{"id":61789,"date":"2022-02-24T04:31:13","date_gmt":"2022-02-24T09:31:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/world.edu\/?p=61789"},"modified":"2022-02-24T04:31:13","modified_gmt":"2022-02-24T09:31:13","slug":"show-me-the-money-employees-not-only-want-better-pay-they-want-status","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/world.edu\/show-me-the-money-employees-not-only-want-better-pay-they-want-status\/","title":{"rendered":"Show me the money: Employees not only want better pay, they want status"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"
\nThere has been endless chatter about the Great [insert pandemic-related work trend here<\/em>].<\/p>\n

Resignation<\/a>.\u00a0Renegotiation<\/a>.\u00a0Reshuffle<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Regardless of the descriptor used, employees in the United States are purportedly\u00a0re-evaluating<\/a>\u00a0the role of work in their lives. While some of this is related to deeper\u00a0existential questions<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 like \u201cWhat am I doing with my life?\u201d or \u201cIs this really how I want to be spending most of my waking hours?\u201d \u2014 there might be a much simpler and more practical explanation for the\u00a0take-this-job-and-reinvent-it<\/a>\u00a0wave.<\/p>\n

A classic quote from the 1996 film\u00a0Jerry Maguire<\/em>\u00a0captures it well. Sports agent Jerry Maguire (played by Tom Cruise) has been fired and as he embarks to become an independent agent he desperately tries to retain one of his clients, football star Rod Tidwell (Cuba Gooding Jr.).<\/p>\n

Tidwell shouts his demands: \u201cShow me the money!<\/a>\u201d He adds: \u201cI have a family to support, Jerry!\u201d<\/p>\n

Earning enough to make ends meet<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Given what Americans say about their earnings, you\u2019d think many would be bellowing like Tidwell. From Jan. 19 to Feb. 2, 2022, my research assistant and I partnered with Angus Reid Global to field a national survey of 2,000 working Americans. We asked:\u00a0Do you feel that the income from your job alone is enough to meet your family\u2019s usual monthly expenses and bills?<\/em><\/p>\n

An astonishing 54.8 percent said \u201cno.\u201d<\/p>\n

Considering the ominous news\u00a0about inflation<\/a>\u00a0lately, we figured that this unfavourable perception has spiked from previous years. But looking back through two decades of U.S. data from the\u00a0General Social Survey (GSS)<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 a highly reputable national survey of Americans \u2014 we were surprised by how prevalent and stable the \u201cno\u201d responses have been.<\/p>\n

In 2018, the last time the GSS asked this question, 50.8 percent of American workers reported that the income from their job was not enough to make ends meet. And the percentage was even higher in previous years: 52.9 in 2014; 53.4 in 2006 and 55.9 in 2002. The highest on record \u2014 58.2 per cent \u2014 occurred in 2010 at the tail end of the Great Recession.<\/p>\n

How fair is what you earn?<\/strong><\/h4>\n

But \u201cshow me the money\u201d isn\u2019t only about having enough for life\u2019s necessities. It\u2019s also about the sense of fairness \u2014 what scholars refer to as\u00a0distributive justice<\/a>. In our survey, we asked:\u00a0How fair is what you earn on your job in comparison to others doing the same type of work you do?<\/em><\/p>\n

While 37.9 per cent feel they are paid appropriately, 52.7 per cent feel they are paid less than they deserve. On this indicator, the shift is substantial.\u00a0Between 2002 and 2018<\/a>, 40.6 per cent on average have described their pay as being somewhat less or much less than they deserve, with 2010 again being the outlier at 46.2 percent.<\/p>\n

We need to earn enough to live, and the amount should be just. But there\u2019s another element of pay that reflects something deeper.\u00a0A fundamental human motive: status<\/a>. Justifying his \u201cshow me the money\u201d plea, Tidwell roars: \u201cI\u2019m a role model, Jerry,\u201d adding \u201cit\u2019s a very personal \u2026 very important thing.\u201d
\n

\"\"

Income, which can often be distributed unfairly, determines social status. (Shutterstock)<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n

Status matters. Not only in the eyes of others, but in our own self-evaluations too. Sociologists refer to this as\u00a0subjective social status<\/a>. To measure it, we told respondents to think of a ladder. At the top (10) are the people who are the best off. At the bottom (1) are the people who are the worst off. And, we asked: \u201cWhere would you put yourself at the present time?\u201d<\/p>\n

On average, American workers report a 6 on the status ladder. But those who report insufficient earnings and feel severely underpaid score significantly lower (4.9), compared to those who have sufficient earnings and feel their pay is appropriate (6.6). That difference holds regardless of education, occupation, income and job authority.<\/p>\n

