Don’t Sell Your Passion For Free

How Money Becomes a Trap More Than a Reward in the Workplace

Money creates most of the tensions in the workplace. I’m not questioning the importance of money but how, in our society, we’ve allowed money to dictate our emotions. “I deserve more”, “I’m not fairly compensated”, “People in other companies value (pay) people more”, “why is X making more money than I do?” — these are some of the most common phrases that you hear in the workplace. Money has turned into emotional currency that directly correlates to self-esteem.

Don’t get me wrong, getting paid for doing work is rewarding. The challenge is that most of the workforce sees money as the main source of recognition. But at what point does money get in the way?

According to a Princeton study, your emotional well-being — or happiness related to day-to-day experiences — doesn’t get any better after your household is earning roughly $75,000. When people earn more, their expectations rise at a higher proportion, feeling less happy about their life and accomplishments.

Throughout my career I’ve enco…