There was a report that made the news this week that said that those who are difficult at work – mean even – make more money than those who are easy going – or nice. I just saw the news report and I haven’t read one story about this – so I’m commenting on hearing about two minutes of a news piece. Still I heard enough to form an opinion.
This doesn’t surprise me. I think people who are difficult – demand more in general. They are not going to take less money – in fact they may demand more than they are offered. So, while I’m not surprised that mean folks make more money, I would rather work with the nice ones.
I interviewed for a job several years ago where I was asked about myself. I mentioned that I was easy-going – which is true. This was probably my best trait at my current job. I was the calm in the storm and my boss appreciated that. Seeing as how I was up for the same job with a different company, I thought that trait could also be important to this potential boss. I was wrong. He asked me why should he care about that? When he asked that, I knew that this job wasn’t for me and just zoned out for the rest of the interview. Yes, he probably was a meanie, difficult to work with, and made more money than the nice guys in the office. While meanies may make more money, they will also drive off hard-working, nice employees that will affect a company’s bottom line.
So, I think I will continue my easy-going ways even if it means less money. Maybe one of these days I will find an employer who appreciates that trait and will pay me more even if I don’t ask for it. Yeah, I know, fat chance of that happening.
