Poverty vs. Dignity
If you guessed that the opposite of poverty is wealth, you are in the majority. You are also incorrect.
Let’s set everybody straight. The opposite of poverty is not wealth. It’s dignity. Low wage earners are very aware of their undignified, precarious existence. Stability in family life, manageable financial obligations, feeling part of a community and being a valued employee add up to dignity.
Typical approaches to influencing the behavior of economically fragile people include:
1. Offering financial handouts that are humiliating;
2. Implementing incentive programs that do not incentivize the desired behavior;
3. Meddling into peoples’ lives with no invitation.
Economically fragile people are justifiably proud of the extreme effort they devote to carving out a life under difficult circumstances. They want to be engaged in the pursuit of meaningful goals and feel part of something that is bigger than they are. They seek and they deserve to live a life without unwanted interference.
Much of Dasher’s success in business is based on the theory that it is better to be different than it is to be better. What makes Dasher different is a deeply-rooted, measurable commitment to creating economic prosperity for all people.
That’s great and there’s an even better competitive advantage. Caring about people minimizes turnover, promotes loyalty, and enhances word of mouth recruiting efforts. Our turnover is under 10% annually. People want to join Dasher’s team. Talented people seek us out.
Customers want to do business with us. They want to partner with us. Our clients expect phenomenal execution, that is a given. They are also saying, “We really love the fact that being your customer means we are supporting this revolutionary good work that you are doing.”
It’s also very rewarding to make your business stronger and more successful by improving the lives of people who work for you. For our team, it’s an opportunity to see, with new eyes, the possibility of a different future than they have envisioned.
In our next blog entry, “What Makes Someone Economically Fragile?”, we will help you to identify economically fragile workers. Here’s a hint. They don’t want you to find them.
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You can also subscribe to Dasher’s video blog on LinkedIn, titled 90 Seconds. Each week we have a different guest talking about the importance of helping economically fragile workers be successful in their life and their career.