossip. Breaking bread Fear not, fixes are on the horizon. I’d like to use a recent experience within my own company that exemplifies the power of using a financial-free love language to promote team connection and work- related happiness. Six weeks ago, I performed an anonymous ‘wellbeing’ audit for our team members (part of a corporate team development program I run), which provided incredibly rich and useful data. While many of the questions were quantitative, the online questionnaire also included a chance for optional feedback.

When is enough, enough? Here’s the problem - The Wolf Jordan was making upwards of $250,000 USD per day, which equates to approx $520 USD per minute (yes, per MINUTE). Did he ever say “I think that’s enough. I feel satisfied and fulfilled, time to close shop!”? Of course not, he waited until he was knee-deep in federal investigations, pushing legal boundaries and ending up in jail. Putting aside the obvious moral, legal (and psychological) issues for a moment, this argument suggests that for many, no money will ever be enough money for soulful fulfilment. The happiness-income paradox Decades of research by Richard Easterlin, a professor of economics at the University of Southern California contributed to his development of a social-economic theory called the Easterlin Paradox. This theory wasn’t based on small fry data. Quite astonishingly, his group collected information over 34 years, spanning across five continents, with countries that ranged anywhere from developing to developed, socialist and capitalist. While several findings were born from this incredible data set, pertinent to this conversation is the relationship between gross domestic product per capita (GDP) and measures of happiness, including life satisfaction. Essentially it asked the question: as a country gets richer, do they get happier, too?

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