Your paycheck -- the amount of money you're paid to do your job -- is a personal and private matter. That "confidential" information is usually between you, your boss, and the bookkeeper who processes your check. We don't usually discuss our salaries with our co-workers.
So, imagine for a moment that you and all the people you work with were given the following items: a small piece of white poster board, a marker, tape, and string. All of you are told to use the marker, write the amount (rounded to the nearest dollar) of your monthly take-home pay on the poster board, use the tape, the string, make a sign, and wear it around your neck so that everyone can look at your sign and see how much money you make.
Your "classified" and "top secret" information is out there -- and now everyone knows what you make. Think about that for just a minute -- and let that sink in. An interesting concept, isn't it?
We tend to make snap judgments of other people based on the things we can readily see -- the obvious things -- like someone's appearance, the kind of vehicle they drive, their work habits, the clothing they wear, the jewelry they wear (or don't wear), their possessions, their body shape, and little tidbits of personal information we've collected along the way about the people we work with.
Sometimes we have pre-conceived notions about the people we work with and the amount of money they're paid. Have you ever thought that so-and-so (fill in the blank) is paid way too much for what they do? Uh huh. Have you ever thought that so-and-so doesn't make near enough money for what they do? Uh huh.
We wonder how some people can afford to do the things they do and then -- on the opposite side -- we wonder how in the world they're able to make it through the month without going bankrupt.
Oops -- Wait a minute. Did you just say to yourself you never think about any of that sort of stuff and you're not that way? Oh no...not you. Yeah? Get real. Making comparisons of ourselves to others is normal behavior. There's something about putting a price on an item that makes it more or less valuable.
Keeping up with the Joneses is not a new idea either. Advertisers certainly know that about us -- there's a reason why there are so many different cereals in the grocery store, so many different models of cars and trucks to purchase, so many colors of T-shirts to buy, etc.
If you knew how much money your co-workers made, do you think your perception of those people would change? Maybe you'd feel some empathy for the people you assumed made a lot more money than they actually do. Maybe you'd be envious of those who make a lot more money than you do. Maybe you'd feel grateful for the amount of money you're paid -- and from now on -- maybe the complaining you've done in the past about your paycheck would go right out the window!
So, let's take this to another level -- If everyone in the entire universe had to wear a sign around their necks with the amount of money they made each month -- we would be able to "see" how much ALL the people we come in contact with are "worth" -- from the grocery store clerk, to the client or customer who just walked into your office, to the senior citizen collecting social security, to the guy who lives next door, the mechanic, the bank president, the bank teller, the administrative assistant, the lawyer, the owner of the retail store, and the clerk who works there too.
Now, wouldn't that create some interesting conversations?