Can money buy happiness?<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Some say\u00a0money can\u2019t buy happiness<\/a>, but it goes a long way to providing status. And status often\u00a0translates into happiness<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In our survey, Americans who don\u2019t earn enough to make ends meet and feel underpaid are less happy and hopeful about the future. Life, for them, is less enjoyable. Inadequate earnings and feeling underpaid also erode happiness more strongly than the objective indicators of low socio-economic standing do. And one\u2019s position on the status ladder eclipses all other socio-economic indicators in predicting happiness.<\/p>\n

Our sample doesn\u2019t include any professional football stars. But it does contain a broad cross-section of American workers \u2014 doggie daycare assistants, accountants, truck drivers, software engineers, sous chefs, electricians, candle-makers and on and on. All have a few things in common: They want to earn enough money to make ends meet, they want to be paid fairly for the work they do and they all share the fundamental human motive for status.<\/p>\n

As dated as\u00a0Jerry Maguire<\/em>\u00a0feels, \u201cshow me the money\u201d still resonates. Maybe it always will. Given how consistent these indicators of income dissatisfaction have been for the past few decades, perhaps the Great Re-evaluation of work should focus first and foremost on compensation. Channel your inner Rod Tidwell!<\/p>\n

Author Bio:<\/strong> Scott Schieman, is Professor of Sociology and Canada Research Chair at the University of Toronto<\/em><\/p>\n

