“When it comes down to it, money is emotional”
As a creative living and working in 2022, other than niche and talent, money is the other thing that sets us apart.
I know when you think about it, it’s a tad morbid, just a tad but these are the facts! This article, like most of my recent articles, is inspired by a post I saw on LinkedIn. Before I go any further, I must let you know that as a Jamaican who lives in Jamaica, things are quite different for a lot of us in the Digital Marketing/Creative space when compared to our first-world counterparts.
Money as Emotional Currency | Digital Marketing
Digital Marketing is still relatively new here and though a new Agency pops up every 3 months, they still have not completely figured things out as it relates to pay. The salary is determined by how much they think you are worth and the amount of work they think you do and of course the number of clients they have on the roster. I am a Digital Content Producer/Copywriter where I write and create content on a daily basis for a number of brands and niches. Because I write and it doesn’t take “physical work” like that of a Videographer, I am not paid as much. The thing is, employers might look at it like this “Oh, she can create a monthly content calendar in 3 hours so she doesn’t need to be paid that much”.
In reality, I have to research the company, the competitors, and what they are doing and saying, include the brand ethos, messaging, include call-to-actions that are relevant, and liaise with the creative team to bring the copy to life. That in itself is work and while I can churn out content fast, it takes a level of Moxy and I know how to produce content so it doesn’t sound the same each month. I want you to really think about this.
How Employers Use Money to Control Employees
Employers will use your salary as a way to play on our emotions just because they understand “times are hard” and we need a job to survive. This is 100% true, of course. Sometimes we will also fall into this trap just so we are not living paycheck to paycheck even when we know the job is in a toxic environment and is completely wrong for us. On the other side of this, there are creatives who are making bank, but it is at the cost of their Social Life and Mental Health. For the employer, this looks like “Well, I’m paying her/him so they should have no issues doing what I want when I need it done”. I’ve heard of stories of people who make over JMD$300,000 per month as a Digital Marketing Professional, who do not have a social life. Because things move so fast at their company, they are required to always be on call even if it means doing creative work at 11 pm at night or sitting in a 7 pm meeting.
We are then programmed to think we are worth the “available” amount when In some cases employers can actually afford to pay more but since we never ask or negotiate, it is left on the table. Because money is used as an emotional currency to control our livelihood, we in the end always end up trading time for dollars.
Conclusion
This of course is a choice and nobody is forced into these situations. You can easily see how people use the money to control and manipulate situations which has happened from the beginning of time and will continue to happen.
Let me know in the comments if there has been a situation where money was used as an “Emotional Currency” to get you to do something you didn’t necessarily want to do.
#Money as Emotional Currency | Digital Marketing
#Money as Emotional Currency | Digital Marketing
#Money as Emotional Currency | Digital Marketing
#Money as Emotional Currency | Digital Marketing
#Money as Emotional Currency | Digital Marketing
#Money as Emotional Currency | Digital Marketing
