The Controversial Truth About Your Compensation

Benefits: Discover three things that you may be asked to give up in exchange for your compensation.

So That You Can: Decide if you are being compensated fairly and answer the question, “Am I making enough money?”

Narrative

What Are You Willing to Exchange for Your Compensation?

There are a few general truths about employment that we can agree on:

Employers provide compensation to an employee in exchange for his/her time.
Employers decide what your time is worth based on various inputs, one of which is their own compensation.
Employers care about fair compensation, to a varying degree, but are more concerned about achieving their goals or outputs.

What you may not be aware of are the lesser-known, controversial truths about your compensation. Although these are also general truths, they are the truths that most people don’t often consider, let alone accept.

These controversial truths expose the things that you are being compensated for in addition to your time. Huh? I’m being compensated for something other than my time? Yep!

Besides your time, you may be asked to give up your autonomy, your personal values, and your dreams in the name of company loyalty. Let’s discuss.

They Don’t Make ‘Em Like They Used To
(Inspired by Noam Chomsky)

There was a time when autonomy was the norm. People chose a craft or vocation to pursue and exercised their talents as they saw fit. The result? Exceptional products and services. These craftsmen and professionals took pride in a job well done because they knew that their products were valued by their community.

Over time, the value of people’s work has been diminished. As production lines came into use and cubicle farms popped up in offices across the nation, humans began to be seen as tools of production. This has left many workers feeling underappreciated because the skills and talents they bring to the table often go unnoticed.

Instead of being given the autonomy to exercise their individual skills and talents, most employees are forced to fit into neat little boxes. They are told what do to, how to do it, and evaluated based on how long each job takes. The result? Subpar products and services.

Fortunately, a lot of companies have taken notice of this trend and have realized that treating their employees like human beings and valuing each one’s contribution will actually increase the bottom line. But . . . I think we can all agree that the days of the production lines and cubical farms are far from gone.

What is Autonomy Anyway?

According to Christian Nielson, Principal Consultant at DecisionWise,

Autonomy is the power to shape your work and environment in ways that allow you to perform at your best. . . . Autonomy doesn’t mean ‘no rules and free reign.’ We all work under guidelines. But when we understand our parameters, and have the freedom to do our best work, we are more creative, innovative, passionate and, ultimately, more effective.

Now that you have a better understanding of what autonomy is, does it sound like something you are giving up in exchange for your compensation?

If so, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Maybe you are allowed enough flexibility in the way you perform your work that, although you have to give up some of your autonomy, you have retained enough to find meaning in the work you are doing.

On the other hand, giving up autonomy could be a horrible thing. Maybe your boss is a total micromanager and won’t even let you decide what color sticky notes you may use. This is an extreme example, but we’ve all had a dictatorial boss at some point. Are you being compensated enough to sacrifice your autonomy to the sticky-note gods?

Regardless of which situation you find yourself in, as a Deliberate Thinker, it is important to determine how much of your autonomy you are willing to give up in exchange for your compensation.

Personal and Work Values: Are Yours Mutually Exclusive?

According to Penny Loretto, Associate Director in the Career Development Center at Skidmore College, one of the top 10 values employers want employees to have is loyalty.

This being the case, if you are not willing to give up your personal values in exchange for your boss’s or the company’s, you might not make it very long with your employer. At a minimum, your opportunities for advancement will be undermined.

And that can be a slippery slope. You should never give up your core value(s) in exchange for a paycheck. But what about your second-string values?

Let’s walk through a couple of examples based on my personal values. My core values are authenticity and growth; two things I should never give up. Two of my second-string values are family and compassion.

Let’s say that my employer expects me to be on call 24/7. Now, they haven’t explicitly said this. However, I’ve been given me a “company” cell phone, and I have been reprimanded for not answering emails that I received at 8:00 at night in a “timely” manner.

The reason I didn’t respond is because 8:00 is the time my family is settling down, and we actually have a moment to spend some quality time together. If I decide to sacrifice this precious time to respond to an email, that was probably trivial, aren’t I sacrificing one of my values in return for being compensated? Either with cash or with opportunities for advancement.

Now, let’s say that one of my co-workers has just found out her husband has cancer. With all the doctor’s appointments and additional stress at home, she’s having a hard time keeping up with her workload. I have work to do, but none of it is urgent. Because I value compassion, I offer to help her out a bit.

When my boss finds out, he goes off because that’s not part of my “job description,” and I should be focused on getting my own work done. If I concede to him, aren’t I surrendering one of my values in return for compensation?

Naturally, you will have to abdicate your second-string values at work sometimes. There’s no way around it, but…

As a Deliberate Thinker, you should be aware of the fact that you are exchanging your values for compensation and decide if that is something you are willing to accept or not. If you don’t, abdicating your values will become commonplace before you know it. Next comes resentment, complacency, and the overshadowing of your potential.

Are You Willing to Give Up On Your Dreams?

Maybe your work and your dreams are in alignment. Awesome! But I’m guessing this isn’t true for most of us. Or maybe, even though your work and your dreams don’t line up right, you can accept that because you can see that your work is setting the stage for your dreams to manifest themselves. Again, awesome!

Now, let’s go to the camp that I think most people find themselves in — your work has nothing to do with your dreams, but you’re “satisfied” with it. According to a CNBC/Survey Monkey Workplace Happiness Index published in April 2019, in which 8,664 professionals from numerous industries across the nation were polled, 85% of respondents said they were either somewhat or very satisfied with their jobs.

This sounds great, right? But let’s notice that the term being used is “satisfied,” not fulfilled. Being satisfied with your job could mean that you are willing to settle for it because it’s what’s expected of you, because it pays too well to find a suitable replacement, or because you simply don’t hate it. That’s why we need to be careful to not mistake being satisfied with being fulfilled.

Let’s walk through a couple personal examples again. As an accountant, I was satisfied. I rarely experienced the Sunday Scaries. (Not sure what I’m talking about — check out this post.) I was paid well IMO. I was very good at what I did. I had a great client base.

However, I still found myself yearning for more because I wasn’t working toward my potential; my dream. I dream of being able to spend my time researching and writing about my interests. I dream of creating content that has never existed. I dream of creating a community of Deliberate Thinkers. I dream of being on par with the greats like Mel Robbins and Brene Brown.

Eventually, I woke up one day and decided that I just wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I kept denying these dreams. I had become terrified of the regret I would feel down the road. I knew I was no longer willing to exchange my dreams for the compensation I was receiving, and here we are. ?

If you don’t want to end up lying on your deathbed full of regrets, you’ll have to put your Deliberate Thinking skills to work and decide if you are willing to give up your dreams in exchange for “satisfying” work that compensates you well.

Are You Being Compensated Fairly?

I encourage you to take some time, and evaluate what you are really giving up in exchange for your compensation. We have a handy-dandy worksheet to get you started.

Then decide if you are willing to continue giving those things up. Are you being compensated fairly?

Keep in mind that compensation is not just cash and fringe benefits. Compensation could also be intangible benefits like pride, recognition, fulfillment, or a sense of giving back, to name a few.

Comment time . . . Let your circle know what values you are no longer willing to sacrifice. Or, let us know what types of intangible benefits you are receiving as compensation for your work.