A Shortage Of Whoppers.
"Have you ever noticed that everyone driving slower than you is an idiot and everyone driving faster than you is a maniac?" George Carlin
Last week the manager and 22 employees at a Burger King in Nebraska all quit. They became fed up with the working hours and conditions and so decided it was time to look for other opportunities. They used the restaurant sign to make their point. I'm pretty convinced this will not be an isolated story.
The world has changed a lot in the last 18 months. Crises have come along before of course, but the length of covid-19 and the unprecedented impact it is having is changing the world before our very eyes.
I am a huge fan of Malcolm Gladwell. Outliers and Tipping Point are two of the very best books I have read. I therefore set out to listen to a podcast he recorded as part of the Munk Dialogues series (link at the end for those interested). The series has different experts that are predicting what the world will look like post-covid. To be fair to Gladwell, he recorded the episode a year ago and much of the impact was still becoming clear. He predicted many aspects correctly but got quite a few predictions wildly wrong - which shows there is plenty of hope for mere mortals like me :) A couple of examples. He considered the whole working at home aspect to be a temporary blip whereas I think it's now clear increased flexibility is here to stay. Secondly he was adamant the financial support for businesses and people would have to be only short term. Thankfully, support in many countries has had more longevity.
One prediction he made that I think is likely to be true is that we will be seeking a fairer world post-covid. An old colleague, Ian Haynes was asking his connections this week what they thought of the Bezos/Branson space race. Views were mixed but many were concerned at the billions being spent whilst so many globally are struggling to put food on the table.
Michael Norton and Dan Airley completed a study. They divided the US population into five equal quintiles from the poorest 20% to the richest 20% and then asked a subject group of 5,000 Americans to estimate what percentage of the country's wealth was owned by each segment. People in the study recognised there would be inequality but dramatically under-estimated the extent. They judged the wealthiest fifth would have around 59% of the total wealth when in fact the number is 84%.
The researchers then took it a step further and asked people to say what they thought the ideal situation would be. They granted the wealthiest group 33% and the poorest group 10%. That would be an enormous change because the poorest 20% in the US has only 0.1% of the total wealth.
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The most interesting part though is what the researchers did next. They showed two pie charts showing two different countries wealth distribution models. They asked the American group to select which society they would rather live in, if they were going to be randomly assigned to end up in any of the groups. 92% of Americans plumped for one model rather than the other. The two models were actual pie charts of the US today and Sweden today and 92% of Americans chose the Swedish model.
The subjects did not want complete equality but they wanted a much fairer distribution than America achieves today.
Those colleagues and the manager at Burger King have very likely worked damn hard through the pandemic. Although much of the focus has rightly been on healthcare workers, colleagues in all parts of the food chain have also had a pretty rough time. So, I have a strong view that there will be a thirst to reduce inequality post-pandemic.
The businesses that recognise this early and are prepared to adapt their business model to cope with this will fare the best. Those that stick their heads in the sand are very likely to see their people voting with their feet.
I think most people will think it's about time.
Using systems for impact
3 年That is interesting! My perception (rightly or wrongly) is that American culture idealises the ‘American dream’ in the sense that there’s a supposed opportunity for anyone to rise to the top if they’re determined to make it happen for themselves. ‘Pulling yourself up by your bootstraps’ is a strong source of pride, and any programmes designed to support vulnerable groups are viewed with suspicion over ‘socialist’ concerns. But when you make it a blind survey, the respondents seem to indicate that they don’t actually want to belong to the society dominated by capitalist values because of the extent of the wealth inequality it creates. I’ve been seeing a lot of outrage over billionaires and their interest in space exploration recently. The argument is that there are people starving down here, so it’s morally objectionable to pursue space travel as long as that’s the case. How can you be so rich, while we’re so poor? It’s wrong. Personally, I think if a private individual has amassed that kind of fortune then they are at liberty to spend it however they wish… But if corporations serve to concentrate wealth in this way I would think ‘justice’ would demand more prosperity for all stakeholders – and in particular - workers.
Director
3 年Great article Rob Chester. I sincerely hope there will be early adopter organisations who recognise the mutual benefit of a fairer distribution of wealth linked to organisational success. But, breaking cover given the short-term results cycle on which many leaders are judged will require institutional investors to exercise their power on larger organisations I suspect. With such a large proportion of people in working poverty, often with limited employment rights, your figures show they don’t have the individual buying power to influence positive change alone. The business case is there. People just need to join the dots in many instances - for example: just look at cost of mental health (days lost to absenteeism and the impact of presenteism on productivity) to the economy/business etc…
Leader in Risk Management with experience in Enterprise Risk, Operational Risk and Corporate Insurance, Board Member
3 年Completely agree with your thoughts, Rob. There needs to be serious efforts to better define ‘fairness’ which is such a loaded word and to march towards it. I am optimistic since since so many Americans find the idea inherently appealing. Keep the snippets of wisdom flowing. ??