Why do you work a lot, but earn much less than you should?
I think many excellent specialists and entrepreneurs have caught themselves thinking: “I work like a horse, I know and can do a lot of things, I’m head and shoulders above many of my colleagues and competitors, but I earn mediocre money. What am I doing wrong?” In this article, I want to highlight one unobvious reason why you are working a lot, but it is not increasing your income.
“Why do you work so hard?”
What is wonderful about our brain is that it is able to find a convenient answer to any question. Ask yourself:
– Why do I work so much?
The brain will immediately produce something like:
– Because it’s impossible otherwise. Otherwise, they will fire you or the business will collapse. Your competitors will gobble you up, your colleagues will bypass you. And also because I like it! And also because we need to develop! And also because all these efforts will yield results sooner or later!
Like most rationalizations, this answer is far from the truth and serves only one thing – to justify the current state of affairs. So why are you really working?
What does your job guarantee?
It would seem that working constantly, especially if it does not lead to an increase in income, is quite crazy. But in fact, any behavior has a meaning, and this meaning becomes obvious if you ask yourself what workaholism is guaranteed to give you (if it is not money).
And it gives a lot of psychological benefits.
The illusion of control over your life. Your calendar is booked many days in advance. It is clear what to do today, tomorrow and all week. Life becomes simple and controlled.
Feeling like you're doing great. It is unlikely that you constantly fail at work. It's much more likely that you do a great job at most tasks and that gives you a feeling of satisfaction. I want to take them again and again to feel good.
The opportunity not to face real problems. If you're busy all the time, you don't have time to deal with situations that you don't know what to do with. For example, asking existential questions, building relationships, or thinking about how to reach the next level in your career or business.
Safety. If you are not growing in money, it means that you are doing the usual things that you know how to do well and do not risk anything.
As you can see, it’s not just beneficial for you to remain a workaholic, it’s beneficial for you to maintain the status quo so as not to lose your sense of security and comfort and not face frightening difficulties
What does wasteful work look like in practice?
I work a lot with entrepreneurs and professionals who want to move from employment to business, and I recently had a very telling moment with a client who was complaining about a lack of time and lack of growth in the business.
When we started looking at what his time was spent on, it turned out that these were quite simple tasks that employees could do. For example, the client himself laid out the presentations, purchased office supplies for the office, and manually compiled data that could be easily automated. At the same time, he did not have time to think about either a development strategy or improving processes that would help him earn more.
When we began to figure out why he was acting so illogically, the client admitted:
— When it comes to my usual tasks, I’m like a fish in water. They cannot fail for me. But in tasks related to reaching a new level, I can screw up. I don’t always understand how to approach them, I feel discomfort, and it’s easier for me to switch to something understandable.
We discussed this and I asked:
– Imagine that in 5 years you are doing the same thing as now, and your business is at the same level as now. Would that suit you?
“I would hang myself,” the client admitted, “for me it’s a terrible nightmare.”
This is a telling moment.
A bunch of things to do creates the illusion of getting closer to the goal. It seems that since you do something, it means you are doing it for good reason and are changing your situation for the better. Not really
Another example. The client works in a company in a good position. She had long dreamed of having her own business and at the same time opened a small lingerie store. And here's what the client says:
— I took a leave of absence to run the store. I'm driving in the car and find myself thinking about projects at my day job. I think: “What nonsense? I specifically took a vacation to sort out the store. Why am I wasting my time thinking about work?”
It turned out that it was nice to think about work projects, since all the KPIs were growing, the projects were developing, but I didn’t want to think about the store, since it was unprofitable and it was not clear how to revive it.
What to do if you want money?
This will depend on whether you are employed or have your own business.
If you have a business, then you need to break down your tasks and ask how their completion relates to income? This is a ruthless exercise, because if you stop deceiving yourself and realistically assess how efforts are related to the result, it turns out that there is nothing (otherwise your income would grow).
Next, it’s useful to digitize processes and see where bottlenecks occur. Are profits not growing because there are few applications? Or are the leads okay, but they aren’t turning into sales? Or are there sales, but you don’t have time to fulfill your obligations to clients? It is the answers to these questions that will help you stop deceiving yourself and fix ineffective processes.
If you are hiring, then it is useful to ask the question: “What pays well for in my field?” Very often, employees think that it is important for them to do their job well, and the manager will be happy and reward them. Let's say an accountant values himself for the fact that he compiles reports flawlessly, but this is not what the owner of the company values at all. The owner appreciates an accountant who can help him safely save on taxes and prepare documents for opening a line of credit. He is willing to pay significantly more to such an accountant, since the benefits from him are obvious.
So it’s worth asking yourself: “What does my manager value? What skills do I need to improve in order to get paid more?” Naturally, the path to income growth is just beginning with these questions, because further answers remain to be found. But without asking yourself these questions, you will continue to work a lot, but to no avail, and think: “I work hard like a horse, I know and can do a lot of things, I am head and shoulders above many of my colleagues and competitors, but I earn mediocre money.”
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