Why you will never earn what you are worth!
My heart was broken after a conversation I had with a young, well paid and respected executive. He was told in school that if he doesn’t double his pay every two years then he is failing at growing his career. For most of his career his pay had doubled at least every two years. What the instructor failed to tell him was what it would cost him. His family suffered greatly.
In that moment I wish the instructor had a different message:
You are more valuable than your paycheck!
About 15 years ago I came across an article/survey that assessed employee’s satisfaction with their pay and what it would take for employees to be satisfied with their pay. This is a different focus than recent studies trying to determine how much money seems to create personal happiness.
This survey asked two critical questions to people earning between $20k-$200k:
- Are you satisfied with your pay?
- What pay increase would make you satisfied with your pay?
On average, people at every pay level felt they would be satisfied with their pay if they earned about 20% more.
Meaning: people earning $20k would be satisfied if they earned $24k. People earning $24k would be satisfied if they earned $28.8k. People earning $100k would be satisfied if they earned $120k, and so on.
There appears to be a never ending cycle of dissatisfaction with pay, and a belief that a 20% increase will bring satisfaction.
As an individual, I have tried to look at my pay based on Proverbs 30:8-9
“Give me neither poverty nor riches, feed me with my portion of food, so that I would not be full and deny you by saying ‘Who is the Lord’, or that I would not be in want and steal, which would profane the name of God.”
Basically, this proverb directs me to trust that God will provide me enough food so I don’t need to steal, and not so much that I forget who God is.
So, why would I say will you never earn what you am worth? Well that is easy:
Your value is not determined by your paycheck!
You are priceless. The amount of money you earn does not represent your worth. How could we place a value on a friend, a spouse, a coworker who backs you up, or a leader who challenges you to get out of your comfort zone?
Here are five things to consider while applying a Proverbs 30:8-9 mindset:
- Enjoy your work – Stop trying to chase the next promotion to make more money. Look at the work you enjoy, and do your best at it.
- Focus on the success of others – Find great joy in seeing others succeed. Applaud for them. Challenge them.
- Network with anyone – In a networking class I was told to focus on key people who could drive my career forward to help me make it big. I ignored that advice. Maybe they can help me, or maybe I can help them. To only meet those who can help me seems selfish.
- Let your work determine your pay – This may sound odd, but it has been a long time since I negotiated my pay. I take a job because I believe I will enjoy the work and I trust the leader (it is important to work for leaders you trust). Then, I do my best and let the pay deal with itself.
- Give freely – I do not know a better way to appreciate what you have than to give to others in need.
Comment: What advice do you have to encourage others to live with a Proverbs 30:8-9 mindset?