Jonathan Slusher says the pay gap between his company’s executives and its workers is not only bad for employees, its bad for business.
I was in an empty office room that overlooked a busy highway. The orientation was virtual. My interview process had been virtual too.
I’d just met my team for the first time. I was the only Generation X representative in a group of about 20 Millenials and Gen Zs.
It was unsettling. My kids were almost as old as my coworkers.
I’d had the privilege to spend the previous 15 years as a stay-at-home dad. I’d done part time work, but this was my first real full-time job in 20 years.
After several anxious weeks I started to settle in. My team even voted me MVP of the month and I was more excited than I should have been. Because the company sure wasn’t paying us much. I didn’t know how my coworkers could afford to live on what they were being paid.
They couldn’t. Many still lived at home. Contrary to their reputation, the younger generation worked hard.
Twenty years ago I earned a livable wage. I was able to afford an apartment and a new car. I had decent benefits. I thought Gen X had it bad, but things had gotten much worse. My coworkers were not lazy. Disenfranchised maybe, they hadn’t known anything else.
Our CEO let us know that the company was positioning itself for long-term sustainable growth. Tough decisions to reduce operating expenses had to be made. Cutbacks were needed.
About 100 workers were let go.
That wasn’t right.
In a meeting a corporate executive told us about our responsibility to our customers. He wore a Niners hoodie. He was just like one of us. Except that he made $10 million a year. The money was there in my company. It just wasn’t making it down from the executive level. This meeting was a safe place to speak our minds. Did anyone have any questions?
I raised my hand.
“Wouldn’t our customers benefit more if our executive team didn’t make over 300 times what our essential employees make? Wouldn’t it benefit everyone if our essential employees were paid a livable wage?”
I reached for my coffee. My hand was shaky. After the meeting I was assured that I wasn’t going to lose my job. But I was pretty sure I’d be ignored.
And that made me mad.
Grossly overpaid executives aren’t going to suddenly develop empathy and take a pay cuts to balance wage disparity. But job satisfaction can affect corporate stock prices. And stock prices certainly affect company decisions.
I don’t want to look for a new job. I like the people I work with. I just want my company to change.
With a Perspective, I’m Jonathan Slusher.
Jonathan Slusher is a proud dad and head coach of Half Moon Bay’s under 16 boys champion soccer team.
