The article jumped out at him. It intrigued him because it was about the higher level of fulfillment that people feel when they earn an income of at least $70,000. He never knew that reading the article would result in such an internal change for him, but it did. Inspired by it, Dan Price, the CEO of Gravity Payments then chose to take a seven figure paycut to give all of his employees a minimum wage of $70,000 by the year 2024. He had a long term vision and because he wanted his employees to feel more fulfilled, less stressed and to move forward in their lives and not let financial worries stop them he knew the sacrifice would be worth it.
Most of the employees at Gravity Payments were making around $36,000. Dan’s choice made employees feel valued, respected, and resulted in a more secure work environment. He also shared that his own feelings of fulfillment were something he’d never felt before. Years later, results showed that his choice did in fact have an incredibly positive impact on the organization he loves. Commutes were cut because employees could now afford to move closer to their office. Many employees now chose to expand their families because they could finally afford to do so along with contributing higher dollars to their retirement accounts. Dan’s choice of a dramatic salary cut resulted in a positive ripple effect that will impact employees throughout their entire life.
While Dan Price’s choice was newsworthy, there are many respectful choices that go unnoticed, and are just as important in order to create a ripple effect. Daily choices that seem simple, such as recognizing and appreciating employees’ efforts for the work they do leave lasting impressions.Respect does not have to be a huge act, rather, it can be simple daily acts that differentiate you and your organization from the next.
Respectful environments encourage others to listen to each other more, speak less and become creative with solutions. While there are many ways to start building a culture surrounding respect, a simple starting point is by telling the truth even when it’s difficult. Though it may seem elementary it can be a very difficult thing to do when you are faced with a hard conversation. Transparency, even when it’s difficult, allows employees to feel respected and thus they turn around and respect you as a leader. Becoming committed to this simple task you will impact your organization in ways you never realized.
During the Pandemic of 2020 employers were faced with business challenges like they had never seen before. Yet, they faced the task head on and many of them chose to communicate with their employees and customers in the most transparent manner yet, which resulted in an increase in loyalty. At the same time these companies are opening themselves up to scrutiny because of their commitment to transparency and the information not always being what people like to hear but it was a risk they were obviously willing to take due to their ethics and surely respect followed.
