Do I have a good deal?

In my job, I get to do a lot of work on organizational climate and general employee engagement. Pretty fancy work eh?

I really believe that working smartly on these areas, can bring financial gain to companies and more importantly purpose and richness for employees.  After all we do spend a lot of time at work, so the better the environment is, the happier we will all be. At least that’s what I figure.

Like many other companies we run surveys asking folks how they are doing. Pretty routine stuff but poignant questions.

What we are basically asking is “Do you think you have a good deal?”
It is an interesting question and it can be answered differently on different days of the week. It is such a fragile balance and the pendulum can swing dramatically at any given time.

But really the question remains. Do I have a good deal?

So what makes a good deal? Well salary jumps out straightaway, money matters. The financials need to be right, but that is just not enough. Benefits like medical and disability insurance are great, but some benefits are simply not of any value, well not if you never take advantage of them. Perks, well I would suggest perks play a big role in the deal, perks include, having a company iphone, on site dry cleaning or gym, what about a nice cafeteria for lunch. These matter a lot. We experience these things most days and every time we use them, we register a mental “tick”.

What about the relationship with your boss, the hours you work, your commute, the amount of business travel, your colleagues, your tools for working, your work place, the way your company donates money to good causes, the type of work you do and the societal impact, the fancy hotels you might get to stay in, how autonomous you are, how much freedom do you get. The list goes on and really varies depending on the type of work you do.

However whether you realize it or not, you have made an outline in your head, about what a good deal looks like. Every day when you go home you know. If one week it hasn’t felt like a good deal, maybe subconsciously you look at the balance and you rectify a few things and allow the pendulum to swing back. Maybe your timeframe is more of a month than a week?

But what happens when the pendulum does not swing back. What are the options when the deal is not working out? Then there really are some choices to make. Do I give less? Do I put presssure on to get more? Or do I get out?

Over time, the deal has to be good. And good varies, depending on where you live, how many people you are supporting at home and what your personal ambition is.

So as I do my calculating, yes I have a good deal. I am happy with the balance, it seems right and when it isn’t, I know where to tweak it to gain it right back. Some people with the same deal may see it differently, but for me and my needs right now, it works.

So over to you. Do you have a good deal?