Xin Ming Matthew Zhou, an undergraduate research assistant in the Department of Sociology at the University of Toronto, co-authored this article<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There has been endless chatter about the Great [insert pandemic-related work trend here]. Resignation.\u00a0Renegotiation.\u00a0Reshuffle. Regardless of the descriptor used, employees in the United States are purportedly\u00a0re-evaluating\u00a0the role of work in their lives. While some of this is related to deeper\u00a0existential questions\u00a0\u2014 like \u201cWhat am I doing with my life?\u201d or \u201cIs this really how I […]\n… learn more→<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[428920],"coauthors":[11733],"class_list":["post-61789","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-business-politics","tag-money-and-status"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nShow me the money: Employees not only want better pay, they want status - World leading higher education information and services<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/world.edu\/show-me-the-money-employees-not-only-want-better-pay-they-want-status\/\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Show me the money: Employees not only want better pay, they want status - World leading higher education information and services\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"There has been endless chatter about the Great [insert pandemic-related work trend here]. Resignation.\u00a0Renegotiation.\u00a0Reshuffle. Regardless of the descriptor used, employees in the United States are purportedly\u00a0re-evaluating\u00a0the role of work in their lives. While some of this is related to deeper\u00a0existential questions\u00a0\u2014 like \u201cWhat am I doing with my life?\u201d or \u201cIs this really how I […]\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/world.edu\/show-me-the-money-employees-not-only-want-better-pay-they-want-status\/\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"World leading higher education information and services\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-02-24T09:31:13+00:00\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/cash-money.jpeg\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Kevin\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Kevin\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/show-me-the-money-employees-not-only-want-better-pay-they-want-status\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/show-me-the-money-employees-not-only-want-better-pay-they-want-status\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Kevin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/42c1c1d5ff7ffbdf0bd50ed94c6ae6ee\"},\"headline\":\"Show me the money: Employees not only want better pay, they want status\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-02-24T09:31:13+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/show-me-the-money-employees-not-only-want-better-pay-they-want-status\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":894,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/show-me-the-money-employees-not-only-want-better-pay-they-want-status\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/02\\\/cash-money.jpeg\",\"keywords\":[\"money and status\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Business and Politics\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/show-me-the-money-employees-not-only-want-better-pay-they-want-status\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/show-me-the-money-employees-not-only-want-better-pay-they-want-status\\\/\",\"name\":\"Show me the money: Employees not only want better pay, they want status - World leading higher education information and services\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/show-me-the-money-employees-not-only-want-better-pay-they-want-status\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/show-me-the-money-employees-not-only-want-better-pay-they-want-status\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/02\\\/cash-money.jpeg\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-02-24T09:31:13+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/42c1c1d5ff7ffbdf0bd50ed94c6ae6ee\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/show-me-the-money-employees-not-only-want-better-pay-they-want-status\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/show-me-the-money-employees-not-only-want-better-pay-they-want-status\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/show-me-the-money-employees-not-only-want-better-pay-they-want-status\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/02\\\/cash-money.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/02\\\/cash-money.jpeg\",\"width\":680,\"height\":378},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/show-me-the-money-employees-not-only-want-better-pay-they-want-status\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Show me the money: Employees not only want better pay, they want status\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/\",\"name\":\"World leading higher education information and services\",\"description\":\"Global Higher Education Jobs, University jobs, Lecturer & tenure jobs.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/42c1c1d5ff7ffbdf0bd50ed94c6ae6ee\",\"name\":\"Kevin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/1e8d491a5f9b9bf3db67c9e46abbba7bb06b26b458bd5025c55e0a4b9b60ea8a?s=96&d=mm&r=g8ba4c352a279c450aa9435d770c1ebf4\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/1e8d491a5f9b9bf3db67c9e46abbba7bb06b26b458bd5025c55e0a4b9b60ea8a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/1e8d491a5f9b9bf3db67c9e46abbba7bb06b26b458bd5025c55e0a4b9b60ea8a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Kevin\"},\"description\":\"Kevin is founder of the world.edu project. The past 28 years have been involved in publishing to the education sector in print and the internet. Kevin has a degree in Education and has a many years experience in developing companies and projects.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/author\\\/kevin\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Show me the money: Employees not only want better pay, they want status - World leading higher education information and services","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/world.edu\/show-me-the-money-employees-not-only-want-better-pay-they-want-status\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Show me the money: Employees not only want better pay, they want status - World leading higher education information and services","og_description":"There has been endless chatter about the Great [insert pandemic-related work trend here]. Resignation.\u00a0Renegotiation.\u00a0Reshuffle. Regardless of the descriptor used, employees in the United States are purportedly\u00a0re-evaluating\u00a0the role of work in their lives. While some of this is related to deeper\u00a0existential questions\u00a0\u2014 like \u201cWhat am I doing with my life?\u201d or \u201cIs this really how I […]","og_url":"https:\/\/world.edu\/show-me-the-money-employees-not-only-want-better-pay-they-want-status\/","og_site_name":"World leading higher education information and services","article_published_time":"2022-02-24T09:31:13+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/cash-money.jpeg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"Kevin","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Kevin","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/show-me-the-money-employees-not-only-want-better-pay-they-want-status\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/show-me-the-money-employees-not-only-want-better-pay-they-want-status\/"},"author":{"name":"Kevin","@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/#\/schema\/person\/42c1c1d5ff7ffbdf0bd50ed94c6ae6ee"},"headline":"Show me the money: Employees not only want better pay, they want status","datePublished":"2022-02-24T09:31:13+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/show-me-the-money-employees-not-only-want-better-pay-they-want-status\/"},"wordCount":894,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/show-me-the-money-employees-not-only-want-better-pay-they-want-status\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/cash-money.jpeg","keywords":["money and status"],"articleSection":["Business and Politics"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/show-me-the-money-employees-not-only-want-better-pay-they-want-status\/","url":"https:\/\/world.edu\/show-me-the-money-employees-not-only-want-better-pay-they-want-status\/","name":"Show me the money: Employees not only want better pay, they want status - World leading higher education information and services","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/show-me-the-money-employees-not-only-want-better-pay-they-want-status\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/show-me-the-money-employees-not-only-want-better-pay-they-want-status\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/cash-money.jpeg","datePublished":"2022-02-24T09:31:13+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/#\/schema\/person\/42c1c1d5ff7ffbdf0bd50ed94c6ae6ee"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/show-me-the-money-employees-not-only-want-better-pay-they-want-status\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/world.edu\/show-me-the-money-employees-not-only-want-better-pay-they-want-status\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/show-me-the-money-employees-not-only-want-better-pay-they-want-status\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/cash-money.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/cash-money.jpeg","width":680,"height":378},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/show-me-the-money-employees-not-only-want-better-pay-they-want-status\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/world.edu\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Show me the money: Employees not only want better pay, they want status"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/#website","url":"https:\/\/world.edu\/","name":"World leading higher education information and services","description":"Global Higher Education Jobs, University jobs, Lecturer & tenure jobs.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/world.edu\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/#\/schema\/person\/42c1c1d5ff7ffbdf0bd50ed94c6ae6ee","name":"Kevin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1e8d491a5f9b9bf3db67c9e46abbba7bb06b26b458bd5025c55e0a4b9b60ea8a?s=96&d=mm&r=g8ba4c352a279c450aa9435d770c1ebf4","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1e8d491a5f9b9bf3db67c9e46abbba7bb06b26b458bd5025c55e0a4b9b60ea8a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1e8d491a5f9b9bf3db67c9e46abbba7bb06b26b458bd5025c55e0a4b9b60ea8a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Kevin"},"description":"Kevin is founder of the world.edu project. The past 28 years have been involved in publishing to the education sector in print and the internet. Kevin has a degree in Education and has a many years experience in developing companies and projects.","sameAs":["https:\/\/world.edu"],"url":"https:\/\/world.edu\/author\/kevin\/"}]}},"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61789","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/33"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=61789"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61789\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":61792,"href":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61789\/revisions\/61792"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=61789"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=61789"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=61789"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=61789"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}