“ Diamonds are a girl’s best friend”. Sound familiar? What do the diamonds buy? – a sense of – he cares for me? Admiration from others.? Eye candy? Perhaps they are a renewal of the loving mutual admiration society. Or a visible reminder of one person caring for another. This rock from the center of the earth has always signified wealth, affection, and loyalty. There may be a difference between signifying something and it actually being true.
A question – do diamonds, jewelry, and other “ valued things” act as unbreakable adhesives when the affection and loyalty attributes are violated or dissipate over a period of time? The glitz and glamour of diamonds, by themselves, rarely is the glue that holds a broken relationship intact.
Employers are sometimes confused by the currents of “ we want more money’? ( show me the diamonds). When asked to perform expanded duties, the refrain “ how much more are you going to pay me?” is heard from dissatisfied , skeptical, restless employees..
Assuming these employees are paid comparable to others ( same occupation, region, etc) why the hue and cry about money?
• Loyalty?
• Honesty?
• Leadership?
• Followership?
• Integrity?
• Trust?
• Innovation?
• Motivation?
• Empowerment
Will money buy these? Perhaps money buys retention and the ability to hold on to highly skilled employees before they bolt to the competition. A bidding war ensues. With money being equal – who will the employee choose? And why?
Well heeled employers who fairly pay employees, have a high rate of “ money driven malcontents” when there significant dysfunctional characteristics are present in the workplace.
Havighurst discussed the absence of… as a factor in human behavior. The absence of employee loyalty, honesty, commitment to quality, employee empowerment, esprit de corps. Money cannot buy these factors which are essential to employee satisfaction. Dysfunction is a generalized company climate. Created, promoted and sustained by inept management and leadership.
Employees generally want to enjoy their work: take pride in where they work and the functions they perform. The erosion of these positive characteristics can be avoided by “ believable leadership”. Leaders who command trust: care about their employees, and who act in concert with the belief systems they talk about. Transparency, honesty, and value driven are the 3 key words by which they live. These characteristics are priceless.
Personal relationships and businesses have transparency, honesty and values are their cores. While “money” may be a center of heated discussions , a question to be asked – How did we get here? What are we as a marital team willing to do to change the atmospherics?
